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Uses of Theory in Proposals (“grand” to more specific theories)

Uses of Theory in Proposals (“grand” to more specific theories). Day #4, June 20 th CEP 955 Summer Hybrid 2013 Jack Smith Michigan State University. Back to the RQ Lab. Laura: Background on her Practicum inquiry Work on her draft RQs New issue: What kind of analysis does each RQ call for?

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Uses of Theory in Proposals (“grand” to more specific theories)

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  1. Uses of Theory in Proposals (“grand” to more specific theories) Day #4, June 20th CEP 955 Summer Hybrid 2013 Jack Smith Michigan State University

  2. Back to the RQ Lab • Laura: Background on her Practicum inquiry • Work on her draft RQs • New issue: What kind of analysis does each RQ call for? • Joel: Background on his Practicum inquiry • Work on his draft RQs • Same issue: What kind of different analysis does “of-with-through” call for?

  3. Homework check-in • Did anyone last night decide “no theory” (really) in my Practicum? • Currently, how many theories are shaping your studies? • How and where to talk about theory, e.g., separate section or in Literature Review?

  4. The Role of Theory (generally) • Seeing is a conceptual act => we see with our ideas • Looking, observing, recording, interpreting are all conceptual actions (applications of our ideas to raw observable data) • Frameworks direct our attention to particular features of the world that we could notice, label, and record • No explicit framework does not imply no framework (implicit, intuitive, unconscious frames) • Researcher’s responsibility and reflective practice: Try to be explicit about what guides your seeing

  5. Theory Scale (or “reach”) • In educational psychology (at least)—as in other fields—theories differ in the range of phenomena they address • “Grand” theory: All of human learning and/or development, e.g., Skinner’s operant conditioning theory • Outside of education: plate tectonics in geology • Many other theories narrow the range of their target phenomena; “medium” to “small-scale”?? • Examples: • TPACK: phenomenon = what teachers know about educational technology • Wentzel: phenomenon = how social support, motivation, and achievement relate • But scale is also dynamic; small-scale theories can be adapted to account for a wider range of phenomena (e.g., “perceived loss”)

  6. Examples, Non-examples, & Questions • Wentzel’s study had no orienting theory, right? • One meaning of TPACK: A framework for examining teachers’ knowledge: CK, PK, TK, PCK, TCK, TPK, and finally TPCK; a theory of types of teacher knowledge • If I think “cognitive load” and “self-regulation” have meaning, am I using cognitive load theory and the theory of self-regulated learning? • “Communities of practice” (Wenger) as a lens on the activity of anime conference organizers

  7. Theory Bites (x 2) • Introducing Ginny’s Practicum • Ginny: Andragogy (Knowles) • Q&A; discussion • Introducing James’ Practicum • James: Gibson’s ecological theory (of affordances) • Q&A; discussion

  8. Grand Theory (of thinking, knowing & learning) • Greeno, Collins, & Resnick (1996) provide a very useful top-level categorization of their families of theories • Three broad perspectives (groupsof theories) • Behavioral theories • Cognitive theories • Situative theories • Situative (sometimes called “sociocultural”) theories focus on participating (as knowing) and on individual and collective knowing • Rogoff, cognitive apprenticeship • Brown, Collins, & Duguid (1989) “situated cognition” • Jean Lave • Etienne Wenger • Perspectives form a temporal progression of the field (B->C->S)

  9. General Writing Suggestions • Use headers and sub-headers to direct the reader’s attention and support their comprehension • Do worry about “smooth transitions”; a proposal is not an essay • Watch out for long sentences; try for simple declarative sentences • Stick with the active voice as much as possible (avoid constructions like “it was shown that…” • Engage other readers for their suggestions; where do they have questions/get lost? • Outline or enter short phrases and sentence fragments in “new sections” as placeholders

  10. Homework for tomorrow • Focus: Structuring your literature review • Text: Gall, Gall, & Borg, chapter 4 • Read for the overall gist; focus down selectively in sections that feel useful • Question tomorrow: Which sections were useful? • Writing task: Try either outlining your review section (if there have been changes) or revising and editing your section (if not) • Some issues: Order of main points/results; does theory structure?; are you building an argument for a “hole” or open issue(s)? • Schedule: Someone willing to move up their theory bite to tomorrow?

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