STEM Education: Research Methods and Theory

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to major research themes, methodology, theories of learning, and research ethics relevant to discipline-based education research (DBER) in biology, chemistry, and physics. Research methods related to studying learning and development of expertise in science will include: the design of quantitative studies (surveys, assessments, and statistical analysis methods) and the design of qualitative studies (interviews, observations, coding). Relevant theories of learning will include cognitivist, developmental, and social/cultural perspectives. The course will use case studies from current literature on biology, chemistry, and physics education research to introduce these topics. Students will apply their understanding to develop and execute a semester-long research project in STEM education research. As part of the research project, students will develop a research question, become familiar with procedures to satisfy RIT’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and ethical requirements, and apply a quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods approach. The project will include learning appropriate software, e.g. R (quantitative) or NVivo (qualitative).