Reflection Week 5 - 6 : Computer in Educational Research.

Activity : THINK, PAIR, SHARE

This week, we have learnt about Educational Research Process. As for me, I found it is interesting. In my class, we have to find a website that talked about Educational Research Process. THIS is the website that I chose.

The article that I chose was written by NASIR BABA in 2008. It was a good writing by the way. I personally adore his writing. In the article, I found a few important things such as :


The Meaning of Educational Research.

• Part of the things we have learnt so far is that researches generally address problems.According to Gay (1981) the major difference between educational research and other research types is the nature of the phenomena they study.
• Ali (1990, p.22) also defines it as “a systematic attempt to define and investigatesignificant problems involved in teaching and learning in and outside the school andat various school systems”.

The Categories of Educational Problem.

• Psychological: e.g. learning theories, factors affecting learning, remembering andforgetting, motivation, maturation, child development and growth, etc.
• Philosophical: e.g. logical analysis of concepts, values, and worthiness in education,educational aims, moral judgements, methods of reasoning, meaning, nature andsources of knowledge, etc.
• Evaluation: continuous assessment, tests instruments, examinations (both internal andexternal), item analysis, students’ report cards, etc.
• Content: the school subjects, factors affecting choice of content, mode of organisingcontent, etc.
• Methodological: methods of teaching, a comparison of these methods, teaching styles,teacher effectiveness, teaching practice, micro-teaching, instructional media, etc.
• Administrative: school financing, discipline, school records, classroom management,leadership styles, recruitment and deployment of staff, etc.g.Sociological: e.g. school-community relationship, teacher-pupil relationship,interpersonal relations within the school, classroom behaviour of students, students’unrest, cultism, etc.
• Historical: e.g. history of institutions, programmes, places or persons of educationalinterest

The Importance of Educational Research.

• Research equips teacher trainees with problem-solving and leadership skills;
• Students’ participation in research can provide very useful baseline data that can beused for planning purposes;
• Research provides the students with marketable skills;
• Research enhances the continuous professional growth of teachers.
• Research may develop in the students the scientific attitudes of objectivity, curiosityand critical outlook;
• Research also leads to improvement in teaching and learning situations

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Regards,

Yasmin Khairani Zakaria.