After many months, you may be able to present a clear problem. Then, you determine the small slice of the problem to address, which you express in a purpose statement. Finally, the problem, purpose, and framework are all in alignment. The next step is to identify the specific, achievable questions that will guide most decisions that remain in the study. These are the research questions
Module 4 Week 8: The Research Question
Research begins with asking a question and then finding a valid answer to that question. These questions are the culmination of the refinement process. Avoid questions that cannot be answered with the tools that are available.
—Gary Thomas (2017, p. 7)
After many months, you may be able to present a clear problem. Then, you determine the small slice of the problem to address, which you express in a purpose statement. Finally, the problem, purpose, and framework are all in alignment. The next step is to identify the specific, achievable questions that will guide most decisions that remain in the study. These are the research questions (RQ).
You are probably months away from having a finalized RQ but it is not too soon to evaluate RQs and practice developing your own. With that in mind, take careful notes in the readings, and set your course for the refinement that lies ahead.
Notes on Readings
Butin provides several tips that are valuable in developing what many think is the most difficult task of the capstone: posing the best question (in particular, read page 122).
In the selection by Thomas, pay particular attention to the various methods of narrowing your question. His questions, on page 18, no doubt reflect his experience in reading and rejecting hundreds of flawed research questions. Also note his guidance on the linear versus recursive plans on page 19. Prepare yourself for the recursive plan!
Learning Objectives
Students will:
· Develop research questions
· Apply knowledge of APA References
· Apply knowledge of doctoral study
Assignment: The Framework and Research Question
This is the week when you begin thinking about the framework that supports your study, and you begin to identify research questions. Although this is still early in your capstone process, the experience will help you appreciate how these elements are developed.
To prepare:
Further refine your paper to include a sample theoretical or conceptual framework and a sample research question. Include the following:
· Identify
one theorist and theory.
· Explain the primary postulates of the theory and how they relate to your problem and purpose.
· Review two to three major research studies related to the framework and your study.
· Clearly explain how the theory or conceptual framework aligns with your problem, purpose, and research questions. What ties them together?
· Provide a research question.
By Day 7
To complete:
· Make revisions to your capstone paper based on feedback.
· Include the sample framework and research question.
· Complete and submit this Assignment in complete APA style, following the “APA Course Paper Template With Advice (7th ed.)” document found in the Learning Resources.
Submission and Grading Information
REFERENCES
Butin, D. W. (2010). The education dissertation: A guide for practitioner scholars. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
· Chapter 3, “Focusing Your Research” (pp. 50–55 and pp. 58-61)
· Chapter 6, “Putting It All Together” (p. 122)
Thomas, G. (2017). How to do your research project: A guide for students (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
· Chapter 1, “Your Introduction: Starting Points” (pp. 7–26)
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=410047&p=2800022#s-lg-box-8571780
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016g). Dr. Research: Using feedback from others [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Module 4 Week 8: January 17 – 23, 2022
Posted on: Sunday, January 16, 2022 12:38:56 PM EST
Module 4 Week 8
January 17 – 23, 2022
The Research Question
BEFORE YOU DO ANY WORK ON THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT, PLEASE: Remember to integrate your prior annotated bibliographies into seamless paragraph format which reflects your analysis and synthesis of the material. And, always keep in mind “the economy of expression”.
As always, I will be providing feedback that you should consider when you work on each draft. Check each draft to ensure that any feedback you received will be addressed.
To prepare:
Further refine your paper to include a sample theoretical or conceptual framework and a sample research question. Include the following:
· Identify one theorist and theory/conceptual framework.
· Explain the primary postulates of the selected framework and how they relate to your problem and purpose.
· Review two to three major research studies related to the framework and your study.
· Clearly explain how the theory or conceptual framework aligns with your problem, purpose, and research questions. What ties them together?
· Provide a research question.
By Day 7
To complete:
· Make revisions to your capstone paper based on feedback.
· Include the sample framework and research question.
· Complete and submit this Assignment in complete APA style, following the “APA Course Paper Template With Advice (7th ed.)” document found in the Learning Resources.
WRITING TIP FOR RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
From Joseph Nolan’s 2015 book: Smart Doctor: Getting Through Your Dissertation and Beyond. NTV Resources.
Before you develop your hypotheses (quantitative methodologies) or objectives (qualitative), you should ask a question or questions about the issue that you posed in your problem statement. These questions will form the basis for your hypotheses or objectives. They should be clear, focused, and should require research and analysis. They should not be answered by easily found facts, or be simple yes or no answers. Perhaps a guideline to this would be: if you can get a definitive answer to the question by googling the question, chances are you don’t have a strong research question to guide your study (p. 55).
