Initial Research Interest

Plug & Play Structure

Possible research questions

It's never too early to start thinking about a research question. I can always change my mind and,
in fact, it is guaranteed I'll revise my thinking as I learn more about research on this topic. Two
possible research questions I'd like to spend the semester learning more about are:
1) What conditions in K-12 classroom settings appear to promote socio-emotional development,
particularly along dimensions related to well-roundedness and overall well-being?
My research interests primarily revolve around my desire to examine what factors constitute a truly wellrounded education. From my own experiences learning in K-12 classroom settings (and those that have
been described to me), children needs to be properly exposed to conditions that promote not only high
academic achievement but also improved overall well-being in a manner that can foster positive
functioning both inside the classroom and out, while interacting with others and with oneself.
Thus, the first of my research questions would be more correlational or observational in nature, revolving
around the attempt to understand what classroom conditions appear to enable socio-emotional
development. For the sake of narrowing my focus, I plan to define this term through the use of two of the
nine types of intelligence defined by Howard Gardner (http://skyview.vansd.org/lschmidt/Projects/The
%20Nine%20Types%20of%20Intelligence.htm):

Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart): being able to interact effectively with others, which
involves (in part) effective communication, sensitivity to others moods and the ability to
understand (and sympathize or empathize with) different points of view; and
Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self-Smart): showing an ability to understand ones own thoughts and
feelings (and those tied to human beings in general), in a manner that can foster effective selfreflection, inner motivation and proper planning of ones choices.

For this sort of question, if conducting my own study, Id very likely rely in part on (but might not be limited
to) observational data (through use of laboratory or classroom settings), interviews both scripted and nonscripted, self-report questionnaires and ratings provided by teacher or parental figures. For the sake of
this course, Id be very interested to examine qualitative studies to see what such measures have revealed
so far in this area of childhood development.
2) When teaching lessons centered on moral values (such as trust, honesty or altruism), which teaching
context(s) effectively promote the development of prosocial traits (in ways that are not maladaptive or
counterproductive), and do individual student characteristics (e.g., age or grade level) significantly
moderate these effects?
My other research question would be experimental in nature, serving as an empirical extension of Darley
and Batsons Good Samaritan study. In order to prevent confounds like classroom size and peer-to-peer
interactions, the study would likely be designed for implementation within a laboratory setting, with a
standard script to be followed by all confederates involved.
In essence, what I would attempt to do is pick a certain prosocial trait charity, for instance and present
a lesson one-on-one to a randomized selection of children, and see whether a certain way of presenting
that lesson enables a greater willingness to give to those in need as measured through both conceptual
(e.g., through a questionnaire about how much theyd donate) and applied dependent variables (e.g.,
signing up to be on an list of people sent emails about upcoming charity events). The intervention in itself
would have several variables that could be added to test several factors:

Delivery of the Lesson: Is it given in an online site, in paper format, via webcam or face-to-face?
Format of the Lesson: Is the lesson presented as a fictional story, as an abstract concept, or a mix
of the two? (Note: through providing a lesson on an unrelated topic in each of these formats, this
could be where control conditions might be inserted.
Age: Are the children grade school (K-5), middle school (6-8) or high school (9-12)?

Through answering this research question along these three variables, we can take a step forward in the
discussion of prosocial traits by seeing what conditions, for which children at which age, might enable
positive behaviors; and with a few technological additions, it might also be possible to determine the
effectiveness of online learning for this type of learning. With this in mind, for this course, itd be great to
learn what sort of prosocial traits have been examined so far under the lens of educational research.
High quality sources
Quality research is built on a foundation of other quality research. High quality journals and
handbooks are good sources for finding quality research.
Quality journals where I am likely to find good research on my topic are vