Philosophical Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Paradigms and Approaches

Week 2 discussion

The study seeks to determine whether there is a relationship between the dependent variable, which is students’ motivation and getting digital badges (intervention) as the independent variable.

Hypotheses

To explore this relationship two hypothesis are developed.

· Null hypothesis: Giving digital badges (intervention) did not affect students’ motivation for increased participation in class discussion activities measured through student responses.

· Alternative Hypothesis: Giving digital badges had an effect on students’ motivation for increased participation in classroom discussion activities.

In conducting the study, the pretest-posttest experimental research design is selected for use in testing the hypothesis. This design is considered most suitable for the study for several reasons. First, the design enables the instructors to measure the initial performance of the students in class discussions. Secondly, the instructor makes experimental interventions to the experimental group and finally measure changes to the performance of students after the intervention. Accordingly, the instructor will be able to observe clearly any changes that may result due to administering the intervention.

Experimental research designs

These are scientific research designs aimed at finding or establishing the relationship between two variables. Experimental research design requires the researcher to manipulate one variable and compare it with a control variable or a variable that is measurable without the researcher’s manipulation (Skidmore, 2008).

In addition, there are three research designs for experimental studies. These are:

1. Pretest-Posttest Control-Group Design

This type of experimental design is characterized by the random selection of participants, two groups i.e. the control group and the experimental group. An intervention is given to the experimental group but no interventions for the control group. Finally, there is a measurement at the end of the intervention.

2. Posttest-Only Control Group Design.

This design fits the characteristics of a true experiment as it involves random selection of participants, interventions to the experimental group and post-intervention measurement It, however, does not have a pre-intervention measurement stage.

3. Solomon Four-Group Design

This design also fits the characteristics of random sampling and intervention required for any true experiment. However, unlike the previous designs Solomon Four-Group design categorizes its sample into four groups such that there are two control groups (one for pretest and the other for posttest only) and two experimental groups (one for pretest and the other for posttest only), due to this, the method requires a larger sample to cover all four groups (Skidmore, 2008).

Internal validity

Internal validity measures whether an independent variable, intervention in our case, indeed is responsible for causing a corresponding change in the dependent variable or not. Internal validity can be influenced by factors such as:

Sampling techniques: The process through which participants are chosen to participate in the study also affects the validity of the results. This can be solved through a random assignment which ensures that all the participants had an equal chance of being elected to either group making the two groups randomly similar.

Attrition: Attrition occurs when some of the participants withdraw from the study before completion, which significantly alters the validity of results obtained from an experimental study by changing the composition of the sample or groups. To prevent attrition from the study, the instructor can enlarge the sample and provide incentives for participation in the study.

Maturation and history: involves any changes that may occur to the subjects as a result of time passage. This may directly affect the internal validity of a study. In our case, for instance, other factors outside the instructor’s intervention may affect the students’ motivation to increase their participation in classroom discussions. To solve/eliminate this, the instructors need to ensure that the time taken between the first measurement and the second measurement is not very long (Skidmore, 2008).

Ethics in Research

Experimental research involves many interactions between the researchers and human participants- in our case instructors and students. This calls for the need to ensure some degree of research ethics consideration to ensure that the human participants are protected from any harm due to their participation in the study. In this case, the following ethical issues need to be considered

Voluntary Participation: The instructors need to ensure that participants in the study do so voluntarily. In other words, all participants in the research participate without any form of influence or coercion. Further, the instructors need to assure the students that no one will be victimized for failing to participate in the study

Informed consent: informed consent ensures that participants make the decision to participate in a study from an informed position. This requires that all participants be provided with sufficient information on both the aims, expectations and beneficiaries of the research as well as any risks that may occur to them (Skidmore, 2008).

Anonymity and confidentiality: Anonymity and confidentiality ensure that participants’ responses and their identities are protected before the research findings are made public. To achieve this, the instructors conducting the study need to have mechanisms through which they protect the students’ details and that they do not share information or data between the participants.

Cultural consideration: Human beings exhibit differences in many areas. These differences and diversities are responsible for human and society value syatems and require due consideration when conducting experiments. Experimental research take place with numerous interaction among human subjects. This implies that subjects in a particular study may have different attitudes towards certain topics ar research procedures. It is therefore imperative that people conducting experimental studies consider, the implications of cultural differences when conducting a study. For example, cultural differences may result in different reactions to a similar intervention among different people.

To capture sufficient information through the experiment while avoiding research bias, the instructors ensured that they had an adequate/ large sample by including two sections for each of the instructors as detailed in the experiment scenario. Further, to ensure the equal chance of selection to either group the participants were selected to the groups through random assignment techniques. The selected sample was not only sufficient but was representative In other words; the study eliminated any bias on the treatment effect

 

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App1

Learning Resources

Required Resources

  • Course Text: Heward, W. L. (2009). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education. London: Pearson Education, Ltd.
    • Prologue, (pp. 2–4)
    • Chapter 1, “The Purpose and Promise of Special Education” (pp. 9–15, 18–19, 22–23)
    • Chapter 14, “Early Childhood Special Education” (pp. 535–563)
  • Web Site: The Guidance Center Inc.

