A Perspective of Research
Derek de Witt
MichiganStateUniversity
Introduction
Research methods, raising questions, random sampling, assignment and the ability to build an inferential bridge between the study group and the generalized group that is introduced in this class gives me the hopes and dreams that the great majority of our future young people will be made real by public education. The challenge for the field of education is to bring diverse communities—both scientific and otherwise—together to integrate theories and empirical findings across domains, cultures and methods (Feuer, Towne, Shavelson).Disciplined Inquiry methods differ among disciplines and there is no single best method pertaining to solve the question of essence. Education is a field of study, a locus containing phenomena, events, institutions, problems, persons, and processes, which themselves constitute the raw material for inquiries of many kinds (Shulman). It is from the diversity of these disciplines in Educational Inquiry that methods are formulated. The author’s field of specialization is in the area of learning, technology and culture (LTC), concentrating on the design and improvement of educational practice and expertise through the use of technology.
Learning about Education Inquiry
As promising researchers in the field of educational research, it is essential that we define and defend when we conduct research which is done through reasoning and persuasion. There are guidelines for research to be scientific however, just like all rules there are exceptions. If one is able to provide proof and did look into confounding variables, it is a good start in identifying and determining what the exceptions are. In any real research, the first bottleneck issue is that of problem identification: being able to focus on problems that are difficult and meaningful but on which progress can be made (Schoenfeld, pg 169 from Lagemann and Shulmann.). Many research problems are formulated by researchers with practical experience in the field within their area of specialization. The identified problem should be feasible and the research should consider the tradeoffs between what is practical and what should be controlled. There is also the issue of cost associated with the rigors and length of the research at hand. Exceptions to rules come from inference, observations and seeking advice from senior consultants who have had experience within specific educational research domains.After all, the goal of research is to be able to repeat, replicate experiments and testthem across different domains to obtain similar results that are within reason and ethical.
Research results could differ when you replicate and change the variables and almost always goes in unexpected directions. Sometimes it even also depends on what the researcher isthinking at a particular time. If two observers with these differing orientations were placed in the same spot to observe what was ostensibly the “same” behavior performed by the “same” individuals, the observers would write substantively differing accounts of what happened, choosing different kinds of verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives to characterize the actions that were described (Erickson).A common observation is between teachers and students and their curriculum in the classroom today. What works in a certain environment at a particular time may produce different results when the same experiment is replicated in a different environment at a different time. When a researcher generalizes, the generalization must be eligible and valid in order to form a common denominator. One needs to look for research patterns and the variables that can be controlled in the experiment as well confounding variables that affect the results of the experiment.
There is no single method that is the best method for all investigations but rather a variety of techniques for the researcher to choose from for what is appropriate.The paradigm of the research process is just as important as the process of formulating the research questions which allows the researcher to use a research method that is most appropriate.The quality of research is an ill-structured domain where it is subjective and often it is the subjections of the person who is reviewing it. Research progress sometimes depends on where you are at, just like jazz improvisations in music. In order to know what note to play next, it depends where you at and what you played previously. The question of essence needs to be probed at lower levels in order to go on to the next level and the investigation will form its shape.
Educational Inquiry within the scope of Learning, Technology and Culture (LTC)
Emphasis on the design of educational inquiry and research methodologies to study culture and classroom literacy acquisition with the aid of technology is one of the clear trends in recent years.An example of this is discussed in “The Changing Infrastructure of Education Research” in which Collins presents new perspectives on learning and conducting research with technology (pp 293-296) particularly, the video camera. Video, despite its limitations, provides a rich record that different observers can analyze. They can replay sections over and over to resolve issues and questions, and they can debate what really happened, what the students, what the teacher should have done, and the like (Collins). As microprocessors become more powerful and diminish in size, new efficient methods to enhance second language learning are being sought.
The use of cellular mobile phones is currently being researched in the classroomsof Europe using a text messaging service also known as short message service (SMS). The United States is currently pushing its technology industry very hard to catch up with the rest of the world in this area and the recent call for research papers from educational journals encourage topics that are related to the Telco (telecommunication), PDA and wireless network technology such as [10] Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). Recent research using SMS technology have used quasi experimental methods to measure language acquisition, however the results were not significant. The research conducted should be aimed at answering the question of essence and questioning the validity of the research to be conducted to see if it is feasible.With retrospect to the above mentioned technology, an example of this would be to see if there is a need and if such technology is efficient and effective for the future of public schools to deploy. It is the author’s humble opinion that a mode of usage frequencybe adopted as a quantitative framework and method of measurement for participation and enthusiasm together with qualitative methods of observation.The author feels that quantitative analysis is generally fast and inexpensive as compared to qualitative studies.
