...The importance of research for education's future Education blog: Professor Kit Field discusses the importance of impartial research to improve education standards and the quality of teaching. Pupils-hands-up---PA 1 Comments . As the Dean of a School of Education, I wanted to take this opportunity to explain why I think research is an important component of education studies and teacher development writes Professor Kit Field. Research is not always a concept that practitioners, managers and policy makers respect. Too often it is seen as an academic activity conducted by others – to the profession, not with the profession. But I believe it should be respected. In fact I’d say education professionals are always learning, finding out things, analysing information, adapting their behaviour according to information received, looking to improve and adapting to modern demands. All of this constitutes research - whether professionals want to call it that or not. Let’s briefly imagine the world of education without research: 1. On what would the learning and teaching experience be based without underpinning research? If education is not based upon research and evidence, then it runs the risk of being based upon one or more of the following: •Dogma •Theory •Ideology •Convenience •Prejudice Allow me to unpack these: •Education is a political football and can be used for propaganda and political purposes. I believe that there is a moral dimension to the profession – and to follow...
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...What is Educational Research? A cyclical process of steps that typically begins with identifying a research problem or issue of study. It then involves reviewing the literature, specifying a purpose for the study, collecting and analyzing data, and forming an interpretation of information. This process culminates in a report, disseminated to audiences, that is evaluated and used in the educational community. (Creswell, 2002) In less comprehensive terms, educational research is an organized approach to asking, answering, and effectively reporting a question. Why Educational Research? Educators need to be consumers (and producers) of research. Creswell (2002) notes the following reasons, describing the various purposes of educational research: 1. Improve Practice Research can suggest ways of improving practice that have been verified with many applications and by many different types of people, which is difficult for practitioners. 2. Add to Knowledge Research can add to what we know about how people learn and what we can do help facilitate the learning process. 3. Address Gaps in Knowledge Research can address areas in which little is know, like perhaps the effects of online versus traditional classroom learning. 4. Expand Knowledge Research can allow us to extend what we know in ways we never conceived. 5. Replicate Knowledge Research can act as a test to verify previous findings. 6. Add Voices of Individuals to Knowledge Research can add an important perspective...
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...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory Join Search Browse Saved Papers Home Page » Other Topics The Importance of Educational Research In: Other Topics The Importance of Educational Research The Importance of Conducting Research in an Educational Setting Human beings conduct research every day. They do so in many different ways and in many different settings. One important area is education. Conducting research in an educational setting should be an important aspect of every educator’s professional life. Best and Kahn (1993) describe research as “the systematic and objective analysis and recording of controlled observations that may lead to the development of generalizations, principles, or theories, resulting in prediction and possibly ultimate control of events” (p. 27). Education in a research setting is done to improve school practices and at the same time to improve those individuals who strive to improve those practices (Best & Kahn, 1993). The importance of research in an educational setting is often overlooked, however. Those in academia often consider research as a way to earn tenure or remain in favor by the university that employs them. Faculty who wish to thrive in the university setting must publish or perish in order to remain employed. Educators often forget that they are failing to fulfill their pedagogical responsibilities if they do not remain current in their...
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...Healthcare Educational Resource Paper BSHS 375 Healthcare Educational Resource Paper Assistive technology makes the lives of disabled easier it allows for them to get back some control that with the technology that had or just makes things simpler. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was put into law and now resources are to be made available for employees and clients. Resources are available for the disabled in every state including Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. In every one of these states resources could be found for the disabled with help finding technology that is available and helpful information about conditions or support for those who may want it. Each of these states had certain things that were different about where to find the resources one big difference would be where to go to find them. One thing that is the same about all these states is that there is still more work to be done in this area. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires that businesses with more than 15 employees provide “reasonable accommodation” to allow the disabled to perform their jobs” (Burke & Weill, 2013,). For Health and Human Service workers, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is crucial to their jobs, the services they offer, and the manner in which they offer the services. Since more disabilities are added to the...
