Amanda Nolen

Action Research in Education: Addressing Gaps in Ethical Principles and Practices:

Action research in education has gained increasing attention in the past 20 years. It is viewed as a practical yet systematic research method that enables teachers to investigate their own teaching and their students’ learning. However, the ethical issues unique to this form of insider research have received less attention. Drawing on several professional associations’ principles for research practice, the authors identify a series of potential ethical issues inherent in action research in K–12 schools and the corresponding difficulties that action researchers encounter with the policies and procedures of institutional review boards. The authors conclude with recommendations for future practice addressed to three groups: institutional review boards, K–12 school professionals and teacher educators, and national professional and representative organizations.

Young Adult Literature Research in the 21st Century

The study of young adult literature (YAL) as both an art form and teaching tool is in its infancy. Barely 50 years old, this emerging genre began to establish a presence in the canon of both classical and popular literature. As a developing field of inquiry, however, YAL struggles for legitimacy and prestige. The purpose of this article is to issue a call to educational researchers to shift the focus of current YAL research from teaching the content (text analysis research) to that of student learning in the classroom (empirical research). Doing so would increase the legitimacy and influence of the genre and establish its jurisdiction within the educational research arena as a valuable and viable subject worthy of investigation.

Surviving the Legitimacy Challenge

Now is the time, the authors argue, for schools of education, in conjunction with school and community partners, to get serious about creating good examples of professional practice and preparation. Failure to do so will put the whole enterprise of teacher education in jeopardy. TEACHER educators live in a new world. This is a world of accountability, competition, alternatives, and serious questioning of the need for university-based teacher education. Even five years ago, it was unthinkable that university teacher education programs would be facing serious challenges to their legitimacy and importance. Many teacher education faculty members still deny that such a threat exists, but they are wrong. Those of us who have been working seriously on teacher education reform for the past 15 or so years have until recently viewed this work as an internal university agenda -- how to improve our campus-based programs. The game has changed radically. In Texas, where we work, school districts, regional educational service centers, community colleges, and for-profit companies now provide almost one-third of the teacher education programs. In the last legislative session, a bill was narrowly defeated that would have allowed Texas school districts to hire anyone they thought could do the job, regardless of credentials, and then decide what teacher education these teachers needed. We have lost our exclusive franchise, and most states are in similar situations or not far behind. Teaching as a Profession Politicians, the media, and scholars are currently polarized over the issue of teacher education reform. Either they advocate the professionalization of teaching or they push for the deregulation of teacher preparation and an end to the monopoly that institutions of higher education have held in this area.1 This debate grows out of public concern and agreement that 1) there is a teacher shortage and 2) a teacher shortage would be detrimental to the education of the youths of the United States. Institutions of higher education have been primarily responsible for the training and supply of effective, qualified teachers but are having increasing difficulty meeting the demand in many states. The drive to professionalize teaching and teacher education has been spearheaded by the National Commission on Teaching and Americas Future and forwarded through the joint efforts of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium.2 These projects reflect a broad-based effort to develop a consistent nationwide approach to teacher education based on high standards for the initial preparation, licensing, and certification of teachers. Proponents of teacher education advocate standards-based teacher preparation and professional development as well as teacher assessments based on performance across the professional life span. On the other side of the argument, those who advocate the deregulation of teacher preparation maintain that the requirements of state licensing agencies and schools of education are unnecessary hurdles that prevent qualified, bright people from entering the field of teaching. They promote alternative programs as viable routes into teaching and want to establish local control for determining the qualifications of teachers. Under this approach, districts would have the freedom to determine the hiring criteria for their teachers, and anyone with content knowledge and a bachelors degree could be quickly placed in the classroom without having any formal pedagogical training. The issue at hand is whether or not the profession of teaching is indeed a profession and whether or not becoming a teacher requires learning a specialized body of pedagogical knowledge and a specialized set of skills. Teacher educators maintain that teaching is a profession as legitimate as the medical profession or the legal profession. …

Comparing Results from Constant Comparative and Computer Software Methods: A Reflection About Qualitative Data Analysis

This study compared qualitative research results obtained by manual constant comparative analysis with results obtained by computer software analysis of the same data. An investigated about issues of trustworthiness and accuracy ensued. Results indicated that the inductive constant comparative data analysis generated 51 codes and two coding levels of increasing specificity, and the deductive Tropes computer software analysis generated 728 codes and six coding levels of increasing specificity. The constant comparative data analysis results confirmed previous research, but were restricted in scope by human cognitive limits and dataset size. The computer software enabled data analysis and presentation in much more depth, but required much more knowledge about the phenomenon being investigated to facilitate accurate interpretation of results.

Qualitative Analysis of Written Reflections during a Teaching Certificate Program.

Objective. To evaluate the success of a teaching certificate program by qualitatively evaluating the content and extent of participants’ reflections. Methods. Two investigators independently identified themes within midpoint and final reflection essays across six program years. Each essay was evaluated to determine the extent of reflection in prompted teaching-related topic areas (strengths, weaknesses, assessment, feedback). Results. Twenty-eight themes were identified within 132 essays. Common themes encompassed content delivery, student assessment, personal successes, and challenges encountered. Deep reflection was exhibited, with 48% of essays achieving the highest level of critical reflection. Extent of reflection trended higher from midpoint to final essays, with significant increases in the strengths and feedback areas. Conclusion. The teaching certificate program fostered critical reflection and self-reported positive behavior change in teaching, thus providing a high-quality professional development opportunity. Such programs should strongly consider emphasizing critical reflection through required reflective exercises at multiple points within program curricula.

A measurements laboratory built around a digitally-sampled microphone circuit

In Fall of 2017, a series of measurement laboratory exercises, built around a microphone preamplifier and filter, were used in teaching an engineering measurement techniques course. The microphone circuit included a preamplifier that introduced JFETs, a virtual ground and buffer to illustrate loading effects, a high pass filter and a low pass filter, and a zener-diode-based limiter. The data were sampled using a beaglebone microcontrollers built-in analog-to-digital converter. The data was transmitted to matlab for post-processing and analysis. The microphone was then used in the Spring 2018 acoustics class. A variety of projects, including a Kundt’s tube, a driven closed-open pipe, a 3D printed horn for a blue-tooth speaker, and an absorptivity measurement for a restaurant’s wall treatment tiles, were completed in the course. It was observed that students showed improved interest in the material (increased in-class and out-of-class questions about specifics of the course material related to the project, increased exploration of material outside the provided course materials, full participation by all members of the class in the project) and learning (improved test scores after the project began relative to scores before the project began) relative to earlier classes where no experimental component was included.

The Protagonist and Their Avatar: Learner Characteristics in a Culture of Simulation

Given the active and authentic nature of Massively-Multiplayer Online Games, researchers have begun to question the use of this virtual setting as a teaching / learning tool (Barab et al., 2010; Squire, 2006). Specific findings in virtual environments show that several personal factors mediate an individuals experiences within that environment (Przybylski, Rigby, & Ryan, 2010). Although physical-world research has focused on the personal factor of personality and its influence on learning (Caprara et al., 2011; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic, & McDougall, 2003; Gallagher, 1996; Olesen, Thomsen, Schnieber & Tonnesvang, 2010), very little research on personality within virtual settings has been conducted. Thus, it is important to explore more about personality changes between individuals and their avatars in virtual settings. Findings from the current study show statistically different personality score for individuals and their avatars across all domains of the Five-Factor Model. However, for three of the domains, Neuroticism, Openness, and Conscientiousness, consistent patterns of difference existed. Overall implications for these findings are discussed.