EDU 585 Mussey Spring
2015
Texas A&M University Central Texas
Research Seminar
EDU 585
Spring 2015
Instructor:
Office:
Office Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
Dr. Season Mussey
Warrior Hall 322P
254.519.5704
season_mussey@tamuct.edu
by appt. only – Please email or text 512.694.6291 to request meeting
Program Goal
Those who earn a Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction should be able to:
 Communicate and collaborate effectively with other professionals, students, and parents
 Integrate knowledge in the content areas with professional practices and the findings of research
 Incorporate inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and reflection in the educational
process
 Analyze the principles of curriculum development and apply these in the planning and assessment of
instruction
Catalog Description
Presentation of project proposal, implementation and conclusions. Must be repeated a minimum of 3 times for 1
hour credit each semester to complete masters project. Student must be continuously enrolled until the graduate
project is completed.
Prerequisites
EDU 501, EDU 598 (concurrent enrollment is acceptable)
Course Goal
This capstone course is designed to provide a structured environment to facilitate the completion of the Graduate
Research Project. Primary focus is on conducting the research, analyzing the research results, writing the final
chapters of the project, and presenting the final product in both a written documentation and an oral
presentation. Prerequisites include: successful completion of EDU 501, EDU 598. The goal of the course is
approval of the Graduate Research proposal by the Graduate Committee and IRB approval. Following approval,
students will collect and analyze data, and present findings to the Graduate Committee during a scheduled
defense of the research project.
Resources:
Recommended:
 Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Los
Angeles: Sage.
 Maxwell, J. (2012). Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach. Thousand Oaks. Sage
Publications.
 Salkind, N. (2011). Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics. (4th edition) Thousand Oaks.
Sage Publications.
***A student of this institution is not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from a university-affiliated
bookstore. The same textbook may also be available from an independent retailer, including an online retailer.
EDU 585 Mussey Spring
2015
Resources:
 American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
 Purdue Online Writing Lab (2010). Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Additional Resources:
Professional Journals
Magazines
Assorted Books
Interviews
Library
Newspapers
Documentaries
Film
Surveys
On-line databases
Selected Articles for Review:
Student Learning Outcomes:
Knowledge Outcomes Action research is a combination of finding a problem, completing a literary review of the problem, conducting
research, analyzing the research results and composing a Graduate Research Project to present to peers and
professors.
Skills Outcomes Students will be able to compose a publication ready research paper and to present it in a variety of methods to
peers and professors.
Values Outcomes The students will appreciate the nature of research in an educational setting.
Professionalism: Professionalism, within the context of this course will include:
 Weekly Communication with Committee Chair
 Work that is submitted in a neat, orderly and professional format; timely submission of work; meeting
course deadlines and due dates;
 Use of formal language, complete sentences, correct grammar and spelling as well as appropriate
conventions for writing in the field of education (APA formatted writing, citations, and references);
 Collaboration with colleagues in their professional development; fulfillment of obligations to colleagues
when working in research teams
 ** Deficiencies in professional standards may cause specific grades to be reduced.
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
Communication
 Communicate appropriately and effectively with colleagues, supervisors, students, parents and members
of the community. Uses good oral and written communication skills.
Collaboration
 Work collaboratively with colleagues, mentors and supervisors to achieve the local, state and national
goals of education. Show courtesy to peers, public school students and teachers, and the professor.
Commitment
 Demonstrate commitment to the teaching profession and exercise leadership for the advancement of the
profession and public education. Shows enthusiasm in class for learning and the educational process.
 Be responsible, punctual, regular in attendance, and prepared to participate in professional development.
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EDU 585 Mussey Spring
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Professional Development
 Assume responsibility for utilizing professional teaching practices and constantly strive to improve
through professional growth. Accepts constructive feedback and demonstrates a willingness to make
improvements in attitude and performance if needed.
Ethical Conduct
 Uphold the Code of Ethics for Texas Educators and abide by local, state, and federal rules, regulations,
and policies.
 Demonstrate respect and maintain ethical conduct in relations with professional colleagues, students,
parents, and members of the community. Exhibits honesty and personal integrity. Violations of ethics
result in failure of this course.
