MED 702: Qualitative Research in Mathematics Education
Spring 2006
Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00-3:15pm, Ross 2270

Primary Texts: Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1999). Basics of Qualitative Research, 2nd edition, Sage (ISBN 0803959400);
Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, 3rd edition, Sage (ISBN 0761919716).

Instructor: Dr. Shandy Hauk
          Office: Ross 2230 D
          Phone: (970) 351-2344

Course Description: A focus on paradigms, issues, and methods of qualitative research in mathematics education. This includes critical analysis of literature and of data collected from mathematics learning environments.

Prerequisites: MED 610 and MED 700 or consent of instructor.

Course Objectives: By the end of the course students will have a knowledge and appreciation of a variety of qualitative research paradigms. Students will read, discuss, and write about appropriate research investigations for qualitative measures and the effective combining of qualitative and quantitative methods. Students will investigate some of the philosophical and psychological foundations for diverse qualitative methods. The research methods with which students will become familiar include (and are not limited to) data collection techniques for field and clinical settings; meanings for "reliability," "validity," "equity," and "diversity" in naturalistic inquiry settings; quasi- and fully experimental research designs, action research, case study, and grounded theory design development; myriad theoretical perspectives including constructionism, ethnography and enthnomethodology, grounded theory, hermeneutics, orientational and transformational theories, narrative approaches; phenomenology, semiotics, symbolic interactionism, systems theories (linear/traditional and nonlinear/dynamic/complex); techniques and approaches for data coding, analysis, interpreting, and reporting naturalistic and mixed-method research and evaluation results. Finally, by the end of the course, students will have had practice connecting methods and results found in the research literature to future research design, research-to-practice transfer, and theory building.

Course Content: The content of the course will be guided by the primary texts. Supplemental readings from the research literature will be provided by the instructor and students. Supplemental readings will include, on average, at least one research article per week. For each research article, students will write a summary and review and/or an annotated bibliographic entry. All summary and reviews will be compiled into an annotated bibliography by teams of students near the end of the course. Examinations will include questions similar in tenor and difficulty to Comprehensive Examination (Comp) problems and will be graded in a manner similar to the Comp. Some form of qualitative research project will be included in the course. Students may collect and will analyze, interpret, and defend conclusions based on real qualitative data.

Evaluation: Grades will be based on the following: Discussion of instructor and student generated questions on the primary and secondary readings (30%), research paper reviews/summaries (15%), comparative essays (10%), participation in class projects (20%), exams (25%).

Exams:  One in-term written exam, one in-term oral exam, and a written final exam.

Students with special needs: Students who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Support Services (970) 351-2289 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.