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...The nature of educational research is analogous with the nature of research itself, which is systematic, reliable and valid to find the “truth”, investigates knowledge, and solves problems (William Wiersma, 1991). Moreover, educational research process involves steps to collect the information in order to investigate problems and knowledge. However, the educational research is more complex because it can use various approaches and strategies to solve problems in educational setting. It also can involve many disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, behaviour, and history. In addition, educational research is important because of contributing knowledge development, practical improvement, and policy information (John W.Creswell, 2005). Therefore, educators can use those research findings to improve their competences and teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the characteristics of educational research are a part of its nature. According to Gary Anderson (1998), there are ten characteristics of educational research. I tried to classify those into three categories, which are the purpose of research, the procedures of research, and the role of researcher. The purposes of research are to solve the problems, investigate knowledge, and establish the principles in educational phenomena. In short, it focuses on solving the problems and developing knowledge. Furthermore, procedure is an important characteristic of educational research, which involves colleting data with accurate...
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...importance of educational research. (100) Marks An evaluation of research in education, with the general aim of systematically, improving an academic body of knowledge may deficits in systems be highlighted by well-designed research. The results of research can lead (ideally) to changes in methods or practices (in the case of education it might be a teaching methods, say online Vs in class on campus). This would ideally appropriate education is provided to the students resulting in a more effective/efficient population. This paper explores different senses of the concept of meaning in educational research, presenting ‘meaning’ as personal (the researcher’s quest for meaning through research), contextual (meaning in relation to linguistics and culture) and shared (through communication), offering the various types, challenges, benefits and forms of research in practice-based research in educational technology. Conducting research in an educational setting should be an important aspect of every educator`s professional life. Best and Khan (1993) p27 describe research as “the systematic and objective analysis and recording of controlled observations that may lead to the development of generalisations, principles of theories, resulting in prediction and possibly ultimate control of events. Education in a research setting is done to improve school practices and at the same time to improve those individuals who strive to improve those practices. Best and Khan (1993). Research in education...
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...Factors that Influence Language Development JUDITH JOHNSTON, PhD University of British Columbia, CANADA (Published online February 24, 2005) Topic Language development and literacy Introduction Learning to talk is one of the most visible and important achievements of early childhood. In a matter of months, and without explicit teaching, toddlers move from hesitant single words to fluent sentences, and from a small vocabulary to one that is growing by six new words a day. New language tools mean new opportunities for social understanding, for learning about the world, and for sharing experiences, pleasures and needs. Subject The nature of language knowledge Language development is even more impressive when we consider the nature of what is learned. It may seem that children merely need to remember what they hear and repeat it at some later time. But as Chomsky1 pointed out so many years ago, if this were the essence of language learning, we would not be successful communicators. Verbal communication requires productivity, i.e. the ability to create an infinite number of utterances we have never heard before. This endless novelty requires that some aspects of language knowledge be abstract. Ultimately, “rules” for combining words cannot be rules about particular words, but must be rules about classes of words such as nouns, verbs or prepositions. Once these abstract blueprints are available, the speaker can fill the “slots” in a sentence with the words that best convey the message...
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...Joanne Lawrence BA(Hons) Education and Training EPD 303 Applied Research in Post Compulsory Education and Training Demie, F. (2005). Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: good practice in Lambeth schools. British Educational Research Journal 31(4), 481-508. A Critique. This paper is a critique of F Demie’s ‘Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: good practice in Lambeth schools’, which is an interpretive study by Feyisa Demie Jan McKenley, Chris Power, and Louise Ishani. The LEA provided the funding for this research project. The aim of the research according to Demie was to ‘Identify a number of significant common themes for success in raising the achievement of Caribbean heritage pupils’. In order to analyse these achievement rates, Researchers looked at good practise in Lambeth schools. Demie does not provide the reader with any clues in regard to the researchers’ backgrounds and qualifications. One cannot learn from the report under analysis whether Demie et al were LEA employees with a task to prepare a ground for future policy making. Demie et al chose to study 10 primary and 3 secondary schools in the Lambeth region, where the rates of Black Caribbean performance were reported to be above national and LEA (Local Education Authority) averages. The aim of the investigation was to identify the factors enabling pupils of Black Caribbean origin to achieve high standards in British schools, and to track ‘significant common themes for success in raising the achievement’...
