Course Schedule
Research Methods for the Learning Sciences
2010, C term
Professor Ryan S.J.d. Baker
Recommended Readings
The following readings are not required (required readings are listed for each class), but are strongly recommended -- they are a key part of my personal library. In general, also, each of the books selected from in class are worthwhile overall as well.
- Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R.L. (1991) Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis: 2nd edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. (note: the 2nd edition is preferable to the 3rd edition)
- Simon, H.A. (1999)Sciences of the Artificial: 3rd edition.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Ferguson, G.A.(1971)Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Hamming, R. (1986) You and Your Research. Presentation at Bell Labs.
- Agre, P. (2001) Networking on the Network. Manuscript online.
- Bem, D.J. (2002) Writing the Empirical Journal Article. The Compleat Academic: A Career Guide. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Friday, January 15
Philosophical Underpinnings
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Anderson, J.R., Reder, L.M., Simon, H.A. (1996) Situated Learning and Education. Educational Researcher, 25 (4), 5-11.
- Greeno, J.G. (1997) On Claims That Answer the Wrong Question. Educational Researcher, 26 (1), 5-17.
- Anderson, J.R., Reder, L.M., Simon, H.A. (1997) Situative Versus Cognitive Perspectives: Form Versus Substance. Educational Researcher, 26 (1), 18-21.
Topics:- McKeon and Buchanan's Design Framework
- Entitative/Essentialist/Existentialist/Holist Perspectives on Methodology
- Reductionism and Dialectic
- Curriculum and Constructionism
- Constructivism, Situationalism, and the Cognitive Approach
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Wednesday, January 20
Observational Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Stigler, J., Hiebert, J. (1997) Understanding and Improving Classroom Mathematics Instruction: An Overview of the TIMSS Video Study. Australian Council For Educational Research National Conference, 52-65.
- McDaniel, B., D'Mello, S., King, B., Chipman, P., Tapp, K., Graesser, A. (2007) Facial Features for Affective State Detection in Learning Environments. Proc. of the 29th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 467-472.
- Baker, R.S., Corbett, A.T., Koedinger, K.R., Wagner, A.Z. (2004) Off-Task Behavior in the Cognitive Tutor Classroom: When Students "Game The System". Proceedings of ACM CHI 2004: Computer-Human Interaction, 383-390.
- Baker, R.S.J.d., Corbett, A.T., Wagner, A.Z. (2006) Human Classification of Low-Fidelity Replays of Student Actions. Proceedings of the Educational Data Mining Workshop at the 8th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, 29-36.
Topics:- Video Coding
- Quantitative Field Observation
- Text Replay Labeling
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Friday, January 22
Observational Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- D'Mello, S., Taylor, R.S., Graesser, A. (2007) Monitoring Affective Trajectories during Complex Learning. Proceedings of the 29th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 203-208
Topics:- Analysis of Observational Data
- Retrospective Analysis and Hypothesis Change
- Sequence Mining
Assignments Out: QFO/TEXT REPLAYS
Assignments Due: None
Wednesday, January 27
Phenomenological Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- [m] Schofield, J. (1995) Computers and Classroom Culture. Appendix, p. 229-244. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- [m] Schofield, J. (1995) Computers and Classroom Culture. Ch.2, p. 21-61. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- [m] Lave, J. (1988) Cognition in Practice. Ch.7: Through the Supermarket, p. 145-169. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Topics:- Ethnography
- Qualitative Field Observation
- Interviewing
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Friday, January 29
Phenomenological Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- [m] Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R.L. (1991) Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis: 2nd edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Ch. 9 part 1: p.178-186.
- [m] Beyer, H., Holtzblatt, K. (1998) Contextual Design San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Ch. 3-4, p.41-78.
Topics:- Interviewing
- Contextual Inquiry
Assignments Out: INTERVIEW/CI
Assignments Due: QFO/TEXT REPLAYS
Wednesday, February 3
NO CLASS TODAY
Thursday, February 4
SPECIAL OPTION SESSION
An Inappropriately Brief Introduction to Frequentist Statistics
Special Location and time: Higgins Laboratories 154, 4pm-6pm
Friday, February 5
Process Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- van Someren, M.W., Barnard, Y.F., Sandberg, J.A.C. (1994) The Think Aloud Method: A practical guide to modelling cognitive processes. London, UK: Academic Press. Ch.4, p.41-48.
