Traditional Educational Research Research Articles

Creating Transformative Research–Practice Partnership in Collaboration with School, City, and University Actors

Traditional educational research has been criticized for the gap between the research and practice communities, meaning that outcomes do not transfer to educational praxis. To meet this challenge, policymakers, funders, and researchers are developing research–practice partnerships (RPPs). The purpose of this research is to study the research–practice partnership as a strategy for educational transformation in the Finnish educational context. This study highlights the multifaceted perspectives of key RPP stakeholders: teachers, principals, municipality administrators, and researchers. Their experiences were explored through semi-structured interviews. The data were examined through content analysis and categorized into themes depicting the goals and goal-setting process in RPPs, the experiences of RPP activities, and the factors facilitating and challenging RPPs. The results show that stakeholders viewed the goals through the perspectives of professional development; supporting the growth and learning of students; and developing school, municipality, and research practices. Regular participation solidified the commitment to the RPP process. Horizontal interaction worked well between stakeholders, but challenges arose with vertical interaction. We found multiple roles for researchers and municipality administrators. Researchers found that they take on a new role in RPPs as change agents and facilitators. Regarding the facilitating or challenging aspects of RPPs, an open and flexible attitude and atmosphere and readiness for change are demanded on all actor levels. Mutual appreciation and sensitivity facilitate RPP activities. We propose taking all stakeholder perspectives into account when designing RPPs aimed at systemic change and that RPP processes should facilitate both horizontal and vertical interaction.

Unravelling Student Learning: Exploring Nonlinear Dynamics in Science Education

Abstract Background: Traditional education research often relies on static linear approaches to measure dynamic systems involved in student information processing, overlooking the complexity of learning. Emerging research in related fields acknowledges the highly dynamic and nonlinear nature of cognitive states and information processing. Current educational research methods, predominantly based on quantitative and qualitative "snapshot" examinations, inadequately capture the dynamic and nonlinear aspects of cognitive processing during learning. Objective: This study aims to explore nonlinear dynamics as a means to describe and understand student learning processes. Methods: This study analyzed actions of 158,000 high school students in science-based immersive video games, specifically focusing on task completion within a virtual setting. Students aged 14-18, enrolled in Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics programs, participated. Tasks, resembling Piagetian tasks, centered on volume conservation within a chemistry classroom context, employing the Student Task and Cognition Model (STAC-M) to emphasize computational cognition modeling. Results: The study tracked alterations in cognitive activations during information processing using derivatives, modeled through parameters from the authors' cognitive dataset. Employing the STAC-M model, achaotic attractors depicted convergence and sensitivity to initial conditions, reflecting cognitive associations and stability. Random data lacked the observed dynamic properties found in cognitive data, while bifurcation plots illustrated transitions from stability to chaos in cognitive processing pathways, highlighting the system's intricate nature. Conclusion: Modern science education explores beyond conventional assessments, acknowledging teaching methods' impact on students' cognitive processing. Achaotic attractors depict shifts from stable to unstable mental activities, highlighting the potential for diverse teaching approaches to minimize misconceptions and enable quicker transitions to responsive, stable learning states, aligning with educational objectives. Keyword: Cognition, Nonlinear Dynamics, Student Learning, Science Education.

New horizons for critical-emancipatory education research: the contributions of Roy Bhaskar’s critical realism

Objective: The following text shows the potential contributions offered by critical realism when it comes to generating an educational research structure that allows bringing to light knowledge that traditional educational research fails to show. Methodology: To do this, the following text reflects theoretically on how the study and analysis of social inclusion and anti-poverty programs existing in advanced Western societies could be approached through the analytical prism of critical realism. Results: Thus, from the analytical tools of critical realism, the limitations of these programs will be shown, both in their basic foundations and in their educational proposals fortraining for employability. Conclusions: Based on such limitations, alternative paths can be indicated in order to achieve a fairer society, among others the proposal for a universal basic income.