Academic Conduct
Drop Policy
If you discover that you need to drop this class, you must follow the appropriate university sanctioned
procedure. Professors cannot drop students. It is always the responsibility of the student to drop a class by the
deadline. Should you miss the deadline or fail to follow the procedure, you will receive an F in the course.
Academic Integrity Statement
Texas A&M University - Central Texas expects all students to maintain high standards of personal and scholarly
conduct. Students found responsible of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action. Academic
dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism,
collusion, and the abuse of resource materials. The faculty member is responsible for initiating action for each
case of academic dishonesty and report the incident to the Director of Student Affairs. More information can be
found atwww.ct.tamus.edu/StudentConduct.
Disability Support and Access
If you have or believe you have a disability and wish to self-identify, you can do so by providing documentation
to the Disability Support Coordinator. Students are encouraged to seek information about accommodations to
help assure success in their courses. Please contact Gail Johnson at (254) 519-5831 or visit Founder's Hall 114.
Additional information can be found at www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport .
Tutoring
Tutoring is available to all TAMUCT students, both on-campus and online. Subjects tutored include
Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing (APA). Tutors are available at the Tutoring Center in
Founder's Hall, Room 204, and also in the Library in the North Building.
Visit www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport and click "Tutoring Support" for tutor schedules and contact info. If
you have questions, need to schedule a tutoring session, or if you're interested in becoming a tutor, contact
Academic Support Programs at 254-501-5830 or by emailing cecilia.morales@ct.tamus.edu.
Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for almost any subject on your computer! Tutor.com is an online tutoring platform
that enables TAMU-CT students to log-in and receive FREE online tutoring and writing support. This tool
provides tutoring in Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Spanish, Calculus, and
Statistics. To access Tutor.com, click on www.tutor.com/tamuct.
Library Services INFORMATION LITERACY focuses on research skills which prepare individuals to live and
work in an information-centered society. Librarians will work with students in the development of critical
reasoning, ethical use of information, and the appropriate use of secondary research techniques. Help may
include, yet is not limited to: exploration of information resources such as library collections and services,
identification of subject databases and scholarly journals, and execution of effective search strategies. Library
Resources are outlined and accessed at. http://www.ct.tamus.edu/departments/library/index.php/
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EDU 585 Mussey Spring
2015
Computer Usage Policy: The University reserves the right to limit, restrict or deny access to its technology
resources, as well as to take disciplinary and/or legal action against anyone in violation of these regulations or
applicable law. Use the following link to view the acceptable computer use
policy: http://www.ct.tamus.edu/departments/informationtechnology/index.php
Turnitin: The online plagiarism detection service may be required for assignment submission. The instructor
will provide information for submission of student work. Intellectual property rights of student work is
addressed on the Turnitin site: http://www.turnitin.com/static/index.html
**The instructor reserves the right to modify the course outline if necessary. The students will have as
much advance notice as possible.
Assessment Components and Course Requirements: Research Paper and Presentation
Seminar 1: Proposal & Proposal Presentation
I.
Introduction
II.
Literature Review
III.
Research Questions
IV.
Proposed Methodology
Seminar 2: Data Collection & Analysis Presentation
I.
Methodology
II.
Data
III.
Data Analysis
IV.
Initial Findings
Seminar 3: Final Research Project & Presentation
I.
Introduction
II.
Literature Review
III.
Research Questions
IV.
Methodology
V.
Data
VI.
Data Analysis
VII.
Findings: Discussion and Implications for Practice
Grade Equivalence
90 – 100%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
60 – 69%
< 59%
A
B
C
D
F
*The overall GPA of graduate course work must be 3.0 as required by Texas A&M University Central Texas’s College of
Graduate Studies.
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EDU 585 Mussey Spring
2015
EDU 585
Date
Individual
Appts.
Starting the
Week of Jan.
26th
1/26-5/1
Meetings by
appt. ONLY
Topic
Course Overview
Assignment DUE
None
Proposal
Data Collection
Qualitative and Quantitative Data
Analysis
Research Meetings
Determining Findings & The
Write-Up
Work in Progress
All required materials DUE to
Dr. Mussey by 5/1
Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor as needed throughout the semester.
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