Educational Webquest step 3

What? Summarize what you have learned about each of the four educational research types.
There are four types of research in education; first, descriptive, this is where you report facts, things which you can observe; second, correlative, this type of research looks for relationships between things, it cannot prove causation but help us to see connections; third, experimental, this is where a variable is changed and tested, usually using a control group and a treatment group; and fourth, action research, where the teacher or school (collaborative action research) does their own research in the classroom or school. It can be any of the three previous types.

So What? Write a critical analysis about the importance of what you have learned about this topic.
What I have learned from this topic is how research is done in education and that it is not that easy to prove causation. There are assumptions which can be made from descriptive and correlative research, but causation can only be shown from experimental research and even then, the experiment needs to be done right. The importance of research is great in education. We can use it to help us be better teachers, to understand students better, and to see what will help the students to most. Action research is probably one of the most important kind because it deals directly with the school being taught at. By doing action research you can know what best helps your students. You can look at research done in other areas, but it may not work for you students because the culture may be different or the socio-economic status may be different.

Now What? Write a critical reflection 1-What I still need to learn about educational research? and 2-How will I use educational research as an educator? (both as a consumer of educational research and as a user)
What I still need to learn about educational research is how I can use it personally to help me in teaching, what is the best thing to research to help my students, and what research is good for my subject area. Ways I can use research in my classroom is to find studies which have been done that will help me in my subject area. I can stay caught up on current research, by subscribing to and reading educational journals. I can involve myself in action research, even if it is small at first. I can use the principles from research that show a change in student performance and see if they work in my classroom. One important thing is to not teach the same all of the time. Each set of students I teach will be different and learn in different ways, so I will need to cater to each set of student's strengths in learning.