The Effect of Media Literacy and Cognitive Ability on Recognition Laptop-Based Media for Children

Education has long been the target of utopian interventions, and with technological interventions, offering to change drastically or even eliminates classroom-based learning, traditional education research needs to focus on introducing technology tools at an early age through media literacy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of media literacy and cognitive abilities on the introduction of laptop-based media. This study used a quasi-experimental design involving 46 children. Data collection techniques through tests and data collection tools using statement sheets, which were processed using t-test. The results showed that the experimental class using the original laptop media had a high average value of 86.66 compared to the control class using the imitation laptop media which had a value of 81.66. There is a significant effect of media literacy and cognitive ability on the introduction of laptop-based media in children. On the introduction of laptop-based media in children, media literacy and cognitive capacities can have a big impact. The comparison of the average value of the control and experimental classes demonstrates this. When children are introduced to media via a genuine laptop, they become more excited and engaged in the experimental lesson.
 Keywords: media literacy, cognitive ability, laptop-based learning media

Does one size fit all? Investigating the effect of group size and gamification on learners’ behaviors in higher education

Gamification—the use of game elements in serious contexts, has been prevalent to enhance users’ motivation and engagement in difficult activities. In the literature related to higher education, the use of gamification has emerged as a new pedagogical approach in order to improve students’ learning behaviors. On the other hand, traditional education research suggested that working in groups can enhance students’ learning behaviors. However, no study has been found in the literature that investigates these two distinct concepts in education domain. Therefore, this research aims to explore the effect of different group sizes and gamification on students’ learning behaviors. For this purpose, the study has explored the comparison between gamification and traditional classroom settings on students’ learning behavior with different group sizes: individual, small group, and large group settings. Further, the comparison of students’ learning behaviors in gamification environment within different group settings over time has also been investigated in this research. The analysis suggests that different group sizes can have varying impacts on students’ perception of the course in gamification environment over time. Moreover, it was observed that group size only affects students’ interest, comparison, and discouragement in gamification environment, but does not affect their effort, perceived choice, perceived competence, tension, or motivation. Also, it was found that gamification does not affect the perceived competence of students in any of the group settings. These results can be useful in future decisions about the optimal classroom size, group activities, and group sizes in other activities in larger classrooms.

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a Practical Lens to Guide Classroom Action Research in the Biology Classroom

Classroom action research (CAR) represents a midpoint between teacher reflection at one end and traditional educational research at the other. CAR is a process in which a teacher identifies problems in the context of his or her own classroom and then engages in investigative methods to address the problems. Teachers sometimes shy away from CAR, due to their lack of training in research methodology, time constraints, and the fact that not all schools value or support such a scholarship of teaching and learning. I show how cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) could be used as a practical lens when engaging in CAR, and how this could help biology teachers become more reflective practitioners by using a rigorous tool to analyze data. Third-generation CHAT is explained and the reader is shown, through a practical example, how research findings could be analyzed and interpreted through a CHAT lens.

Online Learning as a Wind Tunnel for Improving Teaching

AbstractAttempts to improve teaching through research have met with limited success. This is, in part, due to the fact that teaching is a complex cultural system that has evolved over long periods of time—multiply determined and inherently resistant to change. But it is also true that research on teaching is difficult to carry out. Using traditional educational research methodologies, testing new methods of teaching requires, first, that teachers be able to implement the method at a scale sufficient for study, that random assignment of teachers to conditions can be feasibly carried out, and that ecological validity of the treatment can be preserved. In this chapter, we propose an alternative approach that combines the affordances of online learning with the methodologies of systems improvement. Using an analogy from the development of the airplane, we discuss how online learning might be a wind tunnel for the study and improvement of teaching.

