Research Week 6

Boy, have I been busy! 

I spent this past week working on revising my literature review. Luckily Amy only gave me minor suggestions for improving my paper. I nailed down (I hope) the way I'm going to refer to the index cards throughout my Capstone (web-based index cards). I added some performance statistics to some of the sections as well. As much as I wish my first copy was perfect, I really appreciate the feedback Amy gives us on each assignment. I feel like my research project is going to be great once I'm done with it, because of her help.

From there I moved on to my learner and context analysis. I spent about an hour putting the information about my students into writing. It really made me think about my classes that I'll be using in this study. I looked into the male to female ratio, the test scores, and teacher recommendations of my students. I also spent some time really thinking about the context that the index cards would be created in. I discussed the wireless accessibility of the classroom. 

Today, I spent a lot time finishing up my "Needs Analysis Findings." I performed each of the items earlier in the month, and each time I received results, I filed them away in a nice safe place (without looking at them much). This past weekend I started analyzing the actual responses/scores, so that I would be able to report them today. I really enjoyed this part of the paper. Reading my students responses to the survey was most interesting. I knew I had one student without internet at home, but I never thought to ask the other students just how they were getting online. Some use laptops/desktops, some use cell phones, some use tablets, etc. I spent about 4 hours today writing the analysis before submitting the draft.

Now, I'm onto my goals and objectives. I'd really like to finish these up today. I've got some packing to do- my husband and I (and 6 of our friends) are off to Puerto Rico on Friday night! 

Oh and did I mention...

That's right, I've joined the ranks of the Wrights and the Eikers- My husband and I are expecting in May! :)

  

Research Week 5

So this week has been entirely about the Lit Review. I spent about two hours each day last week researching each of the topics I mentioned in my blog post last week.

Then I looked at the requirements again, and noticed that I was completely ignoring the part about "learning theory." The dreaded learning theory. So I spent another two hours Saturday researching "Cognitive Constructivism" (vs. social constructivism). This actually made things a lot easier. It did a great job of explaining the "cumulative learning" theory Gagne discussed in the paper from the 60's that I had been using. More recent sources, jackpot!

I also spent an hour on Saturday creating an outline for my literature review and getting the heading in place, copying my reference list over and getting things set up for Sunday

All day Sunday was dedicated to organizing my information and writing about each topic. I started out by writing my introduction. That took a lot more time than expected. It was tough putting all of my ideas together into one main thought. I also changed some of the titles of the topics I mentioned last week. Instead of "ePortfolios," I talked about "digital note taking." I found through my research that digital note taking and digital curation were much more appropriate names for what my students would be doing.

I also included a section on "mobile devices in the classroom," or "BYOD."

I'm not quite finished my literature review, I still need to write up the section on "self-regulation of studying in middle school math." That will be my job tonight.

Boy is research tough!

Research Week 4

My goal this week was to start getting down to business on the research for the lit review. I downloaded Amy's "Problem Sheet 3" to start organizing my ideas for the lit review. This helped me break my research into three categories:

1. Retention of math for cumulative learning- basically the importance of retaining math concepts through out the year in order to build on that knowledge.
2. Self regulation of studying for math- I'm looking into research done on how students study for math assessments, as well as how they do (or don't ) regulate their studying time and habits.
3. ePortfolios in middle school mathematics- how have they been used in the past, as well as what research has been done to confirm the value of portfolios for studying and retaining math.

So far, these are the search terms I've been using in Ed Research Complete. I've spent a few hours locating resources and journal articles and plan to start building my lit review piece by piece this week.

Research Week 3

I have spent this past week working on a variety on things for my Capstone.

First, I worked on getting my topic paper and needs analysis papers finalized. Who knew you needed a period after a level three heading?!

After this was complete, I spent Monday and Tuesday nights working on creating my needs analysis tools. I created a survey for my students about their accessibility to the internet and other technology tools. I also asked them to provide any experience that they have had in the past using web-based study tools and applications. The students were also asked how they usually study for a math quiz or test, and whether they felt like they would be likely to use a web based study tool. I actually assigned the survey to my students over the weekend, so I will be able to start looking over the data this week.

I also made a rubric for observing my student's note-taking skills. This way I have a concrete way to collect data on my student's current note-taking strategies.

I also spent some time looking into what Southern requires for parent consent for research involving our students. I talked to Dr. Brahn about what was required or what forms may be available at Southern. She said that when she did her research, she created her own permission form that she sent home to parents. She said she'd look into it further for me, but I also plan on talking to my supervisor about it today.

The last research based item I worked on this week was my research article critique. I found two articles that I wanted to look at deeper. I started critiquing the articles, and have narrowed it down to one of them. So my goal for this afternoon is to write up the critique and submit it a few days early.