Educational Research

When I entered this program my research skills were low. Although, I received good grades in my undergraduate degrees, I never felt that I truly got the hang of research. I suspect that this is not out of the ordinary for a natural sciences student--we spent a lot of time performing calculations and learning procedures, rather than reading journals and writing papers. Upon looking at the ETAD program plan, I was not looking forward to the required Research Methods course. I did not see the importance and relevance of research to my day-to-day teaching.

My journey of becoming more comfortable and competent with research began in ETAD 874. Throughout this course we completed reading reports. These reports summarized our optional readings, which included research articles. Throughout this process I began to see the relevance of these articles to my practice as an instructional designer and teacher.

This journey continued in ETAD 802. Throughout this course we were constantly exposed to research. Educational theories are rooted in research. As I wrote my series of blog posts, I began to crave evidence for the teaching strategies that I was interested in using and promoting. Although, when I could find relevant articles, I struggled to make sense of the data.

Screen of ETAD 802 Blog

The next step in my growth coincided with my career change. I found myself working in a university environment, where my colleagues produce research and consume it on a daily basis. The environment was much different from that of a K-12 school. This shift had been one of the most difficult adjustments for me in changing careers. Luckily, the last year of my program had me develop my research skills. 

In ETAD 804, our textbook was very much rooted in research. As I was trying hard to develop my skills and understanding of research, this textbook was the perfect tool. The chapters made the research relevant and accessible. Also, in this course, I was required to perform some informal research and write an investigative report on a distance learning program in northern Canada. In order to write this report, I performed an interview to collect data. This was very basic research, but a type of research, nonetheless. I also needed to explore current educational research in order to effectively present my distance education proposal for Flipped Teaching for University Instructors.

One of my final courses was ERES 800. By the time I took this course, I was eager to improve my ability to read and produce research. Luckily, while I went through ERES 800, I was participating in three research studies with my colleagues at work. Using these studies asa reference, I was very engaged in my readings and discussions. Throughout my readings, I would consider the alignment between the content and the studies I was participating in. As part of my role at work, I needed to develop literature reviews for these studies. The ERES 800 textbook was helpful in detailing how to efficiently read research articles and build a literature review. I was also able to critically discuss my classmates' research proposals using proper terminology. 

Excerpt from ERES 800 discussion board

By the end of this course, I was able to write my own research proposal: Employer Satisfaction of Face-to-face vs. Online Students. The proposal is complete with a hypothesis, literature review, and methodology section. I never would have been able to write this two years ago. This is clear evidence of my growth and development throughout this program and especially in ERES 800. Going forward I want to continue to grow in my proficiency in reading, understanding, and producing research.