There is computer software available to provide and aid the researcher with mathematical and statistical calculations with great accuracy. Qualitative studies involve interviews and observations and are therefore very labor intensive and expensive. The interpretation of qualitative data is often subjective, and different researchers can draw different conclusions inferred from the same data. However, qualitative studies do provide broad, general theories that can be examined in future research. Peshkin (1982, pg 35) gives a good example of qualitative research using questionnaire data to confirm the impressions derived from interviews in order to get a comprehensive view of his surroundings. The application of any research method is only as good as the match between the assumptions underlying the method and the set of circumstances being explored (Schoenfeld, pg 180 from Lagemann and Shulmann).
Computers seem to be the primary tool to increase productivity, efficiency and producing solutions. The consensus today is perceived that using the right set of tools for the right purpose is all one needs. Researchers have an obligation to avoid seeking only such evidence that apparently supports their favored hypotheses; they also must seek evidence that is incompatible with these hypotheses even if such evidence, when found, would refute their ideas (Shavelson, Towne). Erickson and Gutierrez gives a good example from Culture, Rigor, and Science in Education Research; [3] We are concerned that premature conclusions about “what works” in the short term, without careful consideration of side effects that may appear downstream, can provide false warrants for the educational equivalent of thalidomide (Erickson, Gutierrez), raises the possible question about the long term harmful effects of computers and the use of technology in a dangerous fashion.
Goals and objectives of a research need to be well defined and focused during the process. As research progresses, these goals present themselves in a clearer form and research issues pertaining to questions can be narrowed down. There are no strict rules to follow, and the researcher must rely on logic and good judgment.
The Yoshida, Fernandez and Stigler article [6] that was mentioned during one of the lectures is a good example that emphasizes the importance of relying on logic and good judgment when dealing with random assignmentin their article on Japanese and American students’ and relevance to memory recognition. The article’s failure to provide proof of some sort of supplementary explanation as to ascertain theirsampling used in their experiment questions the logic and judgment of the researchers that conducted the experiment which draws more uncertainty in the process and the validity of the data and results. An understanding of the role of culture is important because the researcher’s cultural self sets in motion a series of cultural encounters with informants that can influence the quality of data collected. These encounters are significant, in that they may be the critical variable in distinguishing between having collected data and having collected “good” data (Walker,pg 230, Lagemann.Shulmann.).
A popular research area in Education and Technology focuses on the ability of computers to question if its processing power does a job that is as good as a human or better than traditional methods. One needs to have reliable evidence to draw accurate conclusions before computing technology dominates the classroom.
Conclusion
When we, promising researchers look at questions about the possible uses and value of educational technology, we need to look at it in the broadest and most ecological context of what we do as practitioners as well as researchers within the field of Education. In my conclusion, defense and possible ignorance being a current student without experience, it is my belief that technological devices are not unfriendly but however like everything else, they constitute their own share of problems. Technology in the classroom needs to be utilized to its potential and for what works in different domains. This will open up a world of possible opportunities if the problem can be identified. Such is the work of education research within the field of Learning, Technology and Culture. Educational researches are not born with their disciplinary and methodological biases or their disdain for practitioners; these are acquired characteristics (Erickson, Gutierrez) thereforeit is our task to investigate findings, develop the skill to pose the right questions within the right context to defend the right argument and definition.
References
[1] Feuer, M.J; Towne, L.; Shavelson, R.J (2002).:“Scientific Culture and Education Research” EducationalResearcher, Vol.31, No. 8, pp. 4-14.
[2] Shulman, Lee S (1997): “Disciplines of Inquiry in Education: An Overview”, In Richard M. Jaeger (Ed.). Complementary Methods for Researchers in Education, (pp 3-19). Washington, DC: American Education Research Association.
[3] Erickson, F.; Gutierrez, K.: “ Culture, Rigor, and Science in Education Research” Educational Researcher, Vol 31, No. 8, pp. 21-24.
[4] Shavelson, R.J.; Town, L.: “National Research Council. (2002). Scientific research in Education”, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
[5] Erickson, Frederick (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In Merlin Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
[6] Yoshida, M., Fernandez, C., & Stigler, J.W. (1993). “Japanese and American Students’ Differential Recognition of Teachers’ Statements During a Mathematics Lesson.” Journal of Educational Psychology, 85 (4), pp. 610-617.
[7] Walker, V.S. “Culture and Commitment: Challenges for the Future Training of Education Researchers” In Lagemann and Shulman (Ed). Issues in Education Research, (pp 230). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
[8] Collins, A., “The Changing Infrastructure of Education Research” In Lagemann and Shulman (Ed). Issues in Education Research, (pp 293-296). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
[9] Schoenfield, A.H., “The core, the Canon, and the Development of Research Skills” In Lagemann and Shulman (Ed). Issues in Education Research, (pp169-180). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
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[11] Peshkin, A (1982) , “The Researcher and Subjectivity: Reflections on an ethnography of school and community.” In George Spindler (Ed), Doing the ethnography of schooling: Educational anthropology in action (pp 48-67). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.