Discuss any implications that your project has in the workplace and the community, if applicable.

Understanding and Using Professional Literature

NOTE – Suggestion: Scroll down to the assignment and read through that, then return here and read through the background text before beginning the assignments.

Understanding and Using Professional Literature

What’s Here? 1) a thorough Background Essay on this theme,

and 2) your assignment (further down the page) along with directions on where and how to submit your response…

Background Essay

In the course of doing the semester-long assignment, as in the course of following a career as an educator who is involved in improving the quality of teaching and learning, researching and relying on the experience of accomplished colleagues through reading what they’ve published, is important.

While it is true that there is a great deal of solid, helpful material published in the field, it is also true that there is material not to be taken seriously enough to consider for improving instruction. Some of it may simply not be prepared with sufficient rigor and standards – some may represent good thinking, but thinking that hasn’t been sufficiently researched – some may be motivated by commercial interests (although, it is also true that commercially provided material can be highly valuable, as well – some may be out of date and no longer relevance, etc. When doing research, particularly using the web, one encounters all sorts of materials, published for a variety of purposes and functions.

One of the wonderful things about working in our field at this point in time is the presence of the “Read/Write Web.” In previous eras serious education practitioners (our colleagues and mentors) were dependent on the approval and interest of established publishers and peer journals to have their ideas and essays published. And while these publishers attempted to diligently vet what they published to assure honesty, quality, and trustworthiness, the upshot of these efforts was that only a small percentage of what was offered by educators was accepted and published.

With the Read/Write Web this has changed and vitually anyone with a degree of technology savvy and self publish and, additionally, there are more groups of people who are interested in publishing their work. However, along with this advantage comes the attendant risk that what’s published and available, may be to some degree of dubious quality.

It behooves us then to take a critical look not just at the ideas and information published but at who the authors are and why they may be publishing, as well as who it is who is publishing these works and why they are doing it. This process can’t simply be satisfied by coming up with a list of trustworthy authors and publishers; the list of people and organization involved is a moving target that changes constantly. Consequently, we need to establish and adopt for ourselves a body of understandings that we apply to our quest for ideas and information to assure ourselves that what attracts us is of quality and trustworthy.

Similarly, when we write reports and other items that reflect our activities and ideas, we need to assure our readers that the sources of the information on which we based our work are of value. This is an important part of the overall process and is one of the most important aspects of our semester long project.

Once items of interest are identified, in assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

Provenance—What are the author’s credentials? Are the author’s arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, and recent scientific findings)?
Objectivity— is the author’s perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author’s point?
Persuasiveness—Which of the author’s theses are most/least convincing?
Value—Are the author’s arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?
The item below is taken from Jacksonville State University’s website and intended to guide students in evaluating sources.

Evaluating Journal Articles

Refereed (or “peer reviewed”)

Make sure your articles come from refereed journals. Refereed journals are
scholarly publications (not popular magazines). All the articles published in these
journals have been rigorously examined for soundness, accuracy, significance to
the profession, thorough literature reviews, and methodological sophistication of
any research methods used. All articles have undergone a “blind review”process.

An editorial board, made up of scholars in the field, reviews and edits all
articles submitted to the journal and either rejects articles or accepts the articles
(usually with recommendations for various changes). Most databases now allow
users to limit a search to refereed journals. Look for and click on the limiter
box “peer review.”

The Journal

Did the article come from a scholarly journal (i.e., Harvard
Educational Review) rather than a popular magazine (i.e., Time)?
Is the journal “peer reviewed,” “refereed,” or “juried?” In other words,
have the articles been reviewed by professionals in the field?
Check the journal for a list of reviewers (editorial board).
Do the submission guidelines mention a review process (usually located
in the front or back cover)? Many journals list their Web address in the
inside cover. Submission guidelines can usually be found there also.
The Author

Are the author’s credentials listed?
Is the author qualified to write about the topic? (Is he/she a professional
in the field or associated with an academic institution?)
The Content of the Publication

What type of publication is this?
Viewpoint/opinion piece
An Article expressing the writer’s views/own perspectives. It
often does not include a reference list.

News piece/journalistic writing
Purpose of the article is to report news or current issues. It
hardly ever includes a list of references.
Scholarly article based on authorities in the field (as opposed to
personal opinion)
An article based on works and findings of authorities in the
field. The author has done their “homework” and a list of
references in included.

Identifying Research Articles

The article is based on original research.
Usually includes the following components:

Abstract
Literature Review
Theory or Background
Methods
Procedures
Results/Findings
Supporting diagrams, charts, figures, etc.
Discussion
Conclusion
Call for further research
Evaluating ERIC Documents

Because ERIC Documents include a large scope of work, of varying degrees of
scholarliness, limit your use of ERIC Documents to high quality “research
reports” or “evaluation studies.” The “publication type” section of the ERIC

Document citation will indicate type of publication.

What type of publication is this?
Report/Research, opinion piece, paper, conference proceeding,
classroom guide, dissertation, pamphlet?