    “Early Childhood Services”
    http://www.guidancectr.org/pages.asp?p=72&c=18

Optional Readings and Resources

  • Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
    http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9145/index1.html
  • “Helping the Most Vulnerable Infants, Toddlers & Their families”
    http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_669.html
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C and Related Topics (overview of the Program for infants and Toddlers with Disabilities)
    http://ideapartnership.org/topics-database/idea-2004/idea-2004-part-c.html
  • National Scientific Council on the Developing Child
    The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do (PDF)

Application: Special Needs From a Variety of Perspectives

 

Throughout this course, you will be studying many topics related to children with special needs. The readings, content reviews, and Discussions will help you gain a valuable base of information. To expand your knowledge, the course Applications will offer ways to explore areas of special needs in more depth and increase your awareness of what it is like to teach and to parent a child with special needs, or to be someone who has been identified with a special need.

 

Before you begin the Week 1 Application, review the outline below in order to plan effectively.

 

  • Week 1: Write a Brochure on Early Intervention Services. You will imagine yourself in the role of a Child Development Community Liaison for a nonprofit organization that provides programs related to infant/toddler healthy development. Your job is to create a brochure for infant/toddler program directors and caregivers informing them about your services.
  • Week 2: Interview with a Teacher or Caregiver. You will have a choice of interviewing a teacher whose expertise is special education and who works with children ages 3–8, or a teacher or caregiver who has a child or children in his/her setting who have been identified with special needs.
  • Week 3: Research and Information Exchange, Part 1. You will research a category of special needs that is of interest to you in order to gain a greater depth of knowledge.
  • Week 4: Research and Information Exchange, Part 2. You will share, review, and reflect on fellow students’ research on different categories of special needs.
  • Week 5: Interview with a Parent of a Child with Special Needs or with a Student or Adult with Special Needs. You will have a choice of interviewing a parent or other close adult family member of a child with special needs, or a person with special needs who would like to share his or her experiences and perspectives.

 

Week 1: Write a Brochure on Early Intervention Services

 

As you have learned this week, early intervention services can include programs for infants and toddlers who may be at risk from biological or environmental issues that could lead to developmental delays or other special needs. One challenge to early intervention service providers is to ensure that they reach out and connect with families. All of the various types of infant and toddler programs in a community, including family day care homes, Early Start, faith-based programs, community organizations, can play an important role in connecting families to available early intervention services.

 

For your Application Assignment this week, imagine that you have been hired as a Child Development Community Liaison for a community organization called The Guidance Center Inc. In reality, this respected, not-for-profit organization serves the communities of Cambridge and Somerville in Massachusetts. As part of The Guidance Center’s Early Childhood Services for ages 0–6 , their Infant-Toddler Services include four programs that provide services to pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and their families.

 

As the Child Development Community Liaison, your job is to connect with infant and toddler program directors and caregivers and communicate both a strong message about the importance of early intervention and the services The Guidance Center provides. Your supervisor has asked you to:

 

  1. Draft a two-page brochure that emphasizes why early intervention is important and the ways it is addressed through The Guidance Center.*

 

  1. Include in the brochure, an idea for an additional program or a way to improve a current program in order to better meet the goal of providing quality early interventions services for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and/or their families.

 

* Though The Guidance Center is a real organization, this scenario has been created only for this course. The brochure you create is intended only to further your own knowledge of early intervention services and not to be used for distribution.

 

To complete this Application Assignment, do the following:

 

Step 1: Learn About Infant-Toddler Services at The Guidance Center

 

Click on the link below for the “Early Childhood Services” overview page on The Guidance Center Inc. Web site:

 

http://guidancectr.org/our-services/

 

From the “Early Childhood Services” menu on the left of the page, click on and read about the Infant-Toddler Services programs. You may also choose to visit the Elizabeth Peabody House web site for further information. Be sure to refer to the Home Visiting section located under the Resources tab.

 

Step 2: Create The Guidance Center Infant-Toddler Services Brochure

 

Use the information you have learned about the Infant-Toddler Services to create a draft of a two-page brochure. Make sure your brochure includes:

 

  • A strong rationale and foundational understanding of why early intervention is important.

 

  • An overview of the ways The Guidance Center programs support early intervention.

 

  • Based on what you learned while getting your degree in child development, a description of a new program The Guidance Center will be offering or a way that one of the current programs has been approved to offer even more effective services.

 

As you write, keep these tips in mind:

 

  • Think about how to present the information in ways that are professional and, at the same time, capture attention.

 

  • Think about how the brochure can help assure infant-toddler program directors and caregivers that families they refer will feel comfortable and respected, i.e., consider ways that The Guidance Center is sensitive to different cultures within the community.

 

Assignment length: 2 pages

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