Module 5

Module 5 included a plethora of information to absorb.  The readings, videos, handouts, and projects contained a number of different things related to research.  The focus was primarily on quantitative research, but qualitative was present.

In the Mertler (2012) reading for the week, data collection in both qualitative and quantitative research was covered.  They were divided into sections and types of data collection for different research techniques were covered.  As always, in addition to the explanation of a topic and bold-faced key words, Mertler does a great job with including sample data collection tools, sample records, and charts for the topic at-hand.  These visual concepts and sample tools were very helpful to me while searching through numerous articles for the review of literature, as it helped to clarify many things I was reading.  The Mertler video also helped to clarify some of his viewpoints that I encountered throughout his readings.  I enjoy his informal, short and to the point clips.  It gives the area of research a bit more humanistic approach to understanding.

The Phillips (2008) reading was split into two sections for the week, but both focused on quantitative data.  The first section focused on the principles of quantitative research.  I never realized (until this class) how intricate and detailed quantitative research is.  I knew that it had involved numbers and the scientific method, but this week went into a great number of other things associated with it.  To be honest, not being a “math” person, I am a bit overwhelmed with these details.  While I am a bit over-whelmed, I will say that Phillips did a great job explaining it.  The second section of his reading focused on the descriptive study of quantitative research.  I felt a little more at ease while reading this section.  I appreciate how he included an example study and broke it down into sections.  He then explained each section of the study and even included tables.  This was very helpful in deciphering components that I may not understand when reading just the research.

The handout regarding how to construct a survey was very helpful for this week’s discussion component of the research etude guide.  I was able to draw knowledge that I had gathered from Dr. Brophy’s class and quickly understand what this week’s handout was referring to.  The examples of phrasing of survey questions were very helpful.  I actual now understand why the survey I must fill out after every teacher in-service is structured the way that it is.  Ah, education.

The review of literature took a lot of time to complete.  I am thankful that a sample was attached to the instructions.  I must admit that as useful as the OWL website is for APA, I do find this process over-whelming at times.  It is probably because I have never had to write this much in my life.  Nonetheless, I am learning a lot from reading the research on urban music education and have actual seen some things I plan on trying this coming school year.

I found the video to President Obama very interesting.  Campbell brought up good points regarding the potential in all people for success in the arts.  While I agree that if Obama were to inflict change within education it would be good, I think we can all agree that a more localized level of influence needs to be confronted also.  As seen with common core, not all states have chosen to adopt it, even though it is for the benefit of the kids and our country’s future.  I would like to see more institutions of higher learning getting involved at the state level of government to help guide politicians to make better choices regarding the arts and education overall.

Module 4

Module 4 had a very “hands-on” approach to learning.  There were a variety of readings and videos to cover how to interpret research articles, differences between types of research, and videos on how to write a literature review.

I found the Phillips readings to be very interesting this week.  Phillps (2008) says that researchers can collect quantitative data, but the qualitative study is recognized by its reliance on words for data (p. 83).  I found this to be interesting (and reassuring) that some aspect of “numbers” can be incorporated into a qualitative study; it just is not the basis for it.  The reading goes into great detail regarding the process and reasoning behind doing a qualitative study.  In order to better understand how qualitative research is broken down, Phillips (2008) took an actual research article (an ethnographic study to be exact) to study.  I found this study on Chinese and American music education majors to be very interesting.  It really grabbed my attention as to different thought processes into the subject matter.  He later makes a commentary on another research article.  This was again a qualitative study, but it focused on the life of school music teachers.  After each section of the study, Phillips (2008) provides a commentary to help the reader understand why the researcher included the information that was presented.  This information will prove to be very useful as I progress through this class and must propose my own research study.

While I usually find the Mertler (2012) readings to be easier to understand, I must admit that there was a lot of information to absorb this week and I felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the topics presented.  There was a lot of information and detail regarding different types of qualitative and quantitative research designs.  He explained things very well, but there was definitely a lot to comprehend.  As someone very new to research, I found myself having to re-read a number of things.  As always, I do appreciate Mertler’s use of bold-faced words to help me identify key words.  I think that the most helpful aspect of the Mertler (2012) reading for this week was the detail regarding ethics in research.  Mertler (2012) provides examples (and explanation with notes) of letters to send to specific people (i.e. participant, parent, student, etc.) when conducting a research study.  Mertler (2012) also goes into detail of getting organized for research so that it can flow better, and even included a sample research-planning schedule for use.  Again, he goes into detail and even provides an example of a research plan.   He ties this research plan into an extension of a previously proposed topic from an earlier chapter.

The videos (and handout) for this week were very helpful in clarifying the literature review.  I really enjoyed the jolly man (the woman was a bit dry to listen to) who presented in a conversational manner.  I am very glad that these videos were there.  I was very confused as to what a literature review included and did NOT include.  It was made very clear with all three videos as to what is expected when completing a literature review and I plan to use them again for the project due in module 5.

