TEACHABLE UNIT

PSYCHOLOGY 350: RESEARCH METHODS I

Teachable Unit - Basics of Research Methods

 

Learning goal:

Students will understand and gain knowledge about the scientific process of research.

 

Learning outcomes:

• Students will be able to generate and articulate research questions.

• Students will be able to identify independent and dependent variables.

• Students will be able to classify data.

 

Classroom activities:

           Students will be expected to read the assigned text book chapters before class. Therefore, the students are expected to have a basic knowledge of the definition of the components of the scientific method. Students will presented with a brief lecture summarizing the main points and definitions related to the lecture. In class, more time will be spent in getting students actively engaged with the material through group work. Students will be presented with examples of experimental scenarios and asked to identify the independent variable (IV) and its levels and the dependent variable (DV). Students will be asked to work on their own.

E.g., A researcher wants to know your response times for negative and neutral images:

IV – Images (2 levels: negative and neutral)

DV – Response times

Answers will be discussed with the whole class. If there are nay misunderstandings and/or misconceptions these will be addressed.

Next, students will be given an opportunity to work on their own to categorize data according the measurement scale.

For e.g., Temperature in Fahrenheit – Interval

Answers will be discussed with the whole class. If there are any misunderstandings and/or misconceptions these will be addressed.

Students will then be handed a worksheet activity, which is described below under the "Assessment activities."

 

 

Assessment activities:

           Students will be given opportunities to work in groups of 2-3 students in completing a worksheet. Students will be given a worksheet with 2 variables that they will have to categorize according to the measurement scale (nominal, ordinal, ratio or interval).

They will also be asked to come up with 2 other variables and classify those variables. Students will receive half a point for having at least 1 variable correctly categorized. Students will receive half a point for having written and correctly identified at least one variable on their own.

Students will also be given a research scenario in which they will be required to identify the IV and its levels and the DV. Students will receive one point if they answer at least two parts correctly.

Answers will be discussed in a whole class discussion before the class period ends.

           Students will be administered a homework assignment at the completion of the chapter, which will include questions to assess their low order and high order cognitive knowledge on the material. More details about the homework assignment can be found on the "Sample Syllabus" page. Students will also be administered a summative assessment (Exam 1) at the completion of the unit, which will include questions focused more on high-order cognitive levels.

 

REFLECTION

          Less class time will be dedicated to presenting lecture material and more class time will be dedicated to activities that would promote student engagement. Students will be presented with activities to be done on their own, that assess their knowledge on the material followed by whole class discussion and feedback. This will provide students with an opportunity to apply what they learned through the lecture. It has been found that encouraging students to work in groups and peer discussion, deepens understanding (Smith et al., 2009). Worksheet assignments will provide the students with opportunities to work in groups and solidify their understanding. This will also give students an opportunity to transfer what the students have learned through the lecture, which is dependent on their learning experience (Bransford, Crown & Cocking, 1999). Questions will be on higher levels on the Bloom’s taxonomy to promote higher order cognitive skills in order to enhance student learning (Crowe, Dirks & Wenderoth, 2008). Peer discussion and whole class discussion will provide students an opportunity to address and have their misconceptions clarified. It will also help the instructor identify whether there are areas that need further clarification and also monitor student understanding.

 

References

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press.

 

Crowe, A., Dirks, C., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2008). Biology in bloom: implementing Bloom's taxonomy to enhance student learning in biology. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 7(4), 368-381.

 

Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Adams, W. K., Wieman, C., Knight, J. K., Guild, N., & Su, T. T. (2009). Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions. Science, 323(5910), 122-124.