Discussion: Teaching Research

Instructions

You will complete 3 Discussions in this course. In each of these, you will present portions of your project to different audiences in different ways. They are designed to enhance your learning with the premise that to present information well, you must understand information well. Additionally, they will facilitate the giving and receiving of peer-reviewed feedback which is an important part of research development and professional growth.  For each Discussion, you will post one thread of at least 750 words, or as required to completely address the requirements provided in the prompt, by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of the assigned Module/Week. Be sure to address all of the requirements in the prompt. You must then post a minimum of two replies of at least 300 words.  For each thread, you must support your content with at least 3 scholarly citations in current APA format (one can be the course text). Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation (where applicable) in current APA format. Acceptable sources for your replies include Journal articles, the textbook, the Bible, or other professional sources. Remember to be kind and use good netiquette in your candid peer–review responses.

Guidelines

Be sure to present the information in a way that reflects your knowledge of that information, and in a way that connects with the identified audience. It is important to test and review the videos you create, and proofread the written documents you provide. Be sure that the videos and/or links provided are accessible to the class and do not require your personal login information.

Nearly all academic/scholarly work is peer reviewed and those reviews are often absent positive feedback. Professionals, like you, are busy and positive feedback for the only purpose of seeming nice doesn’t advance or improve the process or product.  In many professional settings peer review is almost entirely seen as constructive, but that is because the peer feedback is intended to help you improve your idea. Yet it is important to also highlight positive aspects in feedback, as well as constructive criticism.  Constructive feedback is best received in the context of both the positive and the areas that need improvement. Therefore, be sure to identify both, but be willing to provide constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement in your replies.

You should also be willing to receive such in your replies from other students as well. In the end, critical feedback will ultimate add value to your idea, and your response to it should make the project better. That does not mean you agree with the feedback, nor necessarily make changes to your project as a result of it. But it is something to consider openly and honestly in relation to your project, with multiple perspectives to consider. Then, use wisdom to determine what changes if any you should make to your work.

Discussion: Teaching Research 

People who understand things well can explain them well to others.  Preparation to teach others requires us to first learn the material to be presented in a way that exceeds the level that we will be presenting. If we do not first have a grasp of the information we are presenting, that will oftentimes be revealed as we attempt to present the information. It is also an important professional skill to be able to present information to others. While not all are gifted to be teachers or public presenters (Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:28; James 3:1), we all have the opportunity and responsibility on some level to present information to various audiences and in various ways in our professional careers.

PROMPT: For this discussion, you must:

Choose any of the statistical analyses in the course (you can look ahead if you prefer), and think of a humorous or irrelevant topic you might use to demonstrate that analytical process. For example, you may want to present “research” to determine whether one superhero is more powerful than another superhero you identify. Or, could research the difference between rainbow unicorns and pink sparkly unicorns. The idea is that you present your analyses in a way that is interesting and fun.

Using the statistical analysis and humorous research you have chosen, create a presentation you might present to a high school our young undergraduate student population to explain to them your complex subject in a way that would be understandable on their level. You should present some sort of written presentation (PowerPoint, brochure, graphic diagram, etc. – be creative), and a 3 to 5 minute teaching  video presentation as though you were teaching in front of this demographic audience.

For your replies to other students, imagine you are an administrator responsible for giving feedback to the teachers (your fellow students) presenting this information.  Provide substantive and quality feedback (both strengths and areas for improvement) to at least two of your fellow students reflecting on how well the information was presented to the identified audience in a way that would be understandable on this level, and how well it appears that the presenter understood their material sufficiently to be able to present it well.