Research to Practice Paper

EDCI 353

Purpose of the Assignment

Analyze a moment in education to practice applying educational theory and research findings to educational practice

 

Part A: Setting the Stage (.5 page)

For this introductory section, you will choose an age range to write about (Infancy and Development, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, or Adolescence) AND choose of the following options for observing youth. Provide a brief explanation of your choices.

Choose a source for observation (this list is not exhaustive):

• Classroom observation: Observe one period in a classroom
• Education video: examples could be from teaching channel.org, youtube (must be approved by me), etc.
• Media:
  • A show, magazine, movie, website, etc. that focuses on the age group you are interested in writing about. Please specify (e.g. if a show, include season and episode number). Source must be approved by me.

Once you have identified your age range and source for observation, you will provide a brief review of this piece. A review includes the title, the source from which it was drawn including the date, the main topic your paper will focus on, and a summary of the major points made in the piece as it relates to your topic. Additionally, you need to provide a rationale for choosing the piece that you did. In essence, provide a clear description of your piece to someone who has not seen what you have observed and explain why you chose this issue/aspect.

 

Part B: Analysis and Connections (~ 3-4 pages)

This section should include an analysis of your observation. A complete critique includes:

 

1. Analysis: provide your own analytic thoughts on what is being shown.

 

Must describe at least two events and connect them to at least two terms in the book, and two theories.

 

1. How do you make sense of what is going on in terms of the children’s physical, cognitive, social, and/or emotional development?
   1. Connect to at least one term from the book for each event.
   2. What is your example an example of?

 

1. How do you interpret and explain it using theories you learned about in class (e.g. behaviorist, constructivist, sociocultural, etc.)?
   1. How does your observation relate to theory?

 

Incorporate your knowledge of learning and development, citing evidence from class, textbook, and any additional supporting or contradicting evidence about what you see.

 Part C: Summary and Implications (~1-2 pages)

Here, you bridge together your analysis towards something personal and applicably meaningful. Questions to consider:

 

1. What may be some additional considerations/modifications that could be included in the lesson based on students’ physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development?
2. Based on your analysis from certain theoretical perspectives, how effective is the lesson or activity?
3. What may be some additional considerations/modifications that could be included in the lesson based on your connections to theory?
4. What if this lesson/activity happened with children at another developmental age level? What would be modified? What other considerations should be made? What might you be able to expect students to be able to do at a younger/older age?
5. How might this analysis inform your teaching?