Abstract:

This presentation will review evidence-based strategies for teaching research courses for graduate students. Introductory research is often viewed as a difficult and perhaps daunting course for graduate teacher education and counseling students, particularly due to the workload and time investment required. Research design, inferential statistics and models, data analyses, and challenging research articles may be perceived as overwhelming. Strategies will be discussed that are intended to build rapport, improve academic performance, build self-efficacy, encourage self-care, and create a positive classroom culture and climate in graduate research courses. Teachers and other education professionals are required to study, design, and interpret research data. They must be prepared to be leaders in their respective disciplines by being able to utilize data for reasons of accountability, to demonstrate their effectiveness and areas of need, and to evaluate a variety of academic programs. To do this, proficiency in research is essential. Therefore, teaching research for educators is of optimal importance when we look towards utilizing evidence-based practices in teaching and counseling. Making research more user-friendly will assist teacher- and counselor-researchers in developing strong research skills and being able to employ research skills to make important decisions, creatively problem-solve, and improve services for students. This presentation will be of benefit for graduate educators, graduate students, and other professionals in the social sciences by reviewing approaches to both teaching and utilizing research skills. Participants will be offered new approaches for viewing research content and for developing solutions to the barriers that impede openness to research concepts, analyses, and proposals. The participants will be able to discuss strategies for teaching and learning research design and methods that are user-friendly and helpful in everyday practice as education leaders. Teachers and counselors in training should be engaged in small-group discussions and exercises involving reviewing and creating brief action research proposals, responding to case studies involving research analysis, and reviewing the skills involved in program evaluation and needs assessments to develop competence and confidence in conducting practical research studies. Basic information on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research are threshold concepts to be mastered, as well as understanding of reliability, validity, triangulation, and trustworthiness. Most importantly, methods for making the research classroom comfortable and positive will be modeled and described.

Keywords:

Action research, classroom climate, classroom culture, counselor education, teacher education, research courses, qualitative, quantitative.