ERIC Number: ED668177
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-4739-8015-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 2016-10-27
Studying Individual Differences in a Middle School Classroom Context: Considering Research Design, Student Experience, and Teacher Knowledge. Sage Research Methods Cases Part 2
Keisha Varma; Sashank Varma; Martin Van Boekel; Jeremy Wang
Sage Research Methods Cases
This case study describes how our research team conducted an individual differences research project in a middle school science classroom. The main goal of our work was to investigate whether individual differences in cognitive abilities predict individual differences in scientific reasoning in middle school students. In order to address our research questions, we needed to administer psychological measures of cognitive abilities to middle school students "as a group" in their classroom context. Work with these types of measures is usually conducted in a laboratory setting where participants complete each task individually with direct oversight from an experimenter. Because we did not want to disrupt multiple days of classroom instruction, we were unable to test the children individually. This case study summarizes how we were able to modify psychological measures for whole-class administration. In addition to describing how we modified each measure iteratively over two implementation cycles, we also discuss how we presented our research in the classroom context and the key role of our partnership with the classroom teacher. [This content is provided in the format of an e-book.]
Descriptors: Individual Differences, Middle School Students, Middle School Teachers, Research Design, Student Experience, Science Education, Research Projects, Cognitive Ability, Thinking Skills, Measures (Individuals), Case Studies, Psychological Testing
Sage Research Methods Cases. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; Web site: https://methods-sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/Cases
Publication Type: Books; Non-Print Media; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A