A ED 502: Research in Art Education


Syllabus Fall 2008
08/25/2008-12/12/2008
 972664
Section 001: 3 credits
Class meets : 102 Visual Arts Building
 
 

Tuesdays
2:30 - 5:30 p. m.

 

 Dr. Karen Keifer-Boyd
210 Arts Cottage
814.863.7312
kk-b@psu.edu
office hours: email for appt.

Description: Examination of past and present research in art education, an introduction to general methods of research, and critical evaluation of research in art education.

Purpose: To assist graduate students in understanding research processes and practices and, subsequently, to initiate students' preparation for executing scholarly research and writing. A third goal is for students to learn to critically read both quantitative and qualitative research.

Worldviews & Research Methodologies: Research requires creativity, ingenuity, and thoroughness. There are several different types of research design. Students will be introduced to a full range. The deliberate choice of a design increases the likelihood that the data will yield information on the research question. However, worldviews influence research design choices. Therefore we will identify worldviews embedded in research methodologies. We will:

1. Examine how knowledge is constructed and deployed.

2. Examine how interdisciplinary perspectives inform research methods.

3. Examine how feminist analysis redefines traditional categories and disciplinary concepts through its attention to gender and other social categories social as race, class, culture, sexual orientation, and age.

4. Explore practical guidelines for interventions for social change and policy revision.

5. Find, formulate, limit, and state a research problem from an identified theoretical perspective; conduct critical literature reviews; and select/combine appropriate research methodologies informed by the course readings and discussion and with an understanding of research design parameters for procedures to collect, analyze, interpret, and present information.
 

Course Objectives to Enable Students to:

I. Recognize philosophical implications for choosing research methods and procedures.
  a. Descriptive (usually qualitative, may be quantitative) research includes naturalistic methodology, ethnography, & the methodology of constructivist inquiry.
  b. Historical (usually qualitative, rarely quantitative)
  c. Experimental (quantitative, controlled variables)
II. Formalize research.
  a. Analysis of the problem (finding, formulating, limiting, and stating the research problem)
  b. Addressing the problem (defining strategies to address the problem; determining research methodologies; gathering, analyzing, interpreting data; drawing and summarizing conclusions consistent with the original problem)
III. Conduct literature reviews.
  a. Awareness of computerized indexes, including Uncover, FirstSearch, WorldCat, Dissertation Abstracts, Newsbank, ERIC, & Art Index, along with the specific limitations of each.
  b.  Access specific computerized indexes.
  c. Conduct keyword searches according to the Library of Congress' hierarchical and "controlled vocabulary" and in other subject classification listings, including "Thesaurus of ERIC descriptors."
  d. Obtain sources listed in the computerized indexes.
  e. Use Boolean logic & advance power search engines to limit searches.
  f. Awareness of art references including: Art Schools, Bibliographies and Research Guidebooks, Biographies, Business and Law, Criticism, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, General Reference, Health, Periodical Indexes, and Reproduction Indexes (see Art/Reference Bibliography for listings).
  g. Learn Internet search strategies and become familiar with selected World Wide Web sites in your research area
 IV. Select appropriate research methodology with an understanding of research design parameters for strategies to collect, analyze, interpret, and present information.
   a. Research design (overall plan) including case study, experimental design, analytic design (historical inquiry), action research, arts-based research, evaluation methods, and content analysis methods
   b. Methods of data collection (strategies, techniques, & tools)
   c. Methods for data analysis (techniques & tools) including: observation (recording units), qualitative analysis (triangulation), documents (text analysis), statistical analysis (descriptive and inferential statistics)
   d. Presentation of research (dissertation components, writing styles appropriate to research design, style manuals, & ethical considerations)

Course Projects (specifics will be provided when the assignment is introduced) & Evaluation Criteria (94-100 A, 90-93 A-, 88-90 B+, 83-87 B, 80-82 B-, etc.)

 20% Preparation for class including completed reading assignments, informal presentation & discussion, problem statement drafts, & mapping of research
 20% Conduct a search on a specific research problem—prepare an outline of a lit review chapter based on a problem statement & code your documentation from the search
 20% Three critiques, using appropriate "standards of adequacy" criteria, of published research—each with a different research design
 20% Essay: Interview and qualitative analysis
 20% Final: Write & present a preliminary research proposal including the proposed research design

Special Feature of the Course: Students will also participate in discussions of current research with members of the art education faculty, learning about faculty interests so that students can begin to identify faculty knowledge and expertise in specific research areas. Art education faculty present their research with a focus on their research processes, the methodologies, and theoretical frames employed, and response to the following 4 questions developed by students in the past. I will ask the current students once the semester begins what general questions you have regarding research in art education that you would like each art ed faculty to address.  

1) What do you consider important art education research?
2) What are the characteristics and components of a good dissertation/thesis?
3) How do you develop research questions?
4) What sources do you find the most useful when doing research?

