Article Summaries

Much of the work in this class deals with general knowledge, concepts, and skills. A general approach is necessary because the students represent different subject matter specialties and different levels. However, in virtually every area of specialization within the field of education, there is a large body of literature that deals with the use of technology in that specialty. For example, there are many innovative, even revolutionary, uses of technology in every subject area and at every level. There is a growing body of literature on the use of Blogs and related technology in high school English composition courses. Many excellent papers are available on topics such as simulations in social studies classes, spreadsheets in middle grades math classes, and computer-controlled lab equipment in science classes. For this assignment you are asked to select a number of articles from the Professional Literature on using technology in the instructional process, read them, and write summaries and critiques of them. Guidelines are given for article selection, types of articles to be included, sources of articles, locating sources and articles, and the format for the summaries and critiques.

Objectives
The purpose of writing article summaries is to: 1. Make you aware of the wide range of technology-related research and professional practice knowledge available in the current professional literature. 2. Introduce you to the Professional Literature on the uses of technology in the instructional process.

Essentials of the Assignment

For this assignment you will read a minimum of eight different articles and then write a summary and critical evaluation of each article. As they say in the ads, however, some restrictions apply. Here are the restrictions: 1. All articles must deal with the integration of technology into the instructional process. 2. The articles must come from at least four different publications. 3. At least five of the articles should be published within the past two years. It is fine if all of them are relatively recent. 4. At least one of the articles must be a Research Article, one must be a Professional Practice Article, and one must be a Theory-into-Practice Article. All articles must fit into one of these three categories. (These three terms are explained on the next page.) 5. None of the articles can come from the WWW or Internet unless the article is part of a Professional Web-based Electronic Journal that is published on a regular basis. [Note: Personal/Professional BLOGS are not considered as Professional Journals.] 6. The articles should be relevant to your current area of certification. That is, if you are a high school history teacher the articles you read and summarize should be about the use of technology to teach high school history classes (or more general articles that clearly deal with issues that apply to the instructional process).

Types of Articles
The assignment requires you to read and summarize three types of articles: Research, Professional Practice, and Theory-into-Practice. What is Research? Research articles are articles that describe the results of a research study. There are, however, many types of research. Some research articles report the results of studies in which one or more experimental groups received some type of treatment while one or more control groups did not. Other research articles report surveys, qualitative studies of classroom or school conditions, and co relational studies that look at how two or more variables are associated. Action research articles describe the evaluation of new classroom methods by the teachers who are trying out those new methods. For this assignment any type of research article is fine. What is Professional Practice? Professional practice articles are articles written by practitioners such as teachers, computer coordinators, supervisors, and learning resource center directors that offer guidelines, suggestions, or directions to educators who are interested in using similar approaches. Professional practice knowledge is based on the experience of a practitioner such as a classroom Teacher, Media Specialist, or Administrator. If you are not sure whether an article is "research" or "professional practice" ask yourself about the foundation of the conclusions and suggestions in the article. If the foundation is a formal research study, it is "research." If the foundation is the experience of the authors, it is "professional practice." What is Theory-into-practice? Theory-into-practice (TIP) articles deal with the practical implications of a particular learning theory or concept. TIP articles may also be professional practice or research articles but not all of them are. TIP papers emphasize the relationship between a particular learning theory such as Piaget's developmental theory and what should happen in the classroom.

Required Format for each Article

Include the following sections for each article. Citation Cite the article you are reviewing using the American Psychological Association (APA) format (5th or 6th edition). Errors in the citation are not as damaging as poor summaries, but they will lower your grade. See Grading Rubric. Identification Type of article (Research, Professional Practice, or Theory-into-Practice) Summary Good summaries convey the essence of the article without overwhelming the reader with details. You need not include in your summary that six students in the control group had freckles compared to only three students in the experimental group. When summarizing a research article, describe the reason for doing the study, the general format of the research (e.g., structured interviews of students in a middle grades computer literacy class), the general results, and the implications according to the authors of the study. A summary includes more than an abstract, but it does not simply repeat details of the article. Critique The final section should be a critical evaluation of the paper. What did you think of it? Was it useful? To whom? Under what circumstances? Were there problems with the paper? What were they? How could they be corrected? Were there problems with the innovation or project described? What were they; how could they be corrected? Include in the critique at least a few lines on the personal implications of this article for you.

Submission of Assignment
Combine the separate article summaries/critiques into one document and submit it to your instructor as an attachment to a GoVIEW email.

Evaluation of Assignment
This assignment will be evaluated using the Grading Rubric located on the last page of this handout.

Article Summaries & Critiques

Name:
Unsatisfactory 0 Satisfactory 1 Target 2 Score

Essentials

Essentials of Assignment not met.

Essentials of Assignment met.

Essential of Assignment exceeded. Included more articles than required.

2
Score

Unsatisfactory 0

Satisfactory 3

Target 5

APA Style Formatting of citations not followed or there are more errors in APA Style formatting than not.

Citations

APA Style Formatting followed for all citations but include a number of form breaks.

APA Style Formatting followed accurately for all citations with no form breaks.

5
Score

Unsatisfactory 0

Satisfactory 2

Target 4

Summaries

Summary is weak and is no more than a basic abstract of the article. Numerous errors in grammar and spelling.
Unsatisfactory 0

Summaries are adequate. A few errors in grammar or spelling.

Summaries covey the essence of each article without repeating details of the article. No errors in grammar and spelling.

4
Score

Satisfactory 2

Target 4

Critiques

Critiques are in reality just extended summaries. -orCritiques only include personal feelings & implications of the article. No Supporting information. Numerous errors in grammar and spelling.

Critique points out some strengths and/or weaknesses in the article and may include information that is not relevant. Supporting information is incomplete. Some personal implications included. A few errors in grammar or spelling.

Critique includes a thoughtful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the article and only includes relevant information. Critique points to specific examples in the article to illustrate the point being made. Personal implications included. No errors in grammar and spelling.

Total Score

15