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...Grade: 1st___ RTI Level: Intensive___________ Teacher: C. Fernández Response to Instruction Curriculum Program: SIPPS/Beginning Level Date: 3/7-3/11 Lessons: 25-27 (New: sounds d/sight words: was, go, down, saw). | Monday 3/7Lesson 25A | Tuesday 3/8Lesson 25B | Wednesday 3/9Lesson 26A | Thursday 3/10Lesson 26B | Friday 3/11Lesson 27A | Notes/Materials | Phoneme Play & Phonics and Decodable Words | 1. Reread: Story 242. Rhyming: Rhyme with: ad3. Segmentation: rats, hits, sand, fast, runs, dads4. Phonics & Dec. Words: Intro “d”; review s, n, t, m, a_, r, i_, f, h, u_, d | 1. Read: Story 252. Rhyming: Rhyme with: id3. Segmentation: sad, mad, had, mud, rid, dad4. Phonics & Dec. Words: No new sounds; review s, n, t, m, a_, r, i_, f, h, u_, d | 1. Reread: Story 25 2. Rhyming: Rhyme with: id3. Segmentation: sad, had, fit, miss, did, dad4. Phonics & Dec. Words: No new sounds; review s, n, t, m, a_, r, i_, f, h, u_, d | 1. Read: Story 262. Rhyming: Rhyme with: it3. Segmentation: hat, mat, sit, fat, mat, had4. Phonics & Dec. Words: No new sounds; review s, n, t, m, a_, r, i_, f, h, u_,d | 1. Reread: Story 262. Rhyming: Rhyme with ack3. Segmentation: cat, cut, duck, kick, tack, tuck4. Phonics & Dec. Words: Intro “c, k, _ck”; review s, n, t, m, a_,r, i_, f, h, u_, d | | HFW (Sight Words) | 5. Intro “was”; review all previously taught words. | 5. No new words; review all previously taught words. | 5. Intro “go” “down”; review...
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... | | | | | | | | | | | | | Research NotesBrief Notes on Science and Practice from Joseph Witt, PhD, Senior Scientist Why Research is ImportantSchool professionals have an increased awareness of the way the term "research based" is being used by publishers. It has become a completely meaningless phrase in recent years. Every type of intervention, assessment, or curriculum product now carries the label research based. In particular, intervention publishers shamelessly proclaim that their products are based upon research despite a complete absence of scientifically based research. Reasonable care can be taken by school-based professionals to determine if a product has a scientifically acceptable research base. The primary indicator is simple: does the product have peer reviewed published studies indicating it does what it purports to do? The scientific peer review process includes a process whereby research is reviewed by people who are disinterested third parties that scrutinize studies for scientific merit. Studies which are not sound do not get published in quality journals. Very few products have a true research base because conducting the research and going through the peer review process can take 2-4 years. What publishers present instead is "data" from a school here or there that used the product and got good results and everyone "liked" the program. The problem with this claim is the "research" complied with no standards, the schools presented...
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...Educational Research Business Plan Executive Summary University Patents seeks to transfer technology from research universities to preexisting companies via the licensing of patents. Most universities have an office of technology transfer that is responsible for bringing the research/patents generated by the university to market. Some universities are very effective in this area (i.e., Stanford, U of Wisconsin, MIT), but most lack the work force and network to place most patents. Universities traditionally focus on the patents that will bring in substantial amounts of money, yet only 0.6% of licenses generate in excess of $1,000,000 in annual royalties. University Patents has the ability to not only assist the universities in placing technology but, due to the singular focus of the company, also increase the revenue to the university by increasing the number of licenses written. University Patents will generate income by taking a commission off each successful placement. Most patents generated by university research are not, by themselves, able to sustain a business. They are most valuable to existing companies already in a market that can use new technology to increase a product line or slightly diversify their business into a market in which they have an expertise. The small size of these patents mean that most Venture Capital (VC) firms are not interested in these patents and the universities are reluctant to spend time trying to place them. University Patents will be...
