A Critique of Objectivist Educational Research The following is an edited version of a paper submitted as coursework for the Educational Psychology program at the University of New Mexico in May 2012. There’s an old joke. Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort. And one of them says, “Boy the food at this … Read more
I happened upon a couple of readings this weekend that I found worthy of consideration. The first (2011) is from the NY Times, “Online Learning, Personalized” that profiles the YouTube teaching sensation, Salman Khan. The second (1957) is from a book we discussed recently in a critical discourse Meetup group here in Santa Fe. I … Read more
For more than eight decades, the work of E.K. Strong, Jr., has served as a standard bearer in the field of vocational and educational interest measurement. This evaluation will summarize the history of the instrument, its current form, content, and administration, and evidence of its reliability and validity. It should be noted that the author … Read more
I prepared the following video, “What Difference Does It Make?” for an introductory neuroscience class, Biological Bases of Behavior. The textbook is the 1,300-page Principles of Neural Science by Kandel, Schwartz, and Jessell. My intention was to highlight seven points, or findings, from neuroscience that have implications for educational theory/practice. These findings include: One difference … Read more
A Proposal to Evaluate the Graduate Student Writing Studio DISCLAIMER: This proposal is hypothetical. No such evaluation has been requested. There are no plans to conduct such an evaluation, nor is the funding for the Graduate Student Writing Studio under review. Dr. Palm was interviewed for this proposal with the understanding that it was for … Read more
Racial Color-Blindness and Context-Blindness (Quantitative Research Prospectus) Following is a research proposal submitted as a course requirement for EDPY 505, Conducting Quantitative Educational Research, Fall 2010. With the election of President Barack Obama, the phrase “post-racial” became a widely-used and often-debated adjective within the American mass media landscape. Among segments on both sides of the … Read more
Muraling Myths: A Qualitative Research Prospectus Fall 2010, based on this essay written during the previous term Historical significance is not a property of the event itself. It is something that others ascribe to that event, development, or situation. (Counsell, 2004, p. 30) Abstract In this study prospectus, I pose the question, “What do University … Read more
A Methodological Review of Muslim American Youth: Understanding Hyphenated Identities through Multiple Methods by Selcuk R. Sirin and Michelle Fine In Muslim American Youth: Understanding Hyphenated Identities through Multiple Methods (2008), Selcuk R. Sirin and Michelle Fine document two years of research on what it means to come of age as a Muslim living in … Read more
What Would bell hooks Do? (Regarding the Kenneth Adams murals in the Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico) June 2010 Per the objectives for this course, I have gained a greater understanding of how educational institutions reproduce social inequalities. I have also studied, and understood to some degree, the severe criticisms levied against these institutions … Read more
Changing Thinking (Reaction to Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society) After reading the first chapter of Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society, I felt something like a cheerleader rooting for the home team. With no significant exceptions, I agreed with his characterizations about problematic schools created by and perpetuated within by a problematic society (thinking about the U.S. specifically). … Read more
