I am struggling here a little bit with all the technical terms for research. I think this is why I was never draw to research in the first place. Funny thing is I sat in several seminars at a formative assessment convention this Thursday and Friday in Columbia, South Carolina and so much research was thrown at us. I was impressed that my attention was sparked up a bit more as I recognized the terms that I usually blew off before. However, I still found it amazing that these researchers were so excited by data and results and the whole process! This is just really not my thing I guess, but I am hoping I can find a new interest in research as I begin my own exploration.
As I delve into this venture I plan to use Exploratory design under the Mixed-Methods measure sby using things such as literature and past research to decide if using technology-based games will help my student learn and retain their facts.
Statement
I plan to determine if technology-based games increase skill levels and retention in remembering math facts based on achievement test scores in middle school students.
Who: middle school students
What: technology-based games
Why: increase skill levels and retention of math facts
Questions
1. What are technology-based games that support retaining mathematical facts? (Qualitative and descriptive)
AND
2. Do children that use technology-based games to learn and retain their facts have better overall performance on achievement tests than those that do not? (Quanitative and Relationship)
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Hi Lori,
ReplyDeleteI'm behind the curve on the technical terms myself, but it seems to me that your second question would best be studied in an experimental design to explain difference rather than relationship. If you were only looking at whether or not a student improved against his own scores after getting technology, then I would say that would be relationship. What are your thoughts on this?
I'm trying to figure out the importance of question number one with regard to research. Maybe comparing different technology-based games to see which is more effective would be worthwhile, but just defining what constitutes the definition of these games doesn't seem to be as important.
I hope my confusion helps your confusion. We'll get where we need to be before this course is over, so keep the faith.
Allan
Thank you Allan,
ReplyDeleteThese are my problems!! My first and initial interest in doing this research was to find brain based research to defend and support using "drill and kill" rote memory style activities to learn multiplication facts. After studying and learning about the Fast ForWord program that used brain research to develop an interesting and exciting program that is helping all struggling learners. I want to find something like that for math.
However, I had to incorporate technology so my statement and goal had to be tweaked. NOw I am totally confused about what I am trying to do. Any support would be helpful.
My confusion comes because of the timeframe to do this research. I figure I can not really do any data collection on my own students because tests can not be administered and used for comparison in time for this project. So I have to find already used research, therefore that would make my research non experimental, is this correct???
I am open for any suggestions and willing to make changes that will make sense because I am afraid I have already lost my tunnel vision and I am wandering!!!
Thank you!!! LORI
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI would agree that it is a bit confusing to sort through all of these terms and different ways to conduct research. It's giving my brain a good work out!
Here are some suggestions I might have. I don't pretend to know what I'm doing, so just add these comments to the confusion. :)
I think your first question could be considered quantitative. If you are looking at which math programs help students retain their facts best, then I'm assuming you would be using numbers to determine which one works best. If that's the case, that would be quantitative.
I would agree with Allan that your second question would be studying a difference, and since you would once again be looking at a "number", I think that would be quantitative.
With that in mind, I wonder if using a quantitative method, such as Ex Post Facto or Secondary Data Analysis, might work best for you. Both of those designs look at data after the fact, and since you are right that you won't have time to conduct your own research, I think this is what you would be doing.
If you were to use Secondary Data Analysis, I think you could look at data concerning different various math technology resources and the achievement of students overall, essentially looking at which was best. Then you could examine the achievement of students who used one of those math technologies, versus those students who did not.
I may have just muddied the waters for you. Good luck with your research!
~Stephanie
NO you were fabulous! That has helped a lot! If I can eliminate that forst question being qualitative than I felt great with it being Ex Posto Facto also. My problem fell when I was considering the first question qualitative because I was thinking of just reading what the research says about the brain learning the facts. But if I make it more about what programs produce better results, and it becomes quantitative than I can get away with using prior data and not have to run my own experiment. I have run a similar comment on Kathy Price's site, I think she plans to do her research as I did, using other's results, not conducting her own experimental research.
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping me and talking through this with me. I think things are clearing up for me a little as I read through others material. I am truly glad we chose to blog, it is helping me tremendously with my understanding and implementing of the process!
Have a great night! LORI
Lori,
ReplyDeleteMy thought which is definitely not perfect, due to my own confusion with all these terms, is that question #2 could be researched by looking for secondary data(quantitative, nonexperimental) that could meet your own research criteria. There may be research that has been completed that may help clear things up for you.
I hope that I have helped? Good Luck
Luis
Me again Lori,
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll be actually conducting the research in our classrooms (unless after the fact)anyway. I think you can find research that shows effectiveness of certain math games that are not published by the manufacturers. Secondly, I believe you'll have more research available on math technology versus no math technology than I have for my social studies research. Several of us are researching aspects of the same big question, "Does technology improve learning scores compared to non-technology.
I think you've got it narrowed down!
Allan