Improving academic success for students with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

Students with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) often struggle to achieve academic success not only due to symptom interference, but also because educators may lack an understanding of the cognitive and learning deficits that accompany the illness. Traditional education research may lead teachers to employ less-than-effective strategies and accommodations to support students with this illness. Recent findings from neurocognitive research provide greater insight into the cognitive deficits that accompany ME/CFS and also suggest more effective classroom strategies. The purpose of this paper is to outline the cognitive and classroom challenges faced by students with ME/CFS, and to provide examples of sensible accommodations for those problems. These accommodations are intended to improve the academic success of students with this debilitating illness.

Animation Stimuli System for Research on Instructor Gestures in Education.

Education research has shown that instructor gestures can help capture, maintain, and direct the student's attention during a lecture as well as enhance learning and retention. Traditional education research on instructor gestures relies on video stimuli, which are time consuming to produce, especially when gesture precision and consistency across conditions are strictly enforced. The proposed system allows users to efficiently create accurate and effective stimuli for complex studies on gesture, without the need for computer animation expertise or artist talent.

BRAIN ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSLATION BETWEEN GRAPHICAL AND SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FUNCTIONS IN GENERALLY GIFTED AND EXCELLING IN MATHEMATICS ADOLESCENTS

In this study, we examine the impact and the interplay of general giftedness (G) and excellence in mathematics (EM) on high school students’ mathematical performance associated with translations from graphical to symbolic representations of functions, as reflected in cortical electrical activity (by means of ERP—event-related potentials—methodology). We report on findings of comparative data analysis based on 75 right-handed male high school students (16 – 18 years old) divided into four research groups designed by a combination of EM and G factors. Effects of EM factor appeared at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. The fifth group of participants included 9 students with extraordinary mathematical abilities (S-MG: super mathematically gifted). We found that in EM participants, the G factor has no impact on the performance associated with translation between representations of the functions. The highest overall electrical activity is found in excelling in mathematics students who are not identified as generally gifted (NG-EM students). This increased electrical activity can be an indicator of increased cognitive load in this group of students. We identified accumulative and unique characteristics of S-MG at the behavioral and electrophysiological levels. We explain the findings by the nature of the tasks used in the study. We argue that a combination of the ERP techniques along with more traditional educational research methods enables obtaining reliable measures on the mental processing involved in learning mathematics and mathematical problem solving.

Back to Our Roots

This article argues for a scholarly research agenda in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) for the broad discipline of professional communication by distinguishing SoTL from other types of teacher-scholar practice, including anecdotal publications, action research, traditional educational research, and scholarly teaching. Doing so carefully positions SoTL as an extension of the pedagogical roots of business and technical communication and as a way to reinforce our teaching fortes, unite the fields within the discipline via research, and strengthen arguments for disciplinarity and academic respect.

Informing Science and Andragogy: A Conceptual Scheme of Client-Side Barriers to Informing University Students

