Conference Paper

The Design and Implementation of a Method for Evaluating and Building Research Practice Partnerships

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... This longterm nature of RPPs allows partners to develop trusting relationships and provide adequate time to address complex problems (Potter et al., 2021). The engagement of teachers in the co-design of materials and the dissemination of findings also serve as a relationship-building tool for developing trust and fostering dialogue among the collaborating stakeholders (Potter et al., 2021;Rorrer et al., 2021). ...
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The importance of data literacies and the shortage of research surrounding data science in elementary schools motivated this research-practice partnership (RPP) between researchers and teachers from a STEM elementary school. We used a narrative case study methodology to describe the instructional practices of one music teacher who co-designed a data science curricular unit during a summer professional development program and implemented it in her 5th-grade music classroom. Data collected for this study include in-person and video observations, reflective journals, artifacts, and interviews. Findings suggest that this teacher integrated data science literacies into her classroom by supporting multiple avenues for data storytelling and relying on learners' everyday discourse and experiences. Our study details a practical example of implementing data science with non-STEM domains in elementary classrooms.
... Numerous numerous barriers, both internal and external [18], are often evoked and appear to stem from the limited involvement of teachers in the process. Multiple sources thus stress the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders, including teachers, in research practice partnerships [41] and curricular reforms [6,12,13,17], as a necessary condition for the success of such endeavours. The exclusion of teachers from curricular reform processes appears even more surprising when considering that : ...
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Despite their potential for yielding an understanding of the conceptualisation being developed, diagrams remain one of the least utilised tools in the analytical process. They have been used by interpretive investigators at various stages of the research process, for example, as artefacts to stimulate discussion in interviews, assisting the researcher in formulating ideas, refining conceptualisations in the process of theory building and communicating ideas to others. This article has two main objectives: first, to begin to explore some of the intricacies associated with the use of diagrams in grounded theory, and second, to use case study material from two separate projects, which adopted individual approaches to grounded theory, to investigate young peoples’ attitudes towards physical activity; it outlines the ways in which diagrams and drawings were used differently by researchers at various stages to support the research process and ongoing analysis of data.
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This volume explores the philosophical underpinnings, history, and key elements of five qualitative inquiry approaches: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. Using an accessible and engaging writing style, author John W. Creswell compares theoretical frameworks, methodologies in employing standards of quality, strategies for writing introductions to studies, the collection and analysis of data, narrative writing, and result verification. New to the Second Edition: (a) Brings the philosophical and theoretical orientations to the beginning of the book: This change helps ground students in the foundational thinking behind these methods much earlier. (b) Gives broader coverage of narrative research: Creswell expands one of the original five approaches from "Biography" to "Narrative," thus exploring a wider range of narrative opportunities--biography still being one of them. (c) Offers a much deeper discussion of interpretive approaches: This edition places much more emphasis on interpretive and postmodern perspectives such as feminism, ethnicity, and critical theory. (d) Provides more specific steps for doing research within each approach: Creswell discusses the actual procedure for each approach and includes the types of qualitative research within each of the five approaches. (e) Illustrates phenomenology and ethnography: The Second Edition contains two new, recent sample journal articles: one covering a phenomenological study, the other covering ethnographic study. (f) Includes additional examples: The author provides examples from the field of human services to enhance the already robust examples from education, sociology, and psychology. Intended Audience: This is a useful text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in introductory qualitative research methods across the social, behavioral, and health sciences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Chapter
Schools today confront ambitious new societal goals aiming at greater learning for more students. Simultaneously, we are demanding that our educational institutions operate more efficiently. A growing cadre of scholars and policy organizations argue that responding to these challenges requires a fundamental reorganization of the connections among research and practice. This chapter details new ways for scholars and practitioners to engage together in disciplined inquiry organized around specified problems of practice improvement. It describes the social organization of networked communities aimed at systematic learning from practice to improve it. Embedded within the day-to-day work of such improvement communities are multiple cycles of design, engineering, and development (DEED) that generate numerous small tests about what works for whom under different circumstances. We call this improvement research. The chapter details a core set of structuring agents necessary to form such networked improvement communities (NIC). We illustrate these ideas drawing on early design experiences from an emerging NIC seeking to address the extraordinary high failure rates in developmental mathematics in community colleges. These “developmental” courses currently operate as a barrier to opportunity, blocking access to both occupational training certification and transfer to 4-year institutions. We posit that research and practice properly arranged can reframe the opportunity equation.
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Cynthia E Coburn, William R Penuel, and Kimberly E Geil. 2013. Practice Part nerships: A Strategy for Leveraging Research for Educational Improvement in School Districts. William T. Grant Foundation (2013).
Assessing research-practice partnerships: Five dimensions of effectiveness
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Infrastructures to Support Equitable STEM Learning across Settings
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William R Penuel, Tiffany L Clark, and Bronwyn Bevan. 2016. Infrastructures to Support Equitable STEM Learning across Settings. Afterschool Matters 24 (2016), 12-20.
How cross-sector collaborations are advancing STEM learning
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Kathleen Traphagen and Saskia Traill. 2014. How cross-sector collaborations are advancing STEM learning
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