EDAD 5322 Educational Research and Evaluation
Fall 2011
UTA Blackboard
Instructor: Barbara Tobolowsky, PhDPhone: 817-272-7269
Office: 103G Trimble HallEmail:
Office Hours: Mon-Wed 2-5pm or by appointment
Textbook:
Glanz, J. (2003). Action research: An educational leader’s guide to school improvement. (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.
The book can be located at the UTA bookstore, Amazon, or other on-line book stores.
The College of Education and Health Professions has adopted Tk20, a comprehensive data management system that will provide us with powerful tools to manage our growth and streamline our processes to enable us to meet your needs more efficiently and effectively. The set of tools that is required as a course text is called TK20 HigherEd. The following is a partial listing of what the Tk20 system will enable you to do:
Create your course and performance artifacts online, which you will be able to access and use beyond graduation. This will be a great benefit to you as you seek to advance in your education career and build your career portfolio over time.
Submit forms online, including applications for student teaching and other clinical practice required for teacher or administrator certification, and receive timely notification of placement details sent directly to your Tk20 account.
Create multimedia portfolios for documenting your work for presentation to faculty and prospective employers that can be exported to CDs or other media.
Monitor your progress throughout the program and have access to a fully documented record of your program performance, including field experience, practicum, internship, or clinical practice. This is particularly important, given increased use of performance interviews by employers.
As with other course materials, you will need to subscribe to the program for a one-time only, non-refundable cost of $100. You may purchase your subscription online from a link provided on the system’s Web site or from the UT Arlington Bookstore as you would a textbook or other course materials.. You may purchase Tk20 at the start of the course to begin exploring the system and its portfolio features. Once subscribed, it may take 2-3 days for your subscription to become active.
On-line tutorials and training materials have been organized to orient you to the Tk20 system and its use. The email for further information is:
Catalog Description:
The course is an overview of basic concepts and procedures necessary for analyzing, designing, and conducting quantitative and qualitative studies. Topics include: familiarization with educational journals, associations, funding agencies, accreditation procedures, program evaluation, sampling procedures, data collection, and statistical analysis.
Learning Outcomes:
- The course is an introduction to formal research and evaluation. The knowledge and skills acquired from this course should be applicable to all professional educators as they continue their professional careers and continue to be engaged in life-long learning. In addition to learning the vocabulary associated with research and evaluation, the course will focus on learning how to think like a researcher and evaluator.
- Since this course is an introduction, we will not have an opportunity to explore all of these topics in great detail. As you learn about research and evaluation, you will realize that the more you know, the more there is to know. The focus on the course will be on practical applications of research and evaluation and on understanding research and evaluation at a basic level.
- Students will have the opportunity to think through the processes of research and evaluation during the course. Therefore, to maximize the learning opportunity, students should choose wisely the subject of their topics to research and evaluate so the specific needs and interests of their own instructional and educational setting or their own professional goals will be enhanced.
Course Requirements/Assignments:
- Interactive exercises and summaries:
In traditional classrooms, students are expected to participate in class discussions. Since this course is being conducted via the Internet, students are required to post comments to questions posed within the lessons and to write summaries at the end of each lesson. Students are allowed to read other responses before they submit their own response. Students who post the first few comments may go back to read other postings and then resubmit a posting if they wish.
- Review of three professional associations using the Internet:
Students will select three professional educational associations to analyze and evaluate. One association should be in your subject content area. Identify as many of the following items as possible: title of association, affiliations, history, membership type and number, purpose, number of meetings/conventions, conference presentation proposal submission requirements, leadership, etc. Prepare a two- to three-page double-spaced report that includes the above information and why the associations were selected for review. Compare and contrast the associations as well.
- Review three professional journals using the Internet:
As you explored the associations, you may have noted that many of them also publish professional educational journals, as do other publishing entities. This assignment asks you to select three professional journals to analyze and evaluate. They may be connected to associations or not. Try to identify as many of the following items as possible: title, associations/affiliations/
publishers, number of issues per year, acceptance rates, journal history, purpose of the journal, number of subscribers, types of articles published, submission information, review process (i.e., is it peer-reviewed or not), writing style required, etc. Students should analyze the types of articles published by each journal by reviewing issues at least four recent issues. At least two of the journals should be a research-focused journal rather than a practitioner-focused journal. Prepare a two- to three-page double-spaced report that includes the above information and why this particular journal was selected for inclusion in this report. It should also include publication themes and trends that appear in the journals for the issues reviewed and an evaluation of the journal from the student’s point of view.
- Research-based recommendation report:
Students will write a three- to four-page research-based recommendation report. The recommendation should focus on an issue relevant to their educational setting (e.g., school, university/college, classroom). Students must extensively use two research articles as a basis for their recommendation. The report must take into consideration an analysis of the research questions in the articles, the sample population, the measurement devices, the type of analysis conducted, and the results of the articles as it relates to the topic being investigated for the recommendation report. The report must identify the strengths and weaknesses in the articles that will be taken into consideration in the recommendation. The recommendation will be based on the evidence from these two articles. This report can serve as the basis upon which the program evaluation/assessment or the literature review can be built. (This process is similar to writing a literature review in a research article. For literature reviews, you synthesize relevant research on a research topic. The goal is to show other research that has been conducted on a related or similar topic. This assignment helps you develop the skills necessary for that task.)