WRITING TIP FOR HOW TO WRITE YOUR DISSERTATION: A TOP TEN LIST by Dr. Jeffrey Brooks in The Faculty Mentor’s Wisdom (2010) edited by Raymond Calabrese and Page Smith. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
10. Know what a high-quality dissertation looks like.
9. There must be synergy between all parts of your dissertation.
8. Know yourself as a writer.
7. Establish and cultivate a multitiered and a multipurpose support network.
6. Get organized.
5. Focus
4. Don’t just be scholar, be a productive scholar.
3. Think about the impact of your dissertation on the rest of your life.
2. Read.
1. Write (p. 139-143).
WRITING TIPS:
1. Quick links for doctoral capstone:
http://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/search/?topics=doctoral+capstone
2. Quick links for APA formatting:
http://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/search/?topics=apa%3A+word+formatting
3. Webinars for doctoral capstone writing:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/webinars/capstone
4. Writing the literature review:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/literaturereview
5. Purdue Online Writing Lab covering every skill/topic:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/sitemap/
6. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/
7. Grammarly:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammarly
8. FAQ on IRB:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/capstone/confidentiality
9. Form & Style:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/capstone/formandstyle
10. Feeling stumped about how to describe the purpose of your research, your approach, or your methods? The Center for Research Quality has tutorials on all of these topics (
and more
!). Click the links below to investigate.
a.
Research Planning
b.
Research Design & Analysis
c.
Research Writing
(including information on literature reviews)
d.
Abstract Assistance
11. Walden Capstone Writing Community:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/capstone/community#s-lg-box-2834601
12. Citing examples, including Walden videos:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/references/examples#s-lg-box-2774401
13. Top 10 Reasons for Delays at the F&S Review:
http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/formandstyle/process/top10delays
14. The Academic Skills Center has several great resources to support you while you work towards completing your doctoral capstone:
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASC/capstone/home
15. The
Doctoral Capstone Form and Style website
regularly adds new resources for doctoral capstone writers. Here are a few of the more recent additions:
·
Writing for Social Change in the Capstone
·
SMRTguides
a.
Writing the Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations
b.
Alignment Language in the Problem, Purpose, and Research Questions
c.
Formatting Research Questions and Hypotheses
d.
Presenting Qualitative Data in the Capstone Study
11
EmergingNew Technologies in Early Childhood Education
Lua Shanks
EDDD 8113
Doctor of Education
Week 6 Comment by Beryl Watnick: Identify the draft as “Refining the problem statement and purpose statement”
Emerging New Technologies in Early Childhood Education Comment by Beryl Watnick: This format does not comply with what I have been asking for.
**This week, you will be translating the literature you referenced previously in the format of annotated bibliographies by integrating the evidence/support into the paragraphs. This third draft should reflect your skills for analysis and synthesis and now adhere to the format below.
As in previous drafts, your paper should include the following:
Title of your anticipated study
Identify the draft as “Refining the problem statement and purpose statement”
A basic introduction or background statement
One or two specific and precise sentences that clearly state the problem
A few paragraphs that analyze and synthesize the evidence from research literature that this is a current, meaningful problem in the educational discipline
Substantiated statements using evidence from research
Note: Every statement must be substantiated by evidence from your research.
One or two sentences that explain the purpose of your study
Note: Connect the problem being addressed to the focus of your study.
Demonstration of a logical flow from the preliminary problem to this (narrower) tentative purpose in your study
Explanation of what aspect of the problem your study addresses (In other words, what will it accomplish?)
Aydin, H., Ozfidan, B., & Carothers, D. (2017). Meeting the challenges of curriculum and instruction in school settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(3), 76-92.
Aydin et al. (2017) found in their study that both the curriculum and instructional methods have weaknesses that significantly reduce education quality in early childhood schools. For instance, the authors found that the ratio of teachers to students is lower than required, which implies that there are more students per teacher. Consequently, the teachers cannot comprehensively deliver customized instructions to all students effectively due to time constraints. The authors recommend the use of technology, and employment of more teachers to increase instructional quality by increasing the time taken to teach each student according to their learning and developmental needs.
Dziuban, C., Graham, C. R., Moskal, P. D., Norberg, A., & Sicilia, N. (2018). Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies. International journal of educational technology in Higher education, 15(1), 1-16.
Dziuban et al. (2018) discuss raise concerns that there are many challenges in early childhood education (ECE). They include ineffective instructional methods, substandard learning environments, and inappropriate content that do not effectively support children’s learning and developmental needs. The authors propose the use of technologies to promote quality education and growth in early childhood education.
