Wiki+Terms+2

**Glossary Terms 1 and Glossary Terms 2** //**Wiki Glossary Page Two**//

//**Experimental group**// - Group being treated, or otherwise manipulated for the sake of the experiment. (615 Glossary) For a researcher to test a hypothesis, the researcher must have a group of subjects that are exposed to the variable of a controlled experiment. This group, when compared to the control group, will reveal whether the variable had any effect. Pharmaceutical research give us perhaps the most common use of experimental groups, where the experimental group is given the actual drug while the control group is given a placebo. In education research, an experimental group may receive a special mode of instruction, such as a web-based curriculum, while the control group receives the conventional or traditional mode of instruction (Ya-Wen & Hsiao-Ching, 2009). - Cameron Johnson

//**Mode**// – Type of average that refers to the most common or most-frequently occurring value in a series of data. (615 Glossary) In most cases students’ grades are averaged to obtain the mean and grades are given accordingly. However when students earn a “0” for not handing in work, the student average drops greatly. Bracey (2006) suggests using the median so that the grade does not drop significantly. Mode can also be used to determine what the student consistent academic performance indicates. Our recent county professional development newsletter, cautions teachers in giving “0”’s and suggests that teachers calculate grades using median or mode rather than mean. The newsletter suggest that by using either of the two, that these accurately reflect what the students knows and can do. Kristen

//**Participant**// - A person that has agreed to be involved in a survey, focus group, or study. Can also be referred to as a subject, unit, experimental unit, unit of analysis, or respondent. (615 Glossary) In ethical research studies involving humans, there must be participants who have given their consent to be tested. There have been many unethical experiments that have used unwilling and non-consenting subjects, most notable being the 40-year Tuskegee syphilis experiment. In education research, the participants are mostly students who are exposed to an experimental method of instruction, such assigning a group of students to a classroom with laptops for each child, then comparing their test scores on standardized tests to test scores from students who did not use laptops (Dunleavy & Heinecke, 2007). - Cameron Johnson

//**Structured Interviews or Questionnaires**// – Fixed format interview or questionnaires, in which all questions are prepared beforehand and are put in the same order for each interviewee. For example, in an article which discusses the assessment of portfolios using structured interviews, by Vanessa C. Burch and Janet L. Seggie (2008), medical student portfolios in South Africa were evaluated using a six question structured interview to discuss four examples of student work. The interview was used to determine clinical reasoning skills students had developed during the work. I might use a structured interview, employing tools such as the ESCOLA, to evaluate the way students use certain reading or writing strategies. The ESCOLA is a reading strategy index created in Spain; the wording and format of the questions lend themselves to a structured interview. This is one of the tools I plan to use to evaluate student use of reading comprehension strategies during the action research project planned for my final semester of the MAT program. - Kathleen

//**Structured Observation -**// A research study in which the observer records what they are witnessing. This can be done by filling out a questionnaire form or counting the occurrences of a certain activity. In a British article comparing the academic work of middle school students with the attitudes revealed in several categories of behavior, class interaction, and teacher-student interaction, structured observation was used to evaluate the human actions and interactions (Galton et al., 2009). I might use structured observation to determine the relative benefits of different types of group work for a particular age or class. – Kathleen

//**Validity**// – Degree to which an instrument, selection process, statistical technique, or test measures what it is supposed to measure (615 Glossary) Validity is often used when discussing research data. According to Bracey (2006), he considers there to be four types of validity important to educators. These are content validity, predictive or criterion validly, curriculum validity, and instructional validity. Content validity determines whether ‘a test measures that it claims to measure”. Predictive or criterion validity refers” to how well one test can be used to predict some other event at a later time”. Curriculum validity determines whether a test covers material in the curriculum and instructional validity and determines whether the students were taught the material. (Bracey, 2006). This concept is often referred to as educators validate a test. I often see this on the end of grade tests where educators question whether a test item was in our curriculum or whether it was something that was taught. We also ask questions on whether the materials were too difficult for the students or that the items required more time to complete. I have seen test items thrown out because validity claims were noted. Kristen

//**Sources**//

Bracey, G. (2006). Reading educational research:How to avoid getting statistically snookered. Portsmouth,NH: Heinemann. Kristen

Burch, V.C. & Seggie, J.L. (2008). Use of structured interview to assess portfolio-based learning. //Medical Education, 42//(9), 894-900. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03128.x – Kathleen

Dunleavy, M., & Heinecke, W. (2007). The impact of 1:1 laptop use on middle school math and science standardized test scores. //Computers in the Schools, 24//(3/4), 7-22. doi:10.1300/J025v24n03-02. - Cameron Johnson

Galton, M., Hargreaves, L. & Pell, T. (2009). Group work and whole-class teaching with 11- to 140 year-olds compared. //Cambridge Journal of Education, 39//(1), 119-140. DOI: 10.1080/03057640802701994 – Kathleen

Ya-Wen, L., & Hsiao-Ching, S. (2009). Enhancing eight grade students' scientific conceptual change and scientific reasoning through a web-based learning program. //Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 12//(4), 228-240. - Cameron Johnson