New Literature Review focus / question

I seem to be going round in circles with Problem Based Learning as I want to find out how 21st century skills are being incorporated in it. I have looked at Agile as well. 

Soooo I keep coming back to the Design Thinking model, which is what we focused on for our LDC assessment 2. I think that Design Thinking innovations incorporate all the 21st century skills. What I want to find out more about is how it is being used, especially in a New Zealand education setting, either primary or secondary and what have been the results, good, bad or otherwise. If it's not been extensively used then why? and does there need to be a leadership change to introduce it more across mainstream education?

Possible Research Questions could be:

• What is the Design Thinking model and how does it enhance student engagement and does it increase learning outcomes for students in classroom settings?
• How can the Design Thinking model be used to improve student outcomes in schools?

Any feedback on how I could improve my question/s would be appreciated.

Writing a Literature Review - Week 19

Learning Objectives

• Understand the purpose of a literature review
• Recognise the different elements that make up a literature review
• Understand the process you must go through in order to produce your own literature review on your chosen topic area.

5 Tips to improve your writing 

1. Avoid contractions

2. Do not use there are .... be concise with sentences with it's use

3. Do not use A lot, Really, So, Very

4. Passive voice vs Active voice - avoid passive voice eg: Healthcare reforms were implemented by Obama - use - Obama implemented Healthcare reforms.

5. Use strong verbs - eg: He gave assistance to my friend - He assisted my friend.

Learn how to search for related literature, compare and contrast the studies, structure and write a literature review that synthesizes the key theories and results in your field of study

Two good ideas I got out of this clip was to to use a spreadsheet to organise each review with themes and key points referenced with page numbers, helpful for referring back to later on. Comments could be made here when making connections when critically analysing each paper, so connections between each paper and also connections could be grouped.

Class Notes to refer back to....

What is a literature review?

A literature review can form the first part of a research paper or it can be an entire, stand-alone paper, which often forms the first stage of a larger research project. The literature review you will be writing will function as an independent paper, however, it is also intended to inform the inquiry project that you will be developing.

The literature review is a critical evaluation of the research that has been done in a particular area. A literature review should:

• Provide an overview of the research that has been conducted in a particular topic
• Describe and summarise the findings of previous research
• Make connections and compare and contrast research findings
• Evaluate and analyse the research findings and organise information into coherent themes.

A literature review can provide an up-to-date picture of the research area of interest and show which areas:

1. have been investigated and the results obtained
2. identify methods of investigation that could be used in further research
3. give indications of problems that might be encountered and possible solutions
4. reveal common findings among studies
5. reveal inconsistencies between studies
6. identify factors not previously considered
7. provide suggestions for further research.

(Hewitt, M. (2009). How to Search and Critically Evaluate Research Literature. The NIHR RDS for the East Midlands / Yorkshire & the Humber.)

Important to note

When writing your literature review it is important that you do not just provide a list of the research that has been done in your chosen area. You must critically engage with the research, evaluate the findings, identify common themes and commonalities and also recognise any disagreements or tensions that exist in the literature. It is important to use the literature to tell a particular story. You should use the literature to explain why this topic is important to focus on and to possibly identify gaps in the literature that your inquiry project can help to address.

Martyn Shuttleworth has written a useful (and short) article on what a literature review is (and is not). You can access it here: https://explorable.com/what-is-a-literature-review

How to do a Literature Review: The Steps and Stages

1. Identify research problem and develop your research questionsBefore you can undertake a review of the literature it is important that you define the area you will be focusing on. Writing a research question or questions will help you to structure your literature search and literature review.

2. Find relevant literature You need to gather the literature that you are going to review in your paper. Use the notes and resources from last week to help you with this stage.

3. Critically evaluate literature This follows on from last week’s focus on how to interpret academic literature. It is really important in your literature review that you are not just presenting and describing the research findings but that you are also evaluating and interpreting them. Here are some questions that you should be asking your self as you read the literature: Is the purpose of the study clear and well defined? How was the study done? Are the methods clearly described and appropriate? Are the results presented in a clear and understandable format? Does the interpretation of the results seem consistent with the results presented? Are there other explanations that could account for the results?

