Day #4, June 20th CEP 955 Summer Hybrid 2013

Jack Smith

Michigan State University

Back to the RQ LabLaura: Background on her Practicum inquiryWork on her draft RQsNew issue: What kind of analysis does each

RQ call for?

Joel: Background on his Practicum inquiryWork on his draft RQsSame issue: What kind of different analysis

does “of-with-through” call for?

Homework check-inDid anyone last night decide “no theory”

(really) in my Practicum?Currently, how many theories are shaping

your studies?How and where to talk about theory, e.g.,

separate section or in Literature Review?

The Role of Theory (generally)Seeing is a conceptual act => we see with our ideasLooking, observing, recording, interpreting are all

conceptual actions (applications of our ideas to raw observable data)

Frameworks direct our attention to particular features of the world that we could notice, label, and record

No explicit framework does not imply no framework (implicit, intuitive, unconscious frames)

Researcher’s responsibility and reflective practice: Try to be explicit about what guides your seeing

Theory Scale (or “reach”)In educational psychology (at least)—as in other fields—

theories differ in the range of phenomena they address“Grand” theory: All of human learning and/or

development, e.g., Skinner’s operant conditioning theoryOutside of education: plate tectonics in geology

Many other theories narrow the range of their target phenomena; “medium” to “small-scale”??

Examples:TPACK: phenomenon = what teachers know about

educational technologyWentzel: phenomenon = how social support, motivation,

and achievement relateBut scale is also dynamic; small-scale theories can be

adapted to account for a wider range of phenomena (e.g., “perceived loss”)

Examples, Non-examples, & QuestionsWentzel’s study had no orienting theory, right?One meaning of TPACK: A framework for

examining teachers’ knowledge: CK, PK, TK, PCK, TCK, TPK, and finally TPCK; a theory of types of teacher knowledge

If I think “cognitive load” and “self-regulation” have meaning, am I using cognitive load theory and the theory of self-regulated learning?

“Communities of practice” (Wenger) as a lens on the activity of anime conference organizers

Theory Bites (x 2)

Introducing Ginny’s PracticumGinny: Andragogy (Knowles)Q&A; discussionIntroducing James’ PracticumJames: Gibson’s ecological theory (of

affordances)Q&A; discussion

Grand Theory (of thinking, knowing & learning) Greeno, Collins, & Resnick (1996) provide a very useful

top-level categorization of their families of theoriesThree broad perspectives (groupsof theories)

Behavioral theoriesCognitive theoriesSituative theories

Situative (sometimes called “sociocultural”) theories focus on participating (as knowing) and on individual and collective knowingRogoff, cognitive apprenticeshipBrown, Collins, & Duguid (1989) “situated cognition”Jean LaveEtienne Wenger

Perspectives form a temporal progression of the field (B->C->S)

General Writing SuggestionsUse headers and sub-headers to direct the reade

r ’s attention and support their comprehensionDo worry about “smooth transitions”; a proposal

is not an essayWatch out for long sentences; try for simple

declarative sentencesStick with the active voice as much as possible

(avoid constructions like “it was shown that…”Engage other readers for their suggestions;

where do they have questions/get lost?Outline or enter short phrases and sentence

fragments in “new sections” as placeholders

Homework for tomorrowFocus: Structuring your literature reviewText: Gall, Gall, & Borg, chapter 4Read for the overall gist; focus down selectively

in sections that feel usefulQuestion tomorrow: Which sections were useful?Writing task: Try either outlining your review

section (if there have been changes) or revising and editing your section (if not)

Some issues: Order of main points/results; does theory structure?; are you building an argument for a “hole” or open issue(s)?

Schedule: Someone willing to move up their theory bite to tomorrow?