- Program evaluation report (quantitative or qualitative):
Students will prepare a four-page program evaluation report on a topic of their choosing. The report will describe the program and identify the aspect of the program to be evaluated (Introduction). All evaluations are based on the question: Is X effective? You may each define effectiveness differently (e.g., improved grades, improved test scores, retention). Next, the report should include information on the methodology used to conduct the evaluation, the types of data collected and from whom it will be collected. Findings from the evaluation and recommendations will conclude the report. You can use quantitative or qualitative methods for this report. If you conduct a quantitative evaluation, you will do qualitative research or vice versa. This gives you some hands-on experience with both methodologies. (Because this is an introductory course, you should have modest goals. When you do your qualitative evaluation or research report, you should interview at least two people. When you do your quantitative evaluation or research report, you should survey at least 5 people. You will submit your survey and interview questions to me for approval prior to conducting the work.)
- Research report:
Students will prepare a four-page qualitative or quantitative research report on the topic of their choosing. The report should focus on an area of interest to the student. In the introduction, rather than describe the program (as in the evaluation report), students will discuss the issue they plan to research, why it is important to research, and what their research question is (i.e.g, what do you want to find out.) Qualitative research questions tend to explore the experience of some group (e.g., What is the experience of students in the UTA K -16 EDLP masters’ program?). While quantitative research questions explore the status of something (e.g., What factors contribute to students’ success in the UTA K-16 EDLP masters’ program?). (Because this is an introductory course, you should have modest goals. When you do your qualitative evaluation or research report, you should interview at least two people. When you do your quantitative evaluation or research report, you should survey at least 5 people. You will submit your survey and interview questions to me for approval prior to conducting the work.)
- Final Assessment:
This assessment will be posted week 15 and will cover information from the textbook, class discussion, and notes.
Grade Calculations:
Grading in the course will be based on a 100-point scale, with the maximum point value for each grading component indicated above. The instructor will assign grades based on the following distribution: 100-90= A; 89-80= B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; and 59 and below is an F.
- The15 interactive exercises/Summaries count for 30% of the final grade (2 points each.Will drop the one.). These include: Student introduction, Syllabus response, IE for each lesson, reflections on qualitative research process, and reflections on quantitative research process. They are numbered below.
- The seven assignments count for 70% of the grade (10 points each). This include: Association paper, Journal report, Recommendation report, Protocol, survey, Qualitative report, quantitative report.
Topic and suggested assignment schedule
Week / Dates / Lesson / Title / Assignment(due Sunday by 11:59pm Central Time)
Week 0 / Aug 25-28 / Syllabus / Introduction to the Instructor / Student introduction (IE1)
Wk 1 / Aug 29-Sept. 4 / Syllabus / Syllabus & Assignment Explanations / Syllabus response(2) and IE3
Wk 2 / Aug 29-Sept. 4 / 1 / Getting into the Proper Mindset / IE4 &/or summary response
Wk 3 / Sept 5-11 / 2 / Knowing the Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Beliefs and Methodologies / I5 &/or summary response
Association report
Wk 4 / Sept. 12-18 / 3 / Getting Started in Research / IE6 &/or summary response
Wk 5 / Sept. 19-Sept 25 / Journal Report
Wk 6 / Sept 26-Oct 2 / 4 / Getting Started in Evaluation / IE 7&/or Summary response
Wk 7 / Oct 3-9 / Recommendation report
Wk 8 / Oct 10- 16 / 5 and 6 / Qualitative research and evaluation / IE8 &/or Summary report for lesson 5 AND IE9 &/or Summary report for lesson 6
Wk 9 / Oct 17- 23 / 7 / Qualitative methodology / IE 10&/or Summary report
Qualitative interview questions
Wk 10 / Oct 24 –Oct 30 / 8 / IE11 - Discuss in two or three paragraphs your qualitative research experience.
Wk 11 / Oct. 31-Nov. 6 / Qualitative evaluation or research report
Wk 12 / Nov 7-13 / 9 / Quantitative Research / IE12 &/or Summary report
Wk 13 / Nov 14-20 / 10 / Quantitative Evaluation / IE13 &/or Summary report
Wk 14 / Nov. 21-27 / 11 / Quantitative Methodology / Survey (All revisions must be in by November 24th)
IE14- Discuss in 2 or 3 paragraphs your Quantitative research experience
Wk 15 / Nov 28-Dec 4 / Quantitative Research Report
Wk 16 / Dec 5-11 / Summary / IE15/or summary report
Final / Dec 12-14 / Final Assessment
University Mission:
The mission of the University of Texas at Arlington is to pursue knowledge, truth, and excellence in a student-centered academic community characterized by shared values, unity of purpose, diversity of opinion, mutual respect, and social responsibility.
Add and Drop Policy:
Adds and drops may be made during late registration (August 31) through MyMav. The last day to drop a course is Nov. 4. Students are responsible for adhering to the regulations concerning adds and drops, which can be found at:
Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA):
If you are a student who requires accommodations in compliance with the ADA, please consult with be at the beginning of the semester. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide “reasonable accommodation” to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Your responsibility is to inform me of the disability at the beginning of the semester and provide me with documentation authorizing the specific accommodation.
Academic Dishonesty:
All students involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University of Texas at Arlington regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
“Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give an unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Part one, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22).
(For more information on UTA policies, see the Office of Student Conduct website at
E-mail Communication:
UTA e-mail will be considered the official means of communication between the university and students. Utilize your UTA e-mail for all communications. Yo will be responsible to check your UTA e-mail on a regular basis. The instructor will not be responsible for information you miss that is sent by UTA e-mail.
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