Introduction The teaching of adults, or andragogy, is an important social and economic reality. Colleges and universities are applying andragogical theories to their curriculum in order to tap this rich source of students. Further, the widespread availability of the Internet, combined with the proliferation of computer technology, has heightened interest in andragogy. Burge (1988) noted that, DL research, as opposed to traditional education research, focuses more on how adults learn. In the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, in 2005, 44 percent of American adults aged 17 and older participated in program, class, or course (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, 2007). Because the continuing education of adults increases the private, social, and economic value of our human capital (Lang, 2003), it is important to identify, understand, address, and overcome barriers and biases working against adult learning. In this research, we look to two fields, informing science and education, to aid in this quest. Overview of the Goals and Methodology of this Research This paper does not report upon an empirical study. Rather, our goal is to combine education and informing science research to develop conceptual model that will assist university professors and students in identifying and overcoming barriers to informing. Since full study of all barriers, those on the part of the informer, the channel, and the client, would be too extensive for single paper, we focus in this manuscript on the client-side barriers, i.e., those inherent in the student or the student's immediate situation. In terms of methodology, we look first at informing science research. Then we consider existing education research on teaching at the university level. Thirdly, we use research from both these domains to develop conceptual scheme of client-side barriers to informing university students. Gill (2011b) noted that the development of conceptual scheme has as its goal, not representing absolute truth (for that is the job of theory), but rather providing useful way to conceptualize. Our model is designed to assist faculty and students in conceptualizing barriers to learning at the university level. After developing the model, we evaluate it by using Gill's (2011b) principle that defines usefulness as the intersection of three characteristics: relevant, acceptable, and potentially actionable. Finally, we conclude with consideration of the contributions, limitations, and future implications of this work. A Note about Terminology While the education literature speaks primarily of barriers, the informing science literature also uses the term filters. Similarly, where the education literature speaks of teacher, faculty member, or instructor, the informing science literature uses the term informer. Where the education literature speaks of educational technology, learning management systems, and specific methods or pedagogies, the informing science literature refers to channels. Since this research is focused on the intersection of informing science and education, we use these sets of terms interchangeably, relying more on traditional education terminology when discussing education and on informing science terminology when discussing informing science. Background: Barriers in Informing Science Informing science has been defined as a trans-disciplinary study of systems that employ information to impact (Gill, 2011a). Note that clientele are not passive recipients of information; as Gill noted in the same address, most informing is both reciprocal and iterative. Nature of Barriers and Bias in Informing Barriers to informing may be defined as anything that leads to misinformation or disinformation. Cohen (2000a) defines four types of errors that lead to failure to inform: data transcription or intentional data misrepresentation, errors in data interpretation, errors related to solving the wrong problem, and filtering errors. …

Evidence from cognitive neuroscience for the role of graphical and algebraic representations in understanding function

Using traditional educational research methods, it is difficult to assess students’ understanding of mathematical concepts, even though qualitative methods such as task observation and interviews provide some useful information. It has now become possible to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe brain activity whilst students think about mathematics, although much of this work has concentrated on number. In this study, we used fMRI to examine brain activity whilst ten university students translated between graphical and algebraic formats of both linear and quadratic mathematical functions. Consistent with previous studies on the representation of number, this task elicited activity in the intra-parietal sulcus, as well as in the inferior frontal gyrus. We also analysed qualitative data on participants’ introspection of strategies employed when reasoning about function. Expert participants focused more on key properties of functions when translating between formats than did novices. Implications for the teaching and learning of functions are discussed, including the relationship of function properties to difficulties in conversion from algebraic to graphical representation systems and vice versa, the desirability of teachers focusing attention on function properties, and the importance of integrating graphical and algebraic function instruction.

Modeling Educational Quality and Student Loyalty: A Quantitative Approach Based on the Theory of Information Cascades

Customer loyalty is widely accepted as a critical factor in the long-term success of a service organization. This study develops a model of information cascades-based student loyalty (ICSL) by embedding information cascades in the context of educational services with insight from more traditional educational research. In the ICSL model, student loyalty is influenced directly by the perceived quality of teaching services (QTS), the perceived signal of retention (PSR), and the perceived quality of administrative services (QAS), while also being influenced indirectly by QTS, QAS, and perceived others’ retention via the mediation of PSR. This study tests the ICSL model using the structural equation modeling approach, implementing empirical data from a survey done on a large private university in Taiwan. The test results reveal that PSR is significantly influenced by QTS, QAS, and perceived others’ retention. Accordingly, the influence of QAS on student loyalty is insignificant, while the influences of QTS and PSR on student loyalty are conversely significant. Finally, implications are also discussed.

Performing Arts-Based Education Research: An Epic Drama of Practice, Precursors Problems and Possibilities

Metaphorically and physically structured as a drama in seven scenes, this article characterizes the contested theories, internal tensions, and conflicts across disciplinary practices of arts-based education research (ABER). The drama contributes to the field of art education by providing an overview of ABER theories and the varied manifestations across dance, drama, music, and visual arts disciplines. The author's transdisciplinary review begins by examining risks and challenges that ABER poses to traditional education research. Citing multiple performances, this article illustrates how ABER methodologies are grounded in specific sensibilities, aesthetic traditions, and social commitments. The author imagines 20th-century artists' works that might serve as precursors to contemporary ABER productions and differentiate community-based research performances from object(ive) re-searching and producing traditions. After examining obstacles arresting ABER's development, the article closes with a discussion of changing academic technological practices impacting ABER's potentialities and offers recommendations for additional research.

