S1-Week 6-Class

Semester 1 (Week 6)

Theses are the notes I took during the Tuesday afternoon workshop that took place from 14:00 to 17:00 on 24th October 2017.  The tutors were Dr Ita Kennelly, Dr Muireann O’Keeffe, and Dr Claire McAvinia.

Topics for today’s workshop

– Part 1 – Methodology Analysis (Poster) – Dr Ita Kennelly
– Part 2 – Action Research – Dr Muireann O’Keeffe
– Part 3 – Case Study – Dr Claire McAvinia.

Part 1 – Methodology Analysis (Poster)
Ita Kenneally

See photo of poster.
See pages 27 to 41 of Barry Ryan’s thesis
Think about giving the interviewees the semi-structured questions in advance of the interviews.

Part 2 – Action Research
Muireann O’Keefe

Think about validity and reliability.

Part 3 – Case Study
Claire McAvinia

Used for inquiry into ‘processes and relationships’ (Denscombe, 2007, p.38)
Inve…

Asks why and how questions to uncover meanings and relationships.

Types of Cases

Stake, 1995
Intrinsic…aim to understand the particularities of the specific case generalise
Instrumental…generalise
Collective…generalise

Yin, 2003, 2014
Exploratory, e.g. Pilot project
Explanatory – suitable for causal studies, implementation of process
Descriptive – describe an intervention or occurrence in real-life context

Could use the word transferable rather than generalisable. A degree of generalisability. Could use word indicative or compelling.

Comparative cases – two or more cases compared

Phenomenology and phenomenography

Difference between case study and phenemonology

Phenomenology is a philosophical stance as well as a methodology.
The focus is on the lived experience not the person, group or event
The data are gathered to examine the lived…

Referencing Handbook APA: University of Lincoln: The Library (PDF)

S1-Week 5-Class

Semester 1 (Week 5)

Theses are the notes I took during the Tuesday afternoon workshop that took place from 14:00 to 17:00 on 17th October 2017.  The tutors was Dr Claire McAvinia.

Topics for today’s workshop

– eLearning Design Methodologies & Methods
– Formative Evaluation/Evaluation Processes

Instructional design strategies for your e-learning project /How “finished”e-learning resources are evaluated in practice.

N.B. There’s no need to re-write my Research Proposal if I am simply changing my domain area from Patterns/Functions to Algebra. Run it past my supervisors by emailing them.

N.B. One part of my case study is documentation data. You can either put this in the literature review or the dataset. For me, I think I will be writing up about the syllabus and the state examinations in my literature review.

Part 1 – recalling some important ID models (materials from Damian Gordon and available in Webcourses)

Part 2 – using an evaluation tool to evaluate RLOs

Part 3 – time to work on your artefacts, then undertake some work

Part 1

Bloom’s Taxonomy
Evaluate –
Synthesise – put together knowledge
Analyse – break down knowledge
Apply – use your understanding
Comprehend – show understanding
Know- Recall information

ADDIE Model
Analysis
Design
Development
Implementation
Evaluation

How is learning theory connected with the above two models.

ASSURE MODEL

THE ABCD FORMAT
Audience, Behaviour, Condition. Degree

From “Instructional Technology – A Systematic Approach…..”

DICK AND CAREY MODEL

ICARE MODEL
Introduce, Content, Apply, Reflect, Extend

TRIPP AND BICHELMEYER

GAGNÉ’S NINE EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION

1. Gain attention
2. Inform learners of objectives
3. Stimulate recall of prior learning
4. Present the content
5. Provide “learning guidance”
6. Elicit performance
7.
8.
9.