Required readings will be placed on electronic reserve or in the ANGEL course site. In developing a preliminary research proposal you will discover many pertinent sources that will provide theoretical and methodological grounding for your inquiry, thus you will select several of the readings for course.

Texts on Conducting Research: Visit the topical linked bibliography

Facilities & Technology Support:

The 3 Patterson Building computer labs are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Experts at the Sparks Building, room 15 (basement) are there to provide one-on-one assistance in getting the technology to do what you want it to do. If you like to have help available while you are working, use the Sparks computer lab. Sparks lab is open Sunday, noon to 10 p.m., M-H 10a.m. to midnight, and Fri. 10a.m to 4 p.m. They are closed on Saturday.

All technology classrooms are equipped with a telephone. If you experience problems with computers or printers please call the Hotline at 8-777-0035. This number is staffed Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.-1:00 a.m.; Saturday &; Sunday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Attendance Policy:

Attendance is required and very important to learning in this course. However, I encourage you to attend professional conferences, therefore your absence in class for such attendance is excused with prior arrangements.

This course is in accordance with Faculty Senate Policy 42-27 on Attendance: The faculty senate policy, effective Fall 2002, states that students who miss class due to legitimate, unavoidable reasons such as illness, injury or family emergency should have the opportunity to make up evaluative events. While notifying the instructor in a timely manner is a key expectation, the senate policy does not mandate official documentation of student illness or other unavoidable reasons for absence. The policy also states, however, that false claims by a student "may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity." Similarly, R4 in the Administrative Policies and Procedures does not require official documentation when students take part in religious observances. R4 states, "In preparing the calendar for an academic year, the University makes every effort to avoid conflicts with religious holidays. However, when conflicts are unavoidable, efforts are made to make special arrangements for the students affected."

Academic Integrity:
 

University Policies and Rules Guidelines states that academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to acts such as cheating on exams or assignments; plagiarizing the words or ideas of another; fabricating information or citations; facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others; claiming authorship of work done by another person; submitting work completed in previous classes; and/or submitting the same work to multiple classes in which a student is enrolled simultaneously.

Plagiarism is the use of more than three consecutive words, ideas, or images of another author without proper citation. Proper citation formats must follow one of the academic writing style manuals such as APA, Chicago, MLA, or Turabian. All images and text from the Internet, journals, or books must have full citation to be used in your work.

Students charged with a breach of academic integrity will receive due process and, if the charge is found valid, academic sanctions may range, depending on the severity of the offense, from F for the assignment to F for the course.

Modifications for Those Experiencing Disabilities:

If you need alternate arrangements or modifications to meet course requirements, please contact me during the first week of classes (see Americans with Disabilities Act, 26 July 1990, Penn State's Nondiscrimination Policy, and the Office for Disability Services).

The Office for Disability Services on campus provides academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services to qualified students with disabilities. In order for a student's disorder/impairment to be considered a disability, the student must demonstrate through documentation that the disorder/impairment meets the definition of a disability under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A disability is defined as a physical or emotional impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Click here for information regarding eligibility for services and the procedures for obtaining services. For further information regarding the Office for Disability Services at any Penn State campus, visit the ODS Web site

Health and Safety Information:
 

Every effort will be made to comply with the intent of state laws or acts and the University Health and Safety Program in an effort to maintain a safe academic and working environment. Information and awareness of safety factors will be included in the course content when applicable.

When using a computer the main safety practice is to keep your arm, wrist, and hand in a straight line as you use the keyboard or mouse to avoid muscle stress, inflammation, and injury. Also take breaks, stretch, and look at objects in the distance periodically. Use Internet Explorer's "View menu" and "Text Zoom" to increase the font size of this and any Web page to meet your vision needs.

Click here for emergency procedures and phone numbers. Dial 911 for emergencies, (814) 863-1111 for University Police, or (814) 231-6110 for Centre Community Hospital Emergency Department. Patterson, room 304, has a phone by the podium to use (when there is not a class in session) to call off campus. Flashing lights and an alarm inside a building mean fire. Exit quickly.

The shop, located at 108 Visual Arts Building, is intended to serve the entire School of Visual Arts and is available to all students enrolled in SVA classes who have completed the appropriate orientation. Students in the School of Visual Arts may find themselves working in the shop or in their studios or classrooms using a variety of power and hand held equipment, which may cause injury. When assisting a person who is bleeding, use disposable gloves which are in the first aid kits in the shop and studio labs. Students should use the shop only after having received an orientation in the use of such equipment and when supervised by faculty or shop personnel. Should any injuries occur, in the shop, studios, or classrooms in the School of Visual Arts please report them to Jerry Bierly, Shop Supervisor, Room 108-A Visual Arts Building, Phone: 814-865-3962, email: jib7@psu.edu.

last update 7/31/2008