4. Synthesise the literature Following on from step 3, when you are planning and writing your literature review it is really important that you synthesise the literature. Synthesis involves combining ideas from a range of sources, grouping together common ideas and key arguments. As you read through the literature try to identify the key themes that are emerging. What are the commonalities between the different sources you are reading? Are there any disagreements or tensions? It can be useful to identify key themes as you go and to then place relevant excerpts or quotes from different sources under each theme. In order to work out whether you have critically analysed and synthesised the literature as your self these questions: - Do I compare and contrast different concepts and ideas, rather than just listing or summarising them?  - Do I assess the strengths and weaknesses of the different ideas and concepts I am discussing? - Have I cited and discussed studies that are contrary to my perspective? For a good and easy to read discussion about how to write a literature review, have a look at this blog post: http://getalifephd.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/six-steps-to-writing-literature-review.html

5. Writing your literature reviewOnce you have read and interpreted the literature, identified the key themes and organised your literature under these themes, it is time to start writing your literature review. Your review should start with an introduction. The introduction should inform your reader about the topic and purpose of your literature review. For your assessment you need to establish your purpose in the form of a research question(s). Your research question(s) are what have guided your literature search.  You should organise the main body of your literature review into sub-sections. Each sub-section should focus on a different theme within the literature (they may also relate to your sub-research questions). For each theme you need to discuss the key ideas, definitions and findings. You should highlight where there is agreement and commonality between different studies. You should also try to analyse any areas of disagreement and to identify any gaps within the literature. It is also important to write your literature review in such a way that you make it clear how the research you are reviewing relates to your research question(s) and purpose. Think about the story your literature review is trying to tell.  Your literature review should end with a conclusion, which summarises the key ideas you have discussed. In your conclusion you could also briefly reference how the literature relates to and will help to inform your own research efforts.  The following quote provides a useful reminder of what a literature review should be aiming to do:  A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It’s usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question.  (Taylor, D. (n.d.) The Literature Review: A few tips on conducting it. University of Toronto. Retrieved from www.writing.utoronto.ca). This YouTube video also provides some helpful information on writing a literature review (despite the narrator’s monotone voice!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU     This was helpful and reinforced the the narrative importance - you are telling the story of your findings. The writing centre at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also has some helpful suggestions for how to write a literature review:  http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/ Writing style in a literature review A literature review is a piece of formal, academic writing. This means that you should write in full sentences and organise your writing into paragraphs. Avoid using bullet points. Try to avoid using the first person (‘I’ statements). For example, instead of writing ‘I think that’ turn it around and write in the third person, ‘the literature shows’ or ‘this suggests that’. This way you are still putting across your own interpretation of the literature without using the first person. You need to make sure that you use correct referencing. This includes both in-text citations (i.e. when you refer to a piece of literature you need to provide the reference) and a reference list at the end of your review of all the literature you have cited. The Unitec library website has very good resources to help you with your referencing. Checklist for your Literature ReviewHECKLIST FOR YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW Below is a list of things you need to make sure that you have done/included in your literature review: Engaged with a range of literature. The strength of your literature review in part relies on you having engaged with the major literature in your chosen topic. Developed research questions to structure your literature review Critically evaluated the literature, rather than just describing or listing it. Identified major themes within the literature and synthesised the literature. This includes comparing and contrasting findings and identifying any disagreements and gaps in the literature. Used the literature to tell a particular story (as opposed to just listing and describing the research findings). Used formal, academic writing conventions, including accurate referencing. Included a section examining how the principles of Kaupapa Maori research could relate to your chosen topic (the notes and resources from week 17 will be helpful for this). Make sure that you include citations in this part of your literature review. Remember to proof read your work. It is often really helpful to read your writing aloud. That way you can hear whether it flows and makes sense. Having a friend read your work and offer constructive feedback can also be very useful. Additional resources The following resources may be useful for you when writing your literature review. The exemplar literature review uploaded to the platform, with comments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU http://getalifephd.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/six-steps-to-writing-literature-review.html https://explorable.com/what-is-a-literature-review http://libguides.unitec.ac.nz/apareferencing http://library.unitec.ac.nz/services/libraryinstruction/litreview.htm

OMG - processing the last few days and where to next?

It is very nice having 5 days breathing space to catch up on study and time to get my head around what I want to do for my Literature review/teaching as inquiry assignments.  A light bulb moment in maths last week - using whole class, real world problem solving has got me thinking, why aren't we / I using PBL (Problem Based Learning) model more often across the curriculum? 

Is it possible to use collaborative activities in mixed and multi levelled classrooms where children are grouped, not academically, to work together to solve problems, and support each other to learn new skills and build on existing and explore new knowledge?