The video on Robert Woody was very interesting.  His class seems very innovative and practical in a world where music educators often come across students who play rock instruments.  Often times, however, music educators do not always possess those same skills.  Woody seems to give these music education students a skill to use in the classroom that a lot of music educators may have to end up learning in a pinch if they are put in to teach a guitar class or music composition class.

Module 3

Module 3 spent a lot of time on action research.  Obviously, the Mertler (2012) book is about action research, but the Phillips (2008) reading for this module also focused on the importance and implementation of action research.

Phillips (2008) introduces the idea of action research this week.  He says that the difference between doing a quasi-research and action research is the formal procedure that one must use in the action research (p. 317).  Phillips (2008) goes into great detail regarding action research.  Although the Mertler (2012) readings from previous weeks introduced me to action research, the Phillips (2008) reading is music specific.  I really appreciated how Phillips used published articles in music education as an example of music action research.  Phillips (2008) also provided excerpts to explain how to know when the research is considered “good” research.  This reading also provided a listing of music journals that can be consulted for further study of specific research areas in music.

Mertler (2012) is, as already known, speaking about action research in this week’s reading.  His book goes into great detail about each of the sections in action research.  This week focused on planning for the action research.  Mertler’s (2012) reading for this week gave details regarding identifying a topic, gathering preliminary information, and reviewing related literature.  This helped with the discussion for this week since we had to identify two possible research topics.  I really appreciate how Mertler (2012) not only goes into detail, but also utilizes numerous charts, tables, and bold-faced words.  These prove very effective is gathering my attention as I am reading.  Not only does he go into written detail regarding searchable databases for research, he provides screen shots to actually show the reader what they will be looking at as they conduct a search.  Mertler (2012) also emphasizes how important literature reviews are in the process of determining whether or not the research is relevant to the topic at hand, and provides clear instructions on how to complete the literature review.

Both readings were very relevant to module 3’s work, as the information was needed to complete the discussion, as well as the scavenger hunt.  I used both of these resources to complete the scavenger hunt, which proved to be a very time-consuming project.  It was rather difficult in the beginning to get acquainted with the different formats of the databases, but I feel much more confident (although not 100%) in my ability to find research now.  The brochures and video clips were also useful in helping to use the UF library catalog.

Module 2

Module 2 focused on some of the details regarding research.  Contrary to my thoughts about the Phillips (2008) reading last week, I was actually very interested in the reading this week.  While the reading last week was very vague and overwhelming (in my opinion), this week the reading spent some time on the background of research, why research is done, and who does research.  Components of research were broken down into detailed sections.  Phillips (2008) did not just state the definition of what an abstract, for instance, is, but he goes on to give examples of where to find abstracts and an example of one.  By his example, he then goes on to ask the reader specific questions about the information that has been given.  For instance in the abstract section, Phillips (2008) asks the reader to identify the type of research that has been presented by the abstract.  Phillips (2008) does a great job of thoroughly describing what should be included in each section of a research study.  This is helpful not only for interpreting a research study, but also for writing a research study.  As stated before, each section has examples that put the information into an example for the reader to better understand what is being presented.  There are also helpful points that Phillips (2008) makes about the quality of the research.  He provides useful questions to ask one regarding the research being read and whether or not the research should be trusted.  It is very helpful to have these tips there to better differentiate between the qualities of research that is available.  This reading helped me to better understand the discussion post and research assignment for the week.

The Mertler (2012) reading for this week was very specific to the steps of action research.  He reminds the reader that there are four main stages (planning, acting, developing, and reflecting) but goes on to explain that there are nine steps that take place throughout these stages.  Mertler (2012) goes into great detail regarding each of these steps throughout each stage.  He does a wonderful job explaining what each step should incorporate for a successful and effective study.  Just as last week’s reading, there were many charts and figures, as well as bold-faced words throughout the reading to help visualize what Mertler (2012) was trying to explain.  After explaining each of these steps in each stage, Mertler (2012) turned his steps into an actual example of an action research study.  This helped me to see how the action research would actually be implemented.

After stating last week that action research had been part of my teaching, I now realize how much more in-depth action research actually is.  It turns out that I have been implementing certain aspects of action research into my teaching, but definitely not participating in an actual action research study as I had previously thought.  I appreciate how Mertler (2012) and the video of Robert Duke take a more hands on approach to student learning and teacher accountability.  Both researchers seem to be on the same page regarding teacher reflection and the idea of hands-on learning for all, including the teacher.  They are both great examples of researchers who are completing action research.  I found the video of Robert Duke to be very inspirational in the way that he presented how we learn and how we do not learn.  It gave me things to ponder this summer as I prepare for the next school year.