CHARLES M. REIGELUTH – Elaboration Theory

COMPONENT DISPLAY THEORY
CDT classifies learning along two dimensions:
Content – facts, contents, procedures
Performance –

ACTIVE LEARNING – an umbrella term that refers to several models of instruction
– Think-Pair-Share
– The Pause Procedure
– Fact Rounding
– Network Phasing
– Learning Cell
– Active Writing
– Team Quizzes

EDWARD DE BONO

OTHER MICRO TECHNIQUES
– Learning by teaching
– Problem-based learning
– Project
– Inquiry
– Action
– Progressive inquiry
– Service learning

Now for some Evaluation…

“The systematic acquisition and assessment of information to provide feedback about some object.” (Trochim, 2006)

“Research is aimed at truth. Evaluation is aimed at action.” (Patten, 2008).

USING AN EVALUATION TOOL

(1) LOAM (Learning Object Attribute Metric). Tool has been designed as an evaluation tool for elearning materials.

http://www.nottingham.ac.ak

It was used for the NLDR project.

Look at Pat Walsh’s MSc project.

ASKING GOOD EVALUATION QUESTIONS

Evaluations are structured around questions
– Shape the evaluation process
– Define whats is understood or assumed about the programme

It’s important to ask good questions, rather than obvious ones
– blah blah blah

WHICH DATA COLLECTION QUESTIONS

blah blah blah

COLLECTING YOUR DATA
– Checklists/Questiinnaires
– Confidence logs / pre-post testing
– Focus groups / interviews
– Observation techniques
– System log data / tracking
– Group based / individual techniques
– Reflective diaries, blogs, portfolios
– Cost effectiveness

WHICH METHODS
– Do you know which factors are influencing learning or have you yet to do so?
– Do you want to make a comparison – if so what are you comparing with what?
– What kind of data do you want – qualitative or quantitative?
– What are you going to be doing with the data

Check out memoing.

Suggestion: Create a roadmap for my data on one page.

S1-Week 4-Class

Semester 1 (Week 4)

Theses are the notes I took during the Tuesday afternoon workshop that took place from 14:00 to 17:00 on 10th October 2017.  The tutor was Roisin Guilfoyle.

Topic for today’s workshop

– Digital Literacy Workshop

N.B. The following library staff are available by appointment, telephone, email:
– Roisin Guilfoyle
– Diana Mitchell
– Bill Murphy (EndNote Specialist) – bill.murphy@dit.ie

Types of Literature
– Books
– Journal Articles
– Reports
– Official Publications
– Conference Proceedings
– Grey Literature
– Websites
– Theses
– Popular Media

Literature
– Published or Unpublished
– Peer Reviewed
– Not Reviewed
– Community Reviewed
– Not always scholarly

N.B. Research Gate (Australia)
Try emailing the journal article writer using your DIT email address and ask the writer to send you a copy. Tell the writer that you are a Masters Student.

N.B. Alcid Card

ALCID: Academic Libraries Co-operating in Ireland
http://www.dit.ie/library/a-z/alcid/

This can be used to access library resources in other third level institutions such as TCD and UCD.

Evaluating Web Resources
– Websites: Who, Why, When, Where, Ease of Use, Presentation, Use of Graphics
– Content: Authority, Writing/Grammar, Audience (Depth & Scope), Timeliness, Relevance, Bias, References

Advantages of Google
– Quick, Easy to Access, Easy to Use, Lots of Material, Covers Lots of Subjects

Number of Databases DIT has access to
– Approximately 84
Note: Access to Science Direct costs DIT a six figure sum.

What is Summon
– Summon is a powerful search engine that provides fast, simple access to scholarly material. It provides an integrated single search box for Library, Journals, Journal Articles, Print and eBooks, Dissertations, Multimedia Content, Newspaper Articles, Citations in Abstracting & Indexing Databases.