Samudra, P. G., Flynn, R. M., & Wong, K. M. (2019). Coviewing Educational Media: Does Coviewing Help Low-Income Preschoolers Learn Auditory and Audiovisual Vocabulary Associations?. AERA Open, 5(2),
https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419853238
Samudra et al. (2019) argue that the use of technology has not been used to the required potential to improve learners’ needs in early childhood education settings. For instance, the authors found that technological devices have the potential to increase children’s developmental and educational needs. In this regard, the authors recommend the use of technological devices including tablets and computers to teach children. The authors researched and found that audiovisual learning devices increase interactive learning, which is associated with high engagement and high performance.
Research Problem
The problem is that many early year teachers in the current education sector do not have enough ICT equipment and expertise at their disposal to adequately deliver holistic instruction to early year learners. The quality of instruction is not increasing regardless of the increasing advancements in technology.
Aydin, H., Ozfidan, B., & Carothers, D. (2017). Meeting the challenges of curriculum and instruction in school settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(3), 76-92.
According to Aydin et al. (2017), changes are continuing to be noticed in classroom populations, and in performance. For instance, the number of immigrants has increased significantly, which implies that there is a crucial need to apply effective and appropriate instructional approaches. Additionally, there has been a disproportional improvement in instructional methods with technological advancements. The implication is that instructional approaches have not effectively embraced and applied technology to improve learning.
Samudra, P. G., Flynn, R. M., & Wong, K. M. (2019). Covering Educational Media: Does Co-viewing Help Low-Income Preschoolers Learn Auditory and Audiovisual Vocabulary Associations? AERA Open, 5(2),
https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419853238
Research on emerging technologies in ECE is replete with evidence that shows when children view a video with their parents or teachers and narrate stories, they learn new vocabularies better (Samudra et al., 2019). The article talks about how technology assists students when they are with their parents. It also talks about how technology helps with new vocabulary, and this will help them to become a better speaker. It helped students to comprehend stories better. Overall, technology is a key to success based on this article.
Yılmaz, M., Yılmaz, U., & Yılmaz, E. N. D. (2019). The relation between social learning and visual culture. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4), 421-427.
The article speaks about the importance of observation and social cues in learning. The article talked a lot about how significant it was to see certain behaviors and adjust and how this has been used to help learners improve their knowledge for years. The theory of social learning was another big aspect of this article. Basically, more focus on this theory could help students and other learners improve the way they grasp information.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine how best to integrate audiovisual technologies into ECE as well as possible ways to increase funding for ECE technology in the curriculum. In line with this goal, the research will explore the technologies used by educators to impart knowledge to early childhood learners. The concepts of interest include infusion of technology into early childhood education settings, and improving children’s learning and developmental needs using appropriate instructional approaches. Apart from teachers’ ICT tools, this study will also examine audiovisual technologies used by early education students. The basis of this research is the idea that there is inadequate application of technology in the classroom which reduces the quality of learning in many ECE classrooms. Findings of this research will help improve the learning experience of early childhood learners by selection of the most appropriate audiovisual technologies to be used in ECE classrooms. Additionally, the study will suggest ways by which teachers can improve government goodwill towards blended learning to increase funding for technology in ECE. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Stay focused on one problem. This could be entirely separate study. Comment by Beryl Watnick: You do not know this before you do your study. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Keep your research focus manageable. This is a broad expectation.
Conceptual Framework Comment by Beryl Watnick: This is not part of week 6 assignment and I will hold off evaluating it this week.
The social learning theory, which was originally developed by psychologist Bandura, emphasizes the significance of observation, replication of behaviors, attitudes, and feelings of others (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). The social learning theory concurs with the postulates of the behavioral theory. For instance, both theories assert that there are mediating actions between stimuli and corresponding responses. Additionally, both the Social Learning Theory and the Behavioral Theory concur that animals learn behaviors from the environment by observing the actions of others (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). These basic principles are relevant to the application of technology in ECE. In the teaching-learning environment, there exist stimuli that can be used in the learning process.
Banneyer, K. N., Bonin, L., Price, K., Goodman, W. K., & Storch, E. A. (2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders: a review of recent advances. Current psychiatry reports, 20(8), 1-8.
According to Banneyer et al. (2018), cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) of learning refers to the ability of children to learn according to the materials exposed to them. Additionally, the behaviors or the culture of the people around children influence their learning capacities and attitudes. The author presents findings of researches, which indicate that technological activities and other growth-supporting engagements increase children’s learning and developmental needs.
Yılmaz, M., Yılmaz, U., & Yılmaz, E. N. D. (2019). The relation between social learning and visual culture. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4), 421-427.
