Topics in Special Education Research SPED 596 CRN: 82488
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Transcript of Topics in Special Education Research SPED 596 CRN: 82488
Topics in Special Education ResearchSPED 596 CRN: 82488
Sheldon Loman, PhD. Summer 2012Contact: [email protected]
Positive Behavior Support
Educational Systems Change
Instructional Practices for
People w/ Significant Disabilities
This Evening’s Agenda
• Course Syllabus & Assignments
• Student Information Sheet• Break• Brief Lecture• Activity• Dismissal
Course StructureThis class will be taught using an adapted interteaching method
(Boyce & Hineline, 2002; Saville et al., 2005). Interteaching methods are based on common research-based
practices in college teaching, including reciprocal peer tutoring, problem based learning, and cooperative learning (Saville, Zinn, Neef, Van Norman, & Ferrari, 2006).
Review: Based on feedback Quiz: Short quiz after review
Discussion: Use discussion guide with partner(s)
Self-evaluation & Feedback:Evaluate quality of interactions & topics requiring further clarification
Walk-through Course Structure
“Mock Review”
Review: Based on feedback Quiz: Short quiz after review
Research Defined
• Research is a systematic process for asking (and answering) questions.The research question(s) being asked
determine the research methodology and specific research design used
In our field, research guides (a) our understanding of basic
mechanisms of behavior, and (b) our identification of effective (or
“more effective”) clinical interventions.• Evidence-based practice• Research is one way to “fix beliefs”
Why do research?
Four Functions of Educational Research:1. Description2. Prediction3. Improvement4. Explanation….of an educational phenomenon
Description
• Heavily dependent upon instrumentation for measurement & observation
• Increase our knowledge about what happens in schools
• E.g., “Amazing Grace” OR “Shame of a Nation” by Jonathan Kozol
Prediction• Ability to predict a phenomenon that
will occur at time Y from information available at an earlier time X.
• E.g., student’s achievement in school can be predicted accurately by an aptitude test administered a year or two earlier. OR
• Identification of students who are likely to be unsuccessful as their education progresses in order to prevent drop-out.
Improvement
• Concerns the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve practice.
• E.g., drug therapies in medicine, reading/writing/math interventions to improve students’ academic achievement
Explanation
• Considered the “most important” in the long term (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007)
• If able to explain a phenomenon this means you can: describe it, predict its consequences, & know how to intervene to change those consequences
• Explanations are usually framed as theories• E.g., self-determination theory, feminist
theory
Mock Quiz
Complete the student information sheet/ quiz (not graded!)
Correct Quiz
Self-grade quiz
Research Defined
• Research is a systematic process for asking (and answering) questions.The research question(s) being asked
determine the research methodology and specific research design used
In our field, research guides (a) our understanding of basic
mechanisms of behavior, and (b) our identification of effective (or
“more effective”) clinical interventions.• Research is one way to “fix beliefs”
Why do research?
Four Functions of Research:1. Description2. Prediction3. Improvement4. Explanation….of an educational phenomenon
Description
• Heavily dependent upon instrumentation for measurement & observation
• Increase our knowledge about what happens in schools
• E.g., “Amazing Grace” OR “Shame of a Nation” by Jonathan Kozol
Prediction• Ability to predict a phenomenon that
will occur at time Y from information available at an earlier time X.
• E.g., student’s achievement in school can be predicted accurately by an aptitude test administered a year or two earlier. OR
• Identification of students who are likely to be unsuccessful as their education progresses in order to prevent drop-out.
Improvement
• Concerns the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve practice.
• E.g., drug therapies in medicine, reading/writing/math interventions to improve students’ academic achievement
Explanation
• Considered the “most important” in the long term (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007)
• If able to explain a phenomenon this means you can: describe it, predict its consequences, & know how to intervene to change those consequences
• Explanations are usually framed as theories• E.g., self-determination theory, feminist
theory
New Vocabulary Words…In Chapter 1
What data/info do quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods researcher’s collect?:
• Quantitative: Numerical data
• Qualitative: Words, pictures & artifacts
• Mixed: Both types of data
Define subject or participant or stakeholder: Individual you are studying
-Person from who you collect data
Participant- more common due to the role that individuals play in research process
Stakeholder- used more frequently when evaluating a program
Define Independent variable (IV) or predictor variable:Independent variable=
Intervention/treatment manipulated for different groups or at different times (e.g., literacy training).
Predictor variable= Inherent characteristics that are different between groups (e.g., studying gender differences)
Dependent variable (DV) & criterion variable: Variable that the researcher is interested in
measuring to determine how it is different for groups with different experiences (dependent) or characteristics (criterion) .
Dependent variable: Measured/outcome variable
Experimental & control groups• Experimental group- receives
intervention
• Control group- business as usual, no intervention
Population & Sample
• Population: Group to whom you want to apply your results (e.g., teachers in a school district; n=800)
• Sample: group that you have chosen from your population from which to collect data (e.g., n=80 teachers from a school district selected to interview/survey)
Prepared by M. Hara ([email protected])
Population
Prepared by M. Hara ([email protected])
Sample
Generalizability & Transferability Generalizability: researcher’s ability to
generalize results from sample to the population from which it was drawn.
