publishing on innovation and education research in chemistry and physics vicephec2015
TRANSCRIPT
Publishing on education research in chemistry and physics for a range of audiences
Claire Mc Donnell - Dublin Institute of TechnologyMichael Seery – University of EdinburghDerek Raine – University of LeicesterWith thanks to Karen Ogilvie, Royal Society of Chemistry
ViCE PhEC 2015 – August 20th - 21st
Session Outline
Publishing in Chemistry & Physics Education Research
Science Communication
Discussion and Summing Up
Publishing in CER & PER Types of CER & PER
Research question
Ethical Considerations
Group Activity (10.15–11.30 including coffee)
Theoretical Framework
Structuring a Research Paper
Types of Chemical Education Research (CER)
Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2013, 14, 151-155Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012, 13, 4–7
www.rsc.org/cerp
Types of Chemical Education Research
Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2013, 14, 151-155
Does a setting a Chemistry automatically mean that it is Chemistry Education Research? Inherent (issues being examined are intrinsic to
teaching & learning chemistry) Embedded (‘need to make a case for linkage
between the general issue and the specifics of teaching and learning chemistry’)
Collateral (chemistry context is coincidental & a convenient but not essential setting)
Chemistry Education Research & Practice invites .. papers that offer research reports(including reports from chemistry teachers / educators undertaking and researching innovativepractice) theoretical perspectives on chemistry education reviews of chemical education research, or of other
areas of research of direct and clear significance to the teaching and learning of chemistry
It is important to have researched potential target journals to identify those most suitable to your work.
Typical CER / PER Research Question Classroom innovation:
Did grades improve?
How did student understanding improve?
How did students engage with innovation?
Why did students who showed little engagement not use resources?
(Further reading–Section 4 (by R Galloway) in Grove & Overton, Getting Started in Pedagogic Research within the STEM Disciplines, 2013)
Research questions dictate methods
Ethical Issues – human subjects & authorship
Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2014, 15, 109–113 Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2013, 14, 5-8
Clear research question with appropriate reference to literature for theoretical framework Research question vague/not stated “Checklist” literature not pertinent to study
Rationale for completing research Not clear why this work is being done – what will it add
to the body of knowledge?
Writing a good article & Common Pitfalls
Suitable methods for addressing research question Instrument should be able to address question Not explicit about limitations of research Ethical considerations not addressed
Results and Discussion: Did it “work” and how do you know? (Refer back to theoretical framework) Poorly argued and presented results – address your audience Drawing conclusions that don’t arise out of data
Implications for teaching Not addressing how will this be useful in the classroom
(clarity)
Writing a good article & Common Pitfalls
Activity You have conducted a research study outlined, and a summary of the data obtained is
provided. In your groups, you should:
1. Devise ONE (and only one!) research question that this data might address.
2. What do you think the rationale for this research was?
3. Propose an outline for how you would present the results given, keeping in mind your research question and making an article engaging and readable for your intended audience.
4. Suggest some limitations of this study?
5. Suggest the ethical considerations that were required when this study was conducted.
Research Questions…
Fill in as they come in…
Lecture Only (L)
Lecture + Podcast (LP)
Lecture + Screencast (LS)
Atomic Theory (AT) 57% 60% 62%*
Kinetics (KIN) 49% 52% 53%
Organic Mechanisms (OM)
66% 71%* 73%*
“Does the use of podcasts improve understanding in chemistry education?”
“Can the teaching of organic chemistry be assisted by podcasts and screencasts?”
“Are podcasts or screencasts more effective in assisting student learning in chemistry?”
Presenting the results
Present by subject (AT, KIN, OM)…
…or by theme (LP, LS)…?
Implications for Practice
Study appears to suggest that podcasts/screencasts may have benefit, but effort required to link them explicitly with lecture notes…
Ethical Considerations Informed consent obtained Check if any students under 18 Anonymising and safe storage of student
assessment data Interviews not undertaken by the lecturer
teaching the specific module Case made that it is not known that
students would be at a disadvantage without podcast or screencast
Theoretical Framework How are you viewing your research?