- van Someren, M.W., Barnard, Y.F., Sandberg, J.A.C. (1994) The Think Aloud Method: A practical guide to modelling cognitive processes. London, UK: Academic Press. Ch.7, p.117-137.
- Gobert, J. (1999). Expertise in the comprehension of architectural plans: Contribution of representation
and domain knowledge. In Visual And Spatial Reasoning In Design '99, John S. Gero and B. Tversky
(Eds.), Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, AU.
Topics:- Think-Aloud Protocols
- Protocol Analysis
Assignments Out: THINK ALOUD
Assignments Due: INTERVIEW/CI
Wednesday, February 10
Process Methods
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Lovett, M. C. (1998). Cognitive task analysis in service of intelligent tutoring systems design: A case study in statistics. Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, pp. 234-243.
- Koedinger, K.R., Terao, A. (2002) A cognitive task analysis of using pictures to support pre-algebraic reasoning. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
- Pavlik Jr., P. I., Bolster, T., Wu, S., Koedinger, K. R., & MacWhinney, B. (2008). Using optimally selected drill practice to train basic facts. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems.
- [skim this] [m] Anderson, J.R., Lebiere, C. (1998) The Atomic Components of Thought.. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ch.1-3, pp. 1-100.
Topics:- Cognitive Task Analysis
- Cognitive Modeling
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Friday, February 12
Evaluation Metrics
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Bransford, J.D., Schwartz, D. (1999) Rethinking Transfer: A Simple Proposal with Multiple Implications. Review of Research in Education, 24, 61-100.
Topics:- Pre-Post Metrics
- Transfer
- Retention
- Preparation for Future Learning
- Accelerated Future Learning
Assignments Out: COGNITIVE MODELING
Assignments Due: THINK ALOUD
Wednesday, February 17
Evaluation Metrics
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- [m] Sudman, S., Bradburn, N.M. (1982) Asking Questions Ch.5-6, p.119-173.
Topics:- Surveys/Questionnaires
- The Coin-Flip Paradigm
- Attitudes
- Motivation
- Affect
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Friday, February 19
Advanced Study Design
Slides [pptx]
Readings: None
Topics:- Counterbalancing
- Stratification and Blocking
- Crossover Designs
- Regression-Discontinuity Design
- Validity Threats
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Wednesday, February 24
Useful Statistical Tools
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- [m] Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R.L. (1991) Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis: 2nd edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Ch. 19, 20, 22, p.439-456, 491-512.
- Rubin, D.B. (1996) Multiple Imputation After 18+ Years. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 91 (434), 473-489.
Topics:- Power Analysis
- Meta-Analysis
- Imputation
Assignments Out: TRANSFER/PFL
Assignments Due: COGNITIVE MODELING
Friday, February 26
Alternate Paradigms: Design Experiments/Design Research
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-based research: Putting a stake in
the ground. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13, 1-14.
- Collins, A., Joseph, D., & Bielaczyc, K. (2004). Design research: theoretical andmethodological issues. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 15-42.
Topics:- Design Experiments/ Design Research
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Wednesday, March 3
Alternate Paradigms: Educational Data Mining
Slides [pptx]
Readings
- Baker, R.S.J.d., Yacef, K. (2009) The State of Educational Data Mining in 2009: A Review and Future Visions. Journal of Educational Data Mining, 1 (1), 3-17.
- Romero, C., Ventura, S. (2007) Educational Data Mining: A Survey from 1995 to 2005. Expert Systems with Applications, 33(1), 135-146.
- Beck, J. E., Mostow, J. (2008). How who should practice: Using learning decomposition to evaluate the efficacy of different types of practice for different types of students. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, 353-362.
Topics:
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: None
Friday, March 5
Philosophical Underpinnings (Reprise)
Slides [pptx]
Readings: - Pavlik & Toth (under review) How to Build Bridges between Intelligent Tutoring System Subfields of Research
Topics:- The Spanish Civil War
- Papert and Perestroika
- Continua and Dichotomies
Assignments Out: None
Assignments Due: TRANSFER/PFL