Transferability: In qualitative research, results enable readers to make judgments to link to their own situations.
Course Structure
Review: Based on feedback Quiz: Short quiz after review
Discussion: Use discussion guide with partner(s)
Dyadic Discussion• Each day you will come to class with a
completed (typed & printed) discussion guide (based on what you read)
• This will guide your discussion with partners
• For today, please read the sample study handed to you (also within text) and complete the discussion guide for this one study (10 minutes).
• Then get into a group with 4 other people who read different sample studies and discuss similarities & differences between the different studies (15 minutes)
Course Structure
Brief Lecture
Fixing Beliefs
• History (It has always been that way)
• Authority (It is true because an important person says it is)
• Logic (It seems like it ought to be true)
• Experience (We saw it work…or… “it worked for me”)
• Experimental Analysis (Systematic analysis using the scientific method with objective exposure to disproof).
• Dangers in fixing beliefs: Bruno Bettelheim (1967)• “Refrigerator Mother” theory of autism
Activity: Define a FACT
A) about life in general B) about an intervention in your field, and the effect of that
intervention. What is the source of your knowledge?
History Authority Logic Experience Experimental Analysis
Why do research?
Four Functions of Research:1. Description2. Prediction3. Improvement4. Explanation….of an educational phenomenon
Overall first step to the research process is identifying your own worldview
Major Paradigms in Research• Paradigm: way of looking at the world• 4 major Paradigms (from Mertens, 2010)
1. Postpositivism2. Constructivist3. Transformative4. Pragmatic
Postpositivism
AKA: ExperimentalQuasi-experimentalCorrelationalCausal comparative (examined after the
fact; ex post facto)QuantitativeRandomized control trials (RCT)
Postpositivism
• Dominant paradigm that guided early educational and psychological research
• Importance of objectivity & generalizability
• Suggest researchers modify their claims of understandings of truth based on probability, rather than certainty
ConstructivistAKA:NaturalisticPhenomenological (as perceived by the
actors) Hermeneutic (interpretive understanding or
meaning) Symbolic interactionEthnographicQualitativeParticipatory action research
Constructivist Paradigm
• Reality is socially constructed by people active in the research process
• Researchers should attempt to understand the complex world of lived experience from the point of view of those who live it (Schwandt, 2000)
• Research is a product of values of researchers and cannot be independent of them.
Transformative
AKA:Critical theoryNeo-MarxistFeminist theoriesFreireanParticipatoryEmancipatoryPostcolonial/indigenousQueer Theory
Disability TheoriesAction Research
Transformative Paradigm
• Directly addresses the politics in research by confronting social oppression at whatever level it occurs (Reason, 1994)
• Consciously and explicitly position themselves side by side with the less powerful in a joint effort to bring about social transformation.
Pragmatic ParadigmAKA:
Mixed MethodsMixed ModelsParticipatory
• Goal is to search for useful points of connection.
In-Class Activity Part 1.
• Review the Table on page 11 of textbook OR copy handed out
• Work with 2-3 other people and explain which paradigm resonates most with you & why
• Be willing to share your biases
Features of the Scientific Process Public process Operational description of variables Measurement
Quantifiable Reliable (consistent) Valid (accurate)
Replicable (measurement, intervention) Exposure to disproof (research design) Objective analysis
Steps in the Research/Scientific Process
1. Identify socially important issue
2. Review current literature
3. Define conceptual model
4. Define specific hypothesis(es) and research question(s)
5. Define dependent variable(s)/measure
6. Identify independent variable(s)/measures
7. Select appropriate research design
8. Obtain consents 9. Collect data 10. Analyze data 11. Communicate
results Written presentation Oral presentation
Socially Important Issue
Conceptual Model Inferences/Hypotheses
Dependent Variable(s) Dependent Variable Measures
Research Question
Independent Variable(s) Independent Variable Measures
Research Design
Elements of a Research Model
Socially Important Issue
Conceptual Model Inferences/Hypotheses
Dependent Variable(s) Dependent Variable Measures
Research Question
Independent Variable(s) Independent Variable Measures
Research Design
Generalization of Academic Skills
Stimulus Control Theory/ General Case Programming (GCP)
Bring target responses under control of stimuli that are present in generalization contexts
Is there a functional relation between use of GCP and performance under non-trained conditions?
Performance under non-trained conditions.
Percentage of non-trained trials performed correctly
General Case Programming Selection and sequencing of training example that sample relevant stimulus variation: GCP fidelity checklistMultiple Baseline Across
Students
1. Socially Important Issue:
2. Conceptual Model/Hypothesis:
3. Research Question(s):
4. Dependent Variable:
5. Dependent Variable Measure:
6. Independent Variable:
7. Independent Variable Measure:
8. Research Design:
Write down 3 socially important research topics that are of interest to you.
What possible variables are you interested in measuring/describing? ◦ E.g., increased sight words for students with
severe disabilities, fidelity of implementation of a program by teachers/staff.
Find others who are interested in your topic.
In-Class Activity Part 2.
Do you have style? (APA) style? Short Group Quiz!
http://www.uvu.edu/owl/infor/test_n_games/practice_tests/apa.htm
Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/
560/15/
Self-evaluation & FeedbackPlease complete self-evaluation
sheet and feedback form