FUNDAMENTALS OF GRADUATE STUDY

MED 6000 (2 credits), Fall2009

Instructor:Dr. Kristin Hadley

Educ 306

626-8653

Dates/Times:See schedule

McKay Education building room 219

Course Description:

This course is designed to help students meet academic goalsrequiring graduate level research and writing and to introduce the policies and procedures of the graduate program.Locating, critically reading, and evaluating educational research will be addressed as wellas scholarly writing style, form, documentation, support, and organization.

Required Text and Materials:

Jones, W.P. & Kottler, J.A. (2006). Understanding research: Becoming a competent

and critical consumer. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author

WSU Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. (2009). Content and style

requirements for papers and projects. Ogden, UT:WSU

Available online at

WSU Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. (2009).Student Handbook.

Ogden, UT: WSU Printing

Available online at

Materials on class website:

Course Objectives/Outcomes

All WSU Masters of Education courses are articulated with Weber’s Teacher Education conceptual framework: “Student Achievement: Students, Teachers, and Communities Working Together.” Following this model, courses are: (a) based on national and state standards and grounded in current best theory and practice, (b) structured to foster reflecting, engaging, and collaborating; and (c) geared toward increasing student achievement

The Candidate outcomes for this course are:

Primary outcomes

  • Candidates demonstrate abilities to use writing, research skills, oral presentation skills and reflective and questioning skills to meet scholarly and professional goals.
  • Candidates demonstrate the ability to find and report on a significant educational question that has usefulness and applicability through the development of a written culminating project.

Secondary outcomes

  • Candidate demonstrates the ability to analyze and critique educational research, and to apply research principles in the design of research projects to find solutions to educational problems.

University Ethics Policy:

Failure to maintain academic ethics/academic honesty including the avoidance of cheating, plagiarism, collusion and falsification will result in an E in the course and may result in charges being issued, hearings being held, and /or sanctions being imposed. Any violation of the WSU student code of conduct may result in a failing grade in the course and /or withdrawal of the student’s admission to the Master’s of Education Program.

Definition of Plagiarism:

“Authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own work” (APA Manual, p. 16). “Whether paraphrasing, quoting an author directly, or describing an idea that influenced your work, you must credit the source (APA Manual, p. 170). “Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work. They may provide key background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer critical definitions and data. Citation of an article implies that you have personally read the cited work.” (p. 169)

USING OTHER’S WORK WITHOUT CITATION IS PLAGIARISM AND WILL RESULT IN AN “E” FOR THE COURSE AND POSSIBLE DISCIPLINARY ACTION FROM THE MASTER’S POLICY COMMITTEE.

ADA Statement:

Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the StudentsServiceCenter. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.

Course Requirements:

1.Attendance and Participation: Much of the course will involve working with each other to critique and evaluate research and writing. Attendance is vital. If you are unable to attend a scheduled session, please let me know via email or phone.

2.Article Critiques: Students will critique three research articles. The first two articles will be provided on the class website, while the remaining one will be the student’s choice.Critique forms are available on the website.

3.APA Assignments: Students will download the three APA assignments from the class website. The assignment should be worked on at home prior to the class session. Class time will also be available to work on the assignment in the work group.

4.Work Group:Students will be assigned to a work group. The group will work together on several assignments and will also serve as a peer review group for the research paper. Students will complete an evaluation of their own and their peers participation in the work group at the end of the semester.

5.Literature Review: Students will find literature and report on a significant educational question through a literature review of approximately 8pages (do not exceed 10 pages). References should primarily be research studies from academic, peer-reviewed journals. A rubric is available on the website.

6.Presentation: Students will present the findings from their literature research to the class in a presentation of approximately 10 minutes. A rubric is available on the website.

Special Note on H1N1 Flu this Fall: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Utah Public Health Department are anticipating a resurgence of the H1N1 flu this fall. This could result in significant disruption to normal on-campus (and online) classes. I would like to reinforce the following guidelines for this class:
If you are ill, stay home. If you become ill (fever, chills, cough) while at school, go home. Exposing others to the virus can potentially result in serious complications and even death in high-risk individuals. See the WSU website at for specific recommendations. While on campus, use the hand sanitizers provided and wash your hands frequently. Notify me if you have any concerns or you are sick or have a sick family member you must care for. I am committedto finding mutually acceptable ways for you to complete your coursework. Always wash your hands and cover your mouth if you cough.

Grading Standard:

Assignment / Due / Points
Attendance and Participation / 20
Article critiques (3) / Session 3, 4, 5 / 30
APA Assignments / Session 3, 4, 5 / 15
Work Group / Session 7 / 15
Literature Review / Session 8 / 100
Presentation / Session 7 or 8 / 20
Total / 200

A=190 - 200B+=174 - 179E=below 160

A-=180 - 189B=166 - 173

B-=160 - 165

Schedule:

Dates / Topics / Readings / Due
Session 1
4:30-8:00 / Aug. 25 / Introduction
Overview of MEd. Program
Educational Research and Writing / Chapter 1
Session 2
4:30-8:00 / Sept. 8 / Research questions
Introduction to Proposal/Project
Finding resources / Chapters 2
Session 3
4:30-8:00 / Sept. 22 / Essentials of Peer Review
Sample
APA: Grammar, Bias
Literature Review organization / Chapters 3 / Article critique 1
APA 1
Session 4
4:30-8:00 / Oct. 6 / Procedures and Instrumentation
Academic writing
APA: Citations, References / Chapter 4 / Article critique 2
APA 2
Session 5
4:30-8:00 / Oct. 20 / Results
APA: Punctuation, Numbers / Chapter 5 / Article critique 3
APA 3
Session 6
4:30-8:00 / Nov. 3 / Discussion
Literature Review workshop / Chapters 6 & 7 / Rough draft of Literature Review (not graded)
Session 7
4:30-8:00 / Nov. 17 / Wrapup
Presentations / Work Group Evaluation
Presentation
Session 8
4:30-6:30 / Dec. 1 / Presentations / Presentation
Final Literature Review due

Electronic submissions

Assignments in this course may be turned in electronically, typically via email. Please send documents in .rtf, .wpd, or .doc form with your name and assignment name as the document file name. They will be graded and comments with appear using Track Changes, an MS Word tool. To see the comments, download the document by clicking on “save as” rather than “view” or “open.” Then open the document in MS Word.