Who authored or sponsored the publication?
Is there a scholarly or professional organization associated with the
publication?
If a conference proceeding or paper, where was it presented? When was it presented?

More on evaluating sources:
Evaluating the Credibility of Your Sources
(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Evaluating Sources for Credibility (Video)
(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Q: Can commercially oriented material offer credibility and value? OR how can providers of commercially oriented material ensure that their materials are considered credible?

Q: We are all familiar with the source types of books, chapters, papers presented at professional conferences, and academic articles being considered ‘credible sources’, but what about blog posts, social media items, and YouTube videos? Can these be considered credible and if so, how does the professional who is citing them establish their credibility? What criteria might be applied for that purpose?

(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

………………….

Assignment:

– Read the text above to understand the context and purpose for this assignment.

– Come up with a ‘search term’ that might be used in research to find new resources and practices for the improvement of teaching and learning through the application of technology. *This may go better for you if you choose an area of education that personally interests you (I am using Math here simply as an example – all areas are important there are examples of the application of technology for all )

Here are some suggestions/EXAMPLES:

“Using software (or digital resources) to improve mathematics learning” – or perhaps, “Using technology to support students in better understanding arithmetic” – or perhaps, “Improving student mathematical problem solving using technology” – one more “Integrating Technology in the Math Classroom”…. or any variation of these using your own words ,

By the way, in doing online research of this sort it is common practice to continually modify the words used in the search terms – if one attempt at wording produces few or poor results try changing the words (and as you do, try to figure out what the search engine favors certain words and combinations and use that as your guide in ongoing refinements of your search term.)

In the above samples, of course, one can substitute ELA, or Science, etc. for the word “Math”

B) Using your search term(s) locate 5 or more items you feel show promise in identifying ways to improve instruction in the area of education you chose.

List these content items – Number them 1 to 5, etc.
Go back to the “Background” essay (above) and make a list of 5 (or more) criteria to use in evaluating the 5+ items you selected for quality, relevance, and trustworthiness.
Number these ‘a’ to ‘e’, etc. etc.
Create a table like the one shown below and use it to rate and evaluate the content items you chose.
Based on what you’ve done so far, create a final prioritized list showing, in order, which content item you think is most valuable, which is least, and those in between.
Write a narrative (250 – 500 words explaining why you chose the content items and why you evaluated and rated them as you did.

Submit both the lists, the table, and the narrative as your finished assignment in the Discussion Area for this assignment.

Sample Table

Literature Title

The Journal

The Author

The Content of Publication/Value Ranking

Relevance

1) The

Development of Mathematics Teaching Materials through GeoGebra Software to Improve Learning Independence

ERIC Database;

Malikussaleh Journal of Mathematics Learning (MJML)

Vol. 2, No. 2, October 2019, pp. 39-44
ISSN 2620-6315 (print), 2620-6323 (online)

Eri Saputra and Effan Fahrizal;

Department of Mathematics Education, Universities Malikussaleh, Aceh Utara, Indonesia

Research articles;

Published on 15 October 2019

Value ranking#3

This article discuss how the mathematics software GeoGebra can improve students’ independent learning.

2) Enriching Performance of Mathematics in Secondary Schools Using Mobile Learning

ERIC Database;

International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2020, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 223-241

Vitalis A. Ndume
Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, Tanzania

Marietha Songoro
Ilala Municipal Council, Tanzania

Dalton H. Kisanga
Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, Tanzania

Research article;

Published in 2020

Value ranking#5

This article reports on a study that using mobile learning with students in Tanzania in a four months period and find that students’ understanding of mathematics considerably improved.

3) Can Khan Academy e-learning video tutorials improve mathematics achievement in Sri Lanka?

ERIC Database;

International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2018, Vol. 14, Issue 3, pp. 93-112

Bilesha Weeraratne Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka

Brian Chin
Asian Development Bank, Philippines

Research article;

Published in 2018

Value ranking#1

The articles evaluate the impact of using Khan Academy videos in a blended learning for students by comparing the treatment group and control group of students.

4) An Experimental Study on the Effects of a Gamified Software Intervention in Mathematics Achievement among Sixth Grade Students

ERIC Database;

Published by ProQuest LLC (2019).

Janice Watson-Huggins;

An Applied Dissertation Submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Case studies;

Published in 2019.

Value ranking#1

The case studies report that gamifications does not have great impact in academic in short terms study, however, students in gamification groups have a more positive learning attitude toward math from both the beginning and the end of the school year.

5) Using Instructor-Generated Video Lectures in Online Mathematics Courses Improves Student Learning

ERIC Database;

Online Learning Volume 19 Issue 3 (2015)

Jennifer S. Hegeman

Missouri Western State University

Research article;

Published in 2019.

Value ranking#4

This article finds that students who were strategically placed the instructor in the role of content provider performed significantly better on both online and handwritten assessments than did students who enrolled in an online College Algebra course that placed the publisher- generated educational resources in that role.

Evaluation/Rating CRITERIA

Content Items (articles, book chapters, videos, info-graphics, etc.)