Ways of Knowing & Research Based Practices

Ways of Knowing & Research Based Practices Chris Borgmeier, PhD Portland State University

Reading Review • Stanovich Preface & Ch. 1 • Group Presentations • Carnine, D. (2000) Why Education Experts Resist Effective Practices (And What It Would Take to Make Education More Like Medicine). • Jacobson, J. W., & Mulik, J. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication. • PBS Frontline Video "Facilitated Communication: Prisoners of Silence" • Ravitch, D. (1998). What if Research Really Mattered? • Slavin, R.E. (1989). PET and the Pendulum: Faddism in Education and How to Stop It.

“We associate truth with convenience, with what most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being, or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life. We also find highly acceptable what contributes most to self-esteem.” John Kenneth Galbraith

“Conventional wisdom must be simple, convenient, comfortable, and comforting… not necessarily true.” Steven Levitt

“Social behavior is complex, and to comprehend its character is mentally tiring. Therefore we adhere, as though to a raft, to those ideas which represent our understanding” John Kenneth Galbraith

Ways of Knowing • Personal experience • Research can stimulate, inform, reinforce, challenge & question our own experiences to enhance professional judgment • Tradition • Simply accept what has been done as the bet or right way (eliminates the need to search for knowledge & understanding) • Authority • People considered to experts or authorities are major sources of knowledge • Challenge = these ‘ways of knowing’ are primarily idiosyncratic, informal & influenced heavily by subjective interpretation

Ways of Knowing • Research • Involves a systematic process of gathering, interpreting and reporting information • Disciplined inquiry characterized by accepted principles to verify that claim is reasonable

Types of Research Basic Research – formulates & refines theories Applied Research – improves practice & solves practical problems Action Research – goal is to solve a specific classroom or school problem, improve practice or help make a decision at as single site

What to look for in articles Refereed v. Non-refereed articles • Refereed articles – reviewed by panel of peers/experts • Non-refereed – not reviewed by experts • Pay Journals – pay to have information published • Primary source – original articles or reports in which researchers communicate directly the methods & results of their study • Need to then evaluate the methods used in the study • Secondary source – reviews, summarizes or discusses research conducted by others • Commentary/opinion

Quantitative & Qualitative Research • Based on different assumptions about how to best understand and come to know what is true • Quantitative – emphasizes numbers, measurement, deductive logic, control & experiments • Qualitative – emphasizes natural settings, understanding, verbal narratives, and flexible designs

Quantitative Research • Experimental Research • Investigators have control over 1 or more variables & manipulate 1 factor to see if it has an impact on student behavior • Can be used to identify Causal relationships • True Experimental design = random assignment • Quasi-experimental design = no random assignment • Single Subject design = experiment with a single person or a few individuals

Randomized Control Trials • “Gold Standard” for evaluating an intervention’s effectiveness • Studies that randomly assign individuals to an intervention group or to a control group, in order to measure the effects of the intervention • Advantage: allows evaluation of whether the intervention caused the outcomes, as opposed to other factors

Quantitative Research • Non-experimental Research – no experimental manipulation or experimental control of factors that may influence subjects • Usually because events already occurred, or because they can’t be manipulated • Means research can only ‘describe’ something or identify relationships between variables; cannot determine causation • Descriptive – info. about frequency or amount of something • Comparative – examine differences between groups on target variable • Correlational – investigate relationships between 2 variables • Is there a relationship between

Single Subject DesignExample 3 middle school students Measure on-task behavior in 15 sec. intervals (momentary time sampling) during first 10 min. of class Intervention: Greet at door saying students name & positive comment

Evaluating a Research Study • Quantity • One study is only one study (unless it’s a meta-analysis) • Convergence of evidence required • Quality • Type of Research Design • Sample (size & match) • Measures (really measure important change?)

Ways of Knowing & Research Based Practices