This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2015-2016 (archived)
Module EDUC59215: Experiments in Education
Department: Education
EDUC59215: Experiments in Education
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 4 | 15 | Available in 2015/2016 | Durham |
Tied To
- X1K107: Research Methods (Education)
- X9A102: Education (UK)
- X9A302: Education (Hong Kong) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2010-2011 for details)
- X9A402: Education (Singapore) (see Postgraduate Handbook 2010-2011 for details)
- X9A602: Education (International Postgraduate Programme)
Pre-requisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
- None
Aims
- Appreciate and contribute to the debate about the role of experimentation in educational research;
- Recognise and make choices from a range of experimental designs;
- Identify threats to the validity of causal inferences;
- Understand strategies for minimising threats to the validity of causal inferences;
- Analyse, synthesise and interpret data from experimental research.
Content
- The case for and against experimenting in education
- The concept of an experiment: types of experimental designs
- Design issues: threats to validity of inferences
- Design issues: precautions, ethical issues
- Analysis of experimental data: effect size
- Cumulation of knowledge: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Students will:
- appreciate and contribute to the debate about the role of experimentation in educational research;
- recognise and make choices from a range of experimental designs;
- identify threats to the validity of causal inferences;
- understand strategies for minimising threats to the validity of causal inferences;
- analyse, synthesise and interpret data from experimental research.
Subject-specific Skills
- The critical ability to understand the skills necessary to prepare, undertake, analyse and disseminate research in education that aims at causal inferences.
Key Skills
- Communicate effectively in writing.
- Work with a high level of autonomy.
- Access and use literature.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Students will take part in a range of learning activities, including reading, discussion, listening to presentations, conducting presentations, critiquing published research, analysing and interpreting data, designing experiments, searching literature and synthesising the results of multiple studies.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorials | 3 | As required | 1 hour | 3 | |
| Practicals | 6 | fortnightly | 2 hours | 12 | |
| Preparation and reading | 135 | ||||
| Total | 150 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | 100% | Assignment | 3000 words | 100% |
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment comprises of staged learning activities that are targeted at the summative assignment. The activities are assigned after class sessions and they receive written and oral feedback at the next session.
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.