Senior Honors Seminar in Teaching and Learning
E27.1090
Fall, 2007
Professor Joan Malczewski
665 Broadway, Suite 805
jm186@nyu.edu
DESCRIPTION
This course is a seminar for students pursuing Honors Research in Teaching and Learning. It
will guide students through the processes of selecting an area of educational inquiry, developing
research questions, choosing and implementing appropriate methodologies, building outlines,
developing bibliographies, writing literature reviews, and preparing drafts. This seminar will
meet regularly during the academic year, as students develop their projects. During the spring
semester, the seminar group will meet periodically. However, students will work on their
projects under the guidance of the seminar leader and under the direction of individual faculty
supervisors, with whom they will hold regular meetings, in addition to scheduled class times.
Procedures and Requirements
1. Attendance and active participation are essential to the success of this course.
2. Students are expected to provide “critical support” to fellow students during the process
of designing their projects, completing their research, and writing up their studies.
3. During the fall semester, each student is expected to complete a research proposal and
annotated bibliography and will present their prospectus to the seminar group. Upon
completing of their projects in the spring semester, students will present their work at a
gathering of invited faculty and peers.
Assessment and Evaluation
Seminar involvement will be determined by the Seminar director, in conjunction with faculty
sponsors who will serve as thesis advisors. The final project/thesis will be assessed by both the
seminar director and the thesis advisor. Criteria will include: significance of the question(s)
asked, extensiveness and appropriateness of the data gathered, fidelity and thoroughness of the
analysis, clarity, originality, and comprehensiveness of the write-up, and organization and
professionalism of the presentation.
REQUIRED READINGS
Booth, Wayne, Gregory Colomb and Joseph Williams. 1995. The Craft of Research.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kirk and Miller. 1986. Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. Newbury Park
CA: Sage Publications
Simon, J.L. and P. Burstein, “Sampling”, from Basic Research Methods in Social
Science, 3rd Ed. 107 – 24.
Survey Research Center, I.S.R., University of Michigan, Interviewers’ Manual, 1976. p. 1
– 31.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 4: Introductions and Overview
Booth, Wayne, Gregory Colomb and Joseph Williams. 1995. The Craft of
Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
2. September 11: What Constitutes Educational Research?
Due: 2 page description of proposed project. Please bring a copy for each person in
the seminar
IRB Tutorial should be completed during this week or next. The tutorial can be found
at http://www.nyu.edu/ucaihs/tutorial/. Please note that you must pass the tutorial in
advance of applying for IRB approval.
3. September 18: Library Tour with Information Specialist
4. September 25: Internal Review Board – Guest Speaker Professor Jane McCutcheon
Due: Students should bring two copies of feedback and questions for each proposal
distributed on September 11. One copy will be handed in and the other shared with the
student researcher. This feedback will be discussed on October 2.
5. October 2: Choosing Research Methods: Techniques and Concerns
Kirk and Miller. 1986.
Simon, J.L. and P. Burstein, “Sampling”, p. 107 - 124
Interviewers’ Manual, 1976. p. 1 – 31.
For the next four weeks of class, October 9 – October 30, students will work in groups to find
one example from an educational research journal of each type of research to be discussed.
Students, who will be assigned to groups at the beginning of the semester, will be responsible for
finding an article for only one of the following weeks, as noted:
Due by October 9 – Laura and Mary, Survey Research
Marissa and Angela, Ethnographic Research
Due by October 23 - Rachel and Blair, Experimental Research
Joan, Interview Research
6. October 9: no class – students should develop annotated bibliography
7. October 16: Survey and Ethnographic Research
Due: Annotated Bibliography for research project
8. October 23: no class – students should work on developing research proposal
9. October 30: Experimental and Interview Research
10. November 6: Archival Research
David Angus and Jeffrey Mirel, “Equality, Curriculum, and the Decline of the
Academic Ideal: Detroit, 1930 – 1968” History of Education Quarterly, v. 33, No.
2, Summer, 1993.
Due: Students should distribute an initial draft research proposal that identifies the
proposed research questions, the data, and the methodology that will be used. This
outline should include the annotated bibliography.
11. November 13: no class – students should use this week to read and comment on each
proposal, and continue to develop their own.
12. November 20: Discussion of research proposals
Due: Students should hand in feedback and questions for each proposal distributed on
November 6.
13. November 27: Submission of final proposal
14. December 4: Presentation of research proposal