Now and forever: portraits of qualitative research in Korea

The purpose of this article is to explore the recent qualitative research movement in South Korea: its initiation, challenges and ultimate acceptance. Intellectual achievements are reviewed extensively to provide Western readers with a better understanding of Korean scholarship in qualitative studies. To prepare the manuscript, related literature was reviewed, and interviews were conducted with those making major contributions to the Korea qualitative research movement. Qualitative research exemplars conducted in Korean contexts are juxtaposed against studies conducted in Western contexts. The authors suggest that the Korean research community build a subjective educational theory that works best in its own practice. The authors conclude this article with a reflective tale assessing their initial missions toward deconstructing the culture of traditional educational research and acknowledgement of the numerous challenges that remain.

Physics education research: the key to student learning

Physics education research differs from traditional education research in that the emphasis is not on educational theory or methodology in the general sense, but rather on student understanding of physics. Such research requires an in-depth knowledge of the subject as well as access to students, which means that it can usually only be carried out by physicists working in physics departments. The findings form a rich resource that provides insights into how students learn physics. When teachers apply this information and document the results for others to use, cumulative improvement in instruction is possible (L C McDermott and E F Redish 1999 Am. J. Phys. 67 755–767).

Modeling and Managing Student Loyalty

The loyalty of customers is widely accepted as a critical factor in the long-term success of a service firm. In this article, the authors develop a model of student loyalty by combining the growing body of knowledge on relationship marketing in the context of services with insights from more traditional educational research. Their relationship quality-based student loyalty (RQSL) model proposes that student loyalty is mainly determined by the dimensions of relationship quality. The model also includes students’ integration into the university system and external commitment as second-order factors. The authors test the RQSL model using the structural equation modeling approach and empirical data from a survey of several German universities. Among other things, the results indicate that the quality of teaching and the students’ emotional commitment to their institution are crucial for student loyalty. However, there are clear differences between the results obtained from different courses of study.

Experimental-longitudinal methods in assessment, research, and treatment.

The experimental-longitudinal methods to be described here have a long history of development (Staats, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1975, 1977). The present author, to begin, made the first behavior analyses for the modification of problem behaviors, analyses which were formally verified by Ayllon and Michael (1959). Relatively simple behaviors and (primarily) social reinforcers were employed in the author's early demonstrations and in Ayllon and Michael's study. These are not apropos, however, to the complex human behaviors that are acquired over long periods of time. On the one hand, Skinner's (Ferster & Skinner, 1957; Sidman, 1960)singlesubject research methodology with animals is not appropriate with long-term learning involving complex, variegated stimuli and behaviors. But on the other hand, neither are the group methods of traditional experimental psychology. Traditional educational research, while dealing with complex learning tasks and behavior, sometimes over long periods of time, does not analyze training procedures and achievements in detail. Further, although longitudinal studies have been made in child development, the conditions that produce such development have not been specifically observed, on the assumption that much of development is due to maturation. These various methods of research thushave provided important knowledge, but they do not answer questions concerning specific training procedures for specific behavioral skills involving complex learning procedures and long duration of training, where repertoires of skills, instead of simple responses, are involved, possibly arranged in hierarchical order with one repertoire basic to the next (see Staats, 1968). In continuing the work he had introduced, the author extended the principles of classical and instrumental conditioning to more complex functional behaviors by use of the experimental-longitudinal methods first developed in naturalistic situations involving his own infant child. Behavior analyses were first made of a number of behavioral repertoires, and the author then devised training 323