Dictates how you think people learn, how you implement your study, how you interpret your results…
Introduction should include: Seminal studies that have informed topic area/approach to study
Previous studies that have provided rationale / informed methodology
(For a general text that includes a chapter on learning theories, see University Teaching in Focus: A learning-centred approach, Hunt & Chalmers, 2012)
Example of article(Rosenthal and Sanger, 2013)
Rosenthal and Sanger (CERP 2013)
Research Question:How does viewing an animation
affect interpretations of a subsequent animation?
Theoretical Framework (Chemistry):
Animations improve visualisation skills
Theoretical Framework (Education):
Cognitive load in multimedia learning
Methods:Interview students as they
1. Watch a live demonstration2. Watch a simple/complex animation explaining demo at particulate level3. Watch a complex/simple animation explaining demo at particulate level
4. Discuss strengths and weaknesses of animations
Some Physics & Science Ed Journals European Journal of Physics American Journal of Physics Physical Review Special Topics - Physics
Education Research
International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
Higher education teaching, learning and assessment journals -see guide from Sally Brown; http://sally-brown.net/?s=handouts&submit=Search and select ‘Getting published in Journals (14)’
New Directions – an update from Prof. Derek Raine
http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/journal/ndir
Publishing on innovation and education research for a more general audience …
(e.g. Physics Teacher, Education in Chemistry)
EiC Education in Chemistry RSC’s flagship
education magazine Bimonthly Free to all UK & Irish
secondary school, college and undergraduate chemistry departments
Written by teachers for teachers
Education in Chemistry – Education Research News
Science Communication Tips – Getting it Published Do some research - does your proposed article
topic sit well with the publication overall? Know your audience Have a clear structure Sense check - does it flow well? Check the tone and style Is it engaging and readable? (Tell a story, use
examples and visuals) Pitch the idea to a friend - does it work?
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Free Writing Activity – Main Message
The message is the single most important point you need to make to express your purpose.
Step 1: “I want this article to….”
Step 2: Write your message sentence, the most important point you want to make.
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Next Steps for Planning an Academic Paper
Brown’s Eight Questions (Robert Brown, 1995)Brown, R. (1994) The ‘Big Picture’ about Managing Writing. In O. Zuber-Skerrit and Y. Ryan, (Ed) Quality in Postgraduate Education Ch 8 , pp90-109, Kogan Page : London
• Who are the intended readers?• What did you do?• Why did you do it?• What happened?• What do the results mean in theory?• What do the results mean in practice?• What is the key benefit for readers?• What remains unresolved?
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Murray’s 10 Prompts (Murray, Writing for Academic Journals, 2nd ed, 2009, page 129) can also be used to outline your paper• The work needed to be done because …• Those who will benefit from this include …• What I did was ..• How I did that was by …• When I did that, what happened was …• I worked out what that meant by …• I did what I set out to do to the extent that ….• The implications for research are …• The implications for practice are …• What still needs to be done is …
BibliographyChem Ed Research & Practice editorials;Quality in Chem Ed Research – 2012, 13, 4-7Types of Chem Ed Research - 2013, 14, 151-155Ethics - 2014, 15, 109-113Authorship – 2013, 14, 5-8
Grove & Overton, Getting Started in Pedagogic Research within the STEM Disciplines, 2013
University Teaching in Focus: A learning-centred approach, Hunt & Chalmers, 2012
Murray, Writing for Academic Journals, 2nd ed, 2009
Brown, R. (1994) The ‘Big Picture’ about Managing Writing. In O. Zuber-Skerrit and Y. Ryan, (Ed) Quality in Postgraduate Education Ch 8 , pp90-109, Kogan Page : London
Next Steps: Write a pitch for an article 1. Why do you want to write?
2. Choose Audience, topic
3. Specify Type of article
4. Develop your pitch Suitability, overview, outline structure, visuals