Welcome to DIT Library Services
http://www.dit.ie/
Note: This is where you will find SearchAll/Summon@DIT

The Research Process
– Develop a Research Strategy
– Select Appropriate Resources
– Do a Systematic Search of the Relevant Databases, including Search Engines
– Keep a History
– Keep Records
– Manage References (EndNote)
– Avoid Plagiarism

SL-Meeting 01

Supervision Meeting 01 (05/10/17)

The following are suggestions and action points minuted by me at the meeting that took place on Thursday afternoon, 5th October 2017 from 14:45 to 16:00 in Room 5041.  The meeting was attended by Caitríona Ní Shé (Supervisor), Claire McAvinia (First Examiner) and myself.

(1) Provide a rationale for using Patterns and Functions as my domain. (Long-term action point).

(2) Provide more than one reference to justify making connections between different strands of Junior Cycle Maths.
(a) try to find examples of literature from non-Irish countries to support the making of connections
(b) try to find examples of peer-reviewed literature to support the making of connections (Long-term action point).

(3) Source literature relating to functions and patterns (pedagogy, learning theory, instructional design). (Short-term action point).

(4) Define clearly what a domain model is. (Short-term action point).

(5) Use the ePortfolio to display the final digital artefact. (Long-term action point).

(6) Develop web pages on my WordPress ePortfolio site that explains / illustrates my GALE Artefact. (Long-term action point).

(7) Study the Marksheet and Assessment Criteria in the Applied eLearning Project Handbook for: (Short-term action point).
(a) the Applied eLearning Project (pp. 22-24 ).
(b) Journal Paper (pp. 25-27).
(c) ePortfolio (pp. 28-30).

(8) Decide when to send survey email to Dublin Branch of the IMTA (via Elizabeth Oldham). (Short-term action point).

(9) The design and development of the artefact will be carried out by me. The evaluation of the artefact will be expedited with reference to third parties (survey => teachers, interviews => textbook authors, etc).
The plan is to go to the teachers, textbook authors, etc with a finished product, document the proposed modifications and / or carry out the modifications.

Next Meeting: Thursday 9th November 2017 at 3 pm.

S1-Week 3-Class

Semester 1 (Week 3)

Theses are the notes I took during the Tuesday afternoon workshop that took place from 14:00 to 17:00 on 3rd October 2017.  The tutors were Dr Claire McAvinia and Dr Ita Kennelly.

Topics for today’s workshop

– Topic Development and Resources Access
– Advanced Literature Review and Critique
– Ethics Procedures

Ethics – your concerns and questions

Research Ethics Committees meet approximately every 6 weeks

Meeting 1 – Mid October 2017
Meeting 2 – End November 2017

N.B. Look at the screencast sooner rather than later.

Research question:
How can a domain model for adaptive learning in secondary school mathematics be evaluated?

Key Phrases:
Domain Model, Adaptive Learning, Mathematics

ACTIVITY: DISCUSS IN GROUPS

What is a literature review?
Ans. Analysis, Relevance, Piece of writing to add to your work in a particular domain,

What is the purpose of the literature review?
Ans. Establish what is known, what has been researched, what has been published, get ideas.

What does it mean to write a high quality, effective literature review?
Ans. Who is seminal, comprehensive, relevance to context,

What are the greatest challenges involved in writing a literature review?
Ans. Strong enough, drawing appropriate conclusions, categorising what you review

Showing the links between theory and practice
….
etc

Read published work – study a wide range of print and web-based materials.

Interpretation – explain the significance and interpret the evidence presented in each piece of literature – not simply listing what others have writteN

Synthesis – creation of an integrated whole

Managing Literature

– Set up a reliable system of logging references
….(plus 2 more)

Reading critically and analytically

Things to extract from each piece of reading material

Definition, Problem, Theory, Hypothesis, Techniques, Interpretations

Concepts, Arguments, Standpoint, Evidence, Perspective, Styles

Justification, Ways of thinking, Events, Motives, Politics, Conclusions

Developing Your Reading

E-Portfolio – make short annotated bibliographies

Assignments – briefly revisit your work

…etc

Action Planning

Review your research question

What 3 actions can you take in the next week to progress your research relating to those key terms?

What are your goals for next week’s tutorial?