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...by Saul McLeod published 2007, updated 2015 By the 1920s, John B. Watson had left academic psychology and other behaviorists were becoming influential, proposing new forms of learning other than classical conditioning. Perhaps the most important of these was Burrhus Frederic Skinner. Although, for obvious reasons he is more commonly known as B.F. Skinner. Skinner's views were slightly less extreme than those of Watson (1913). Skinner believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mental events. The work of Skinner was rooted in a view that classical conditioning was far too simplistic to be a complete explanation of complex human behavior. He believed that the best way to understand behavior is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning. Operant Conditioning deals with operants - intentional actions that have an effect on the surrounding environment. Skinner set out to identify the processes which made certain operant behaviours more or less likely to occur. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning was based on the work of Thorndike (1905). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as the 'Law of Effect'. BF Skinner: Operant Conditioning Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike’s law of effect. Skinner introduced a new...
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...Quantitative research methods in educational planning Series editor: Kenneth N.Ross Module John Izard 7 Trial testing and item analysis in test construction UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning Quantitative research methods in educational planning These modules were prepared by IIEP staff and consultants to be used in training workshops presented for the National Research Coordinators who are responsible for the educational policy research programme conducted by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). The publication is available from the following two Internet Websites: http://www.sacmeq.org and http://www.unesco.org/iiep. International Institute for Educational Planning/UNESCO 7-9 rue Eugène-Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France Tel: (33 1) 45 03 77 00 Fax: (33 1 ) 40 72 83 66 e-mail: information@iiep.unesco.org IIEP web site: http://www.unesco.org/iiep September 2005 © UNESCO The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without...
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...The nature of educational research is analogous with the nature of research itself, which is systematic, reliable and valid to find the “truth”, investigates knowledge, and solves problems (William Wiersma, 1991). Moreover, educational research process involves steps to collect the information in order to investigate problems and knowledge. However, the educational research is more complex because it can use various approaches and strategies to solve problems in educational setting. It also can involve many disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, behaviour, and history. In addition, educational research is important because of contributing knowledge development, practical improvement, and policy information (John W.Creswell, 2005). Therefore, educators can use those research findings to improve their competences and teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the characteristics of educational research are a part of its nature. According to Gary Anderson (1998), there are ten characteristics of educational research. I tried to classify those into three categories, which are the purpose of research, the procedures of research, and the role of researcher. The purposes of research are to solve the problems, investigate knowledge, and establish the principles in educational phenomena. In short, it focuses on solving the problems and developing knowledge. Furthermore, procedure is an important characteristic of educational research, which involves colleting data with accurate...
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...The Impact of Social Media use on Academic Performance at one Urban University: A Pilot Study Sam Mozee, MPPA Mississippi Urban Research Center Abstract. The purpose of this study was to begin exploring the possible impact of social media use on the academic performance of students attending one urban university. The study's primary goal is to identify key themes, trends, and/or perceptions that can be used as a foundation for more in-depth empirical research, and can be used to develop policy recommendations to deal with this growing phenomenon. A qualitative research design was used, and three preliminary research questions were formed to guide this study: (1) How common is the use of social media (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkIn) among college students? (2) For those students who do utilize social networking sites, on average how much time do they spend on those sites collectively per day and/or per week? and (3) How does the academic performance of students compare between students who utilize social media sites and students who do not use social media sites? Findings from this study seem to confirm perceptions of high student usage of social media among college students; however, they also seem to contradict other research literature findings regarding intensity of usage and gender-usage inclinations. Introduction Recently, there has been considerable discussion regarding the frequent use of social media tools (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Xanga, Friendster)...
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