For me it's obvious if we are working towards incorporating 21st century skills, focusing on collaborative learning opportunities for the future using digital tools, apps and web sites etc, then why is there often still not student engagement? 

Does this take time?
Have some students been allowed to remain silent, passive, and not been encouraged to contribute?
Why have they not been interested or engaged in the topic?
Have we provided a safe environment to encourage them to take risks to move out of existing comfort zones and speak up?
Do we as teachers allow enough time for sharing and reflection?
Are we still confined / constrained by the timetable and content?

Some questions I am starting to formulate in my head are:

• Does PBL provide authentic learning opportunities for student engagement?
• Why is PBL not fully implemented / integrated across the curriculum in educational settings?
• How are teachers engaging in PBL opportunities for their students?
• Does or could the Agile based learning model fit into PBL?

I need to narrow down and focus my questions before I start my Literature review. My initial library search shows that there is a lot of research already done with PBL. I teach at year 7 & 8 level in a full primary so I would clearly like to relate it back to the primary setting.   Where to next?

R&CIP - Using research - locating and interpreting - WEEK 18

Learning Objectives

• Understand the different types and formats of education research
• Know how to search for and locate education research
• Develop skills to interpret and critically evaluate research

How to read a scholarly journal article?

Recognise the structure of scholarly articles in order to use them most effectively in your research projects.

How to read scientific articles

Reading Academic Articles

Unitec Library - using ebooks

Web Searching Tips from Unitec Library

Searching Data Bases

R&CIP - Research and Community Informed Practice - Introduction to Research Education WEEK 17

Learning Outcomes:

1. Assemble and critically review a relevant body of literature.

2. Apply a Kaupapa Māori approach (that reflects the principles of Te Noho Kotahitanga) to knowledge gathering, developing research questions and identifying community priorities.

3. Develop a research topic, clearly articulated both in objectives and scope, that is justified by prior literature, and the current needs of the community.

So Understanding Research - what does it all mean to me before I embark on this next block of learning?
This video explains the reasons and benefits of research in education.

Explanation of the different types of Educational research

So what is Educational Research? According to Ian Rushton at the University of Huddersfield

it's a collection and analysis of information to help us understand and explain it better.

There are 3 areas - Research - Policy - Practice. Education Research is carried out to: 

1. explore issues - identify problems/issues 

2. shape policy - informs us 

3. improve practice - to do better than what is done presently

To be a researcher you have to be:

Flexible; plan; organise; reason; analyse; synthesise; contrast; compare; evaluate and examine.

Gosh it's good to know that I will be working at Extended Abstract level (solo taxonomy)

The three key areas - research, policy and practice as taken from the course notes.

On a general level research consists of three steps:

1.Pose a question

2. Collect data to answer the question

3. Present an answer to the question

The Process of Research

1. Identify the research problem

2. Review the literature

3. Specify a purpose for research

4. Collect data

5. Analyse and interpret data

6. Report and evaluate research

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Creswell, J - Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research.

How can Kaupapa Maori inform research? 

make a positive difference in Māori whānau, hapū, iwi and communities.

seeks to identify and uphold Māori views, solutions and ways of knowing. 

It is about empowering Māori people, voice, processes and knowledge.   http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/

How can the principles of Kaupapa Maori relate to your own practice?

It helps give me a better understanding of Maori educational perspective and I feel I can identify with all of the principles. Hopefully, I would like to think that I could take on board some of these principles into my teaching practice and learning. 

Research and Community Informed Practice

I'm two weeks into being independent and what do you know I'm already two weeks behind. So as per usual I am procrastinating and have got side tracked. The video below I will show to the kids at school tomorrow as we are currently goal setting with them and encouraging growth mindset. 

We started measurement this week in maths and have been using problem based learning opportunities and relating back to their own world. This got me thinking can I / we carry problem based learning across other curriculum areas? Have I done any research on it? NO so what do I know about the background of how effective it is.  Maybe .... this could be my focus for my literature review????

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

I have watched Carol Dweck's talks and videos before, but watching this one again is relevant to how I am now thinking about my inquiry model for challenging children and their learning. How they think about themselves as learners in life, not just at school.

Ever wondered why kids say they’re bored at school, or why they stop trying when the work gets harder? Educationalist Carol Dweck explains how the wrong kind of praise actually *harms* young people.