I’m grateful to be attending AERA in San Diego. Most of you probably already know that the American Educational Research Association (AERA), “a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.”
This has been a great opportunity for me to reconnect with long-time colleagues and be reminded of the importance of scholarship in our teaching profession.
As I’ve been learning and reflecting over these past few days, I realize that my students are using the word “research” loosely and incorrectly. I’m considering changing my vocabulary, and I want my ENG and CRE peeps to help me with this. We really have three very different processes when my students and I talk about research at GCC:
- Conducting a scholarly investigation
- Reading research, and
- Doing research
When we are reading and evaluating sources with ABC or CRAAP, we’re conducting a scholarly investigation. I’ve realized that I need to help students be more intentional because some think that when they Google a term, they are researching it.
When I help my students to read research, it is typically part of learning about the benefits and limitations of different types of evidence.
The final area of doing research is not something my students do; however, they do participate in the PSY290 data collection and we learn about the process through the poster sessions. PSY 290 students will be presenting their research at an in-person Poster Session on Wednesday, April 27th from 10-11:30am in the Lobby of the LS Building (entrance is on the west side of the building). My students will earn five (5) points extra credit for texting me a selfie with one of the presenters and their poster. We will be doing an assignment next week related to the poster presentations.
I’ve also been reminded by my colleagues here at AERA that gathering student data and self-reflection are key to improving myself and the overall teaching profession. I plan to engage more with the self-study special interest group. I’m grateful that MCCCD allows us the time and funding to travel and grow! I’m grateful that COVID has eased up enough to allow these inspiring people to gather!