Defining Classroom Research

Dr. J. P. Galloway

Developed by Dr. A. Cavallo

Problem Statement:

• A thirty year history of computer training programs for teachers has failed to yield significant improvements of both skill-knowledge mastery and the classroom integration of computing for students.

• As school districts plan technology support for teachers, coordinators and committees must consider how teachers are actually learning and using computers.

• To examine the extent to which taking formal classes & formal training programs versus personally teaching themselves is related to teachers’ integration of technology into the classrooms.

Purpose Statement:

Research Questions:

• To what extent do teachers’ computing learning experiences - formal classes vs. personally teaching themselves - predict their classroom integration of technology for use with students?

Hypotheses or Predictions:

• Teachers’ who teach themselves computing will achieve a greater integration of computing technology into the classroom than those learning only through formal classes.

Null Hypotheses:

• There is no relationship between learning method – formal vs. personal – and teachers’ level of classroom integration of technology.

Characteristics of Educational Research(Anderson, 1996)

1. Educational research attempts to solve a problem.

2. Research involves gathering new data from primaryor first-hand sources or using existingdata or a new purpose.

3. Research is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence.

4. Research demands accurate observation and description.

5. Research generally employs carefully designed proceduresand rigorous analysis.

6. Research emphasizes the development of generalizations, principles or theories tat will help in understanding, prediction and control.

7. Research requires expertise -- familiarity with the field; competence in methodology; technical skill in collecting and analyzing the data.

8. Research attempts to find an objective, unbiased solution to the problem and takes great pains to validate the procedures employed.

9. Research is a deliberate and unhurried activity which is directional but often refines the problem or questions as the research progresses.

10. Research is carefully recorded and reported to other personsinterested in the problem.

The Four Levels of Educational Research (Anderson, 1996)

Level 1 2 3 4

Research Type

Descriptive Explanatory(Internal Validity)

Generalization(External Validity)

Basic(Theoretical)

Major Questions

What is happening? What happened in the past?

What is causing it to happen? Why did it happen?

Will the same thing happen under different circumstances?

Is there some underlying principle at work?

Traditional Associated Disciplines

AnthropologyHistoryPhysical SciencesSociology

AnthropologyBehavioral SciencesHistoryPhysical SciencesPsychologySociology

Behavioral SciencesPhysical SciencesPsychology

Behavioral Sciences Physical SciencesPsychologyPhilosophy

Methods/Approaches

Case StudyContent AnalysisEthnographyHistoriographyObservationPolicy ResearchPollingProgram EvaluationSurvey Research

Case StudiesComparativeCorrelationalEthnographyHistoriographyObservationTime Series Analysis

Causal-ComparativeExperimentalMeta AnalysisMultiple Case StudyPredictiveQuasi-Experimental

ABAB DesignsExperimentalMeta AnalysisPolicy ResearchTime Series Analysis