CCK09 research approaches to connective "classrooms" -messy research methods.
Methodology-justify the approach of tools and theories-
working on a paper for my thesis I though i would just whip up a justification for a mixed methods approach,but in a non-traditional classroom when blended into the time we spend face to face is the time we spend blogging networking ...do we need a new paradigm to justify messy methods research since we have less and less control over it all and know less and less abut the teaching and learning happening where why how....hmmm... ideas please !
To justify the approach -mixed method approach or networked approach or design based research needs a discussion. In the past researchers used a variety of qualitive and quantitive approaches –one using deterministic numerical methods and statistical analysis and another using more flexible data such as collections of conversations and views that cannot easily be themed to numerical forms. Quantitive could be useful to see how many entries or hits onto a Moodleä or how many followers a blog can be seen to have. This does not tell the quality of the network and may be misleading information by being ambiguous. Using words from students about their experience and describing events taking place in the groupwork is a qualitive approach for working in real life situations. To observe this fast moving case study and describe the phenomena needs mixed approaches but even with this the flavor and data may not be fully captured or reliably interpreted .The aim was to justify the research stance with a fluid ,flexible methodology that could be transparent ,easily copied or followed by others .To try for a newer terminology for this type of research method would be ideal but so far only design based research DBR will allow a change of tactics and techniques in different stages of the research instead of tying it down to produce one or two paridigms. By designing tactics to attack the research questions ,test and modify and redesign a tactic and do another check and modify again in any format qualitative or quantitative would need the researcher to be aware of the cycle and have some control over the network.The networking paradigm cannot be tied to a stable method transmitted and controlled by the researcher as many connections design the materials to be analysed and the people in the network have a lot of say in translation of what is actually happening. So at the beginning it can be said a mixed method tool box is being set up to measure or examine the phenomena but no one knows what tools the network will create ,use and comment on or a mixed methods so we need a new understanding of this term to justify my approach.
Networking theory and systems theory or swarm theory all will come from various fields but education has not yet got an acceptable approach for growing the theory as the network grows, tiny plants in a wood grow and develop and there cannot be a theory to design their outcomes. (chaos theory?)There can be a soil test but sometimes a bird or creature adds something we never know about to that patch and affects the outcome. The research has to have these boundaries traditionally so measurements will be taken from lots of angles until a pattern forms about what grows where and why the tutors or learners believe this developed.This is so messy it won't be like traditional methods where it can reliably be checked again and again since the nodes change the system won't be te same twice....