Bandura emphasized in the social learning theory that children observe the actions and behaviors of the people around them and assimilate them. In the well-known Bobo doll experiment, the psychologist assigned models to various children (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). These models had certain behavioral characteristics that were to be replicated by the young children. The aim was for the kids to imitate and develop certain behaviors based on their observations. While developing his theory, Bandura believed that human beings are not passive learners, who automatically imitate behavior. There is a thought process involved and people can choose whether to imitate behaviors or not, based on a number of factors (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). Thus, mental activity mediates observation and replication.
In the social learning theory, Bandura suggested four meditational stages between behavior observation and replication of behavior; attention, retention, replication, and, motivation (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). An individual (in this case an early childhood leaner) has to first pay attention to the stimuli. Research is replete with evidence that young children pay higher levels of attention to the educational content when audiovisual teaching aids are used. Therefore, such findings suggest that emerging technologies will increase the attention span of ECE learners. Sustained attention in the teaching-learning environment improves the teaching-learning experience.
Another important postulate of the social learning theory is retention. When young children observe other people or inanimate objects such as mobile tablets, they remember their actions. However, since the behavior is mediated by a mental process, it may or may not be remembered. The application of interactive media makes the learning process more interesting for the learner, thus increasing the probability of retaining the content being delivered in the ECE classroom (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). Even when there is short-term replication of the targeted behavior, there needs to be a memory to act as a point of reference in future.
Research Questions
1. Can audiovisual technologies improve learning in early childhood education settings?
2. How best can audiovisual equipment be used for blended learning for children under 10 years old in the State of California?
Research Methodology and Design
The study will utilize a qualitative design to investigate how best the various audiovisual equipment be used for blended learning for children under 10 years old in the State of California. The grounded theory design will be used because it would aid in the formulation of a theory that will be based on the collected data from the results of application of audiovisual technology in education (Laird et al., 2018). To that end, six participants will be selected using purposive sampling technique. The participants will encompass individuals from the education sector, teachers, and community members. The gathered data will be analyzed using content analysis tools. This process will involve identifying key themes and performing analytical procedures to confirm or reject the hypothesis.
Significance
The significance of the study is that it will increase the adoption of audiovisual technologies and their effective use at home and in schools to increase children’s developmental and educational needs.
References
Aydin, H., Ozfidan, B., & Carothers, D. (2017). Meeting the challenges of curriculum and instruction in school settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(3), 76-92.
Banneyer, K. N., Bonin, L., Price, K., Goodman, W. K., & Storch, E. A. (2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders: a review of recent advances. Current psychiatry reports, 20(8), 1-8.
Dziuban, C., Graham, C. R., Moskal, P. D., Norberg, A., & Sicilia, N. (2018). Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies. International journal of educational technology in Higher education, 15(1), 1-16.
Laird, Y., Fawkner, S., & Niven, A. (2018). A grounded theory of how social support influences physical activity in adolescent girls. International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being, 13(1), 1435099.
Yılmaz, M., Yılmaz, U., & Yılmaz, E. N. D. (2019). The relation between social learning and visual culture. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4), 421-427.
1
EmergingNew Technologies in Early Childhood Education
Lua Shanks
EDDD 8113
Doctor of Education
Week 6: Refining the Problem and
Purpose
Statement Comment by Beryl Watnick: Week 8
Emerging New Technologies in Early Childhood Education
Technological revolutions have transformed early childhood education significantly. These developments have eased the tasks of instructors who had challenges related to delivering high-quality education. Aydin et al. (2017) found in their study that both the curriculum and instructional methods have weaknesses that significantly reduce education quality in early childhood schools. For instance, the authors found that the ratio of teachers to students is lower than required, which implies that there are more students per teacher. Consequently, the teachers cannot comprehensively deliver customized instructions to all students effectively due to time constraints. The authors recommend the use of technology, and employment of more teachers to increase instructional quality by increasing the time taken to teach each student according to their learning and developmental needs. In that regard, Dziuban et al. (2018) discuss raise concerns that there are many challenges in early childhood education (ECE). They include ineffective instructional methods, substandard learning environments, and inappropriate content that do not effectively support children’s learning and developmental needs. The authors propose the use of technologies to promote quality education and growth in early childhood education. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Really? Where is there evidence for this statement? Comment by Beryl Watnick: grammar
Samudra et al. (2019) argue that the use of technology has not been used to the required potential to improve learners’ needs in early childhood education settings. For instance, the authors found that technological devices have the potential to increase children’s developmental and educational needs. In this regard, the authors recommend the use of technological devices including tablets and computers to teach children. The authors researched and found that audiovisual learning devices increase interactive learning, which is associated with high engagement and high performance. Comment by Beryl Watnick: That is obvious, isn’t it?
Research Problem
The problem is that many early year teachers in the current education sector do not have enough ICT equipment and expertise at their disposal to adequately deliver holistic instruction to early year learners. The quality of instruction is not increasing regardless of the increasing advancements in technology. According to Aydin et al. (2017), changes are continuing to be noticed in classroom populations, and in performance. For instance, the number of immigrants has increased significantly, which implies that there is a crucial need to apply effective and appropriate instructional approaches. Additionally, there has been a disproportional improvement in instructional methods with technological advancements. The implication is that instructional approaches have not effectively embraced and applied technology to improve learning. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Yes! Good point! Comment by Beryl Watnick: Do you mean non English speakers?
Studies on emerging technologies in ECE is replete with evidence that shows when children view a video with their parents or teachers and narrate stories, they learn new vocabularies better (Samudra et al., 2019). The article talks about how technology assists students when they are with their parents. It also talks about how technology helps with new vocabulary, and this will help them to become a better speaker. It helped students to comprehend stories better. Overall, technology is a key to success based on this article. Comment by Beryl Watnick: …they enrich their vocabulary
Yulmaz et al. (2019) examine the importance of observation and social cues in learning. The article talked a lot about how significant it was to see certain behaviors and adjust and how this has been used to help learners improve their knowledge for years. The theory of social learning was another big aspect of this article. Basically, more focus on this theory could help students and other learners improve the way they grasp information.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine how best to integrate audiovisual technologies into ECE. In line with this goal, the research will explore the technologies used by educators to impart knowledge to early childhood learners. The concepts of interest include infusion of technology into early childhood education settings, and improving children’s learning and developmental needs using appropriate instructional approaches. Apart from teachers’ ICT tools, this study will also examine audiovisual technologies used by early education students. The basis of this research is the idea that there is inadequate application of technology in the classroom which reduces the quality of learning in many ECE classrooms.
One important postulate of the social learning theory is retention. When young children observe other people or inanimate objects such as mobile tablets, they remember their actions. However, since the behavior is mediated by a mental process, it may or may not be remembered. The application of interactive media makes the learning process more interesting for the learner, thus increasing the probability of retaining the content being delivered in the ECE classroom (Yılmaz, Yılmaz & Yılmaz, 2019). Even when there is short-term replication of the targeted behavior, there needs to be a memory to act as a point of reference in future. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Is this your framework section?
Please go back to the exact assignment expectations. Comment by Beryl Watnick: Word choice?
Research Questions
1. Can audiovisual technologies improve learning in early childhood education settings? Comment by Beryl Watnick: This is a yes or no question and not appropriate for a study
2. How best can audiovisual equipment be used for blended learning for children under 10 years old in the State of California? Comment by Beryl Watnick: Alignment – this is the first time you mention 10 year olds in California. If this is your target audience, it should be discussed in each section.
Research Methodology and Design Comment by Beryl Watnick: Please adhere to my biweekly assignments. This was not asked for.
The study will utilize a qualitative design to investigate how best the various audiovisual equipment be used for blended learning for children under 10 years old in the State of California. The grounded theory design will be used because it would aid in the formulation of a theory that will be based on the collected data from the results of application of audiovisual technology in education (Laird et al., 2018). To that end, six participants will be selected using purposive sampling technique. The participants will encompass individuals from the education sector, teachers, and community members. The gathered data will be analyzed using content analysis tools. This process will involve identifying key themes and performing analytical procedures to confirm or reject the hypothesis.
Significance
The significance of the study is that it will increase the adoption of audiovisual technologies and their effective use at home and in schools to increase children’s developmental and educational needs.
References
Aydin, H., Ozfidan, B., & Carothers, D. (2017). Meeting the challenges of curriculum and instruction in school settings in the United States. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(3), 76-92.
Banneyer, K. N., Bonin, L., Price, K., Goodman, W. K., & Storch, E. A. (2018). Cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders: a review of recent advances. Current psychiatry reports, 20(8), 1-8.
Dziuban, C., Graham, C. R., Moskal, P. D., Norberg, A., & Sicilia, N. (2018). Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies. International journal of educational technology in Higher education, 15(1), 1-16.
Laird, Y., Fawkner, S., & Niven, A. (2018). A grounded theory of how social support influences physical activity in adolescent girls. International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being, 13(1), 1435099.
Yılmaz, M., Yılmaz, U., & Yılmaz, E. N. D. (2019). The relation between social learning and visual culture. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(4), 421-427.