7/28/2019 Assignments of Research
1/2
Assessment one: Basics of educational research
Consider the following scenario.
An educational researcher is approached by the principals of
five Vietnamese schools at thesame level requesting external
evaluation of the students competence in writing English. The
schools are of different size, ranging from 300 students to over
2000 students. The socio-economic status of the communities in
which the schools are situated is highly varied for thefive
schools. The experience of the teachers in all the schools is also
varied, ranging frombeginning teachers to twenty plus years of
experience.
A test of written English is administered to all first year high
school students at the end of theyear (If you teach in primary
school use final year primary students, if you are in a
universityor other type of college use your first year students).
The test contains 20 sentences eachwith a grammatical error which
the students are asked to correct. They are also asked to writea
paragraph (120 words) on an appropriate topic.
The principals are concerned about the validity and reliability
of the tests and the use of theresults. Thebrief of the researcher
is to evaluate the testing program.
Place yourself in the position of the researcher and apply your
knowledge of the basics ofeducational research to complete the
following tasks.
1. Based on the information provided above, write three
appropriate research questions toguide the evaluation.
2. Identify ethical issues in the testing program and
communication of the results.
How can the program be changed so that it conforms to the
recommended
ethical principles for conducting educational research?
3. Identify and classify the variables in the program.
4. Comment on the sampling process used in the testing program.
Suggest
alternatives to enable to the whole-school level.
5. Comment on the validity and reliability of the program and of
the results. How
could the program be modified to improve validity and
reliability?
Marks: 40%Maximum length: 2000 wordsDate due: April 15
7/28/2019 Assignments of Research
2/2
Assessment two: Topic Presentation Notes
Select one of the topics listed in unit outline after week five.
Your task is to developPresentation/ Lecture notes on this topic as
if you were teaching this topic to the next MA
class of postgraduate students.
You are expected to consult a range of resources beyond your
text in the preparationof these notes.
Criteria for assessment
Evidence of synthesis of ideas related to the topic
Selection and judgment in determining the importance of
ideas
Effectiveness and originality of the approach to communicating
the key ideasto postgraduate students
Level of clarity and comprehensiveness on the Presentation Notes
for this
stated topic.
Marks: 20%Maximum length: 1200 wordsDate due: April 30
Assessment three: Research Approaches
There has been much heated debate amongst the academic community
about the relative
merits of quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Your
task is to prepare a balanced
evaluation of these two approaches, based on a wide survey of
scholarly opinions about the
strengths and weaknesses of each. Your analysis should canvas
various definitions of
qualitative and qualitative research, particularly as they apply
to education. While you should
use your textbook as a foundation for this exploration, you are
expected to consult other
literature sources, including those found online. Your
submission is to be a vigorous andinformed discussion of the
relevant issues, particularly as they apply to the practical
problems
of making demonstrable improvements in education in this age of
ever-increasing public
accountability.
Marks: 40%Maximum length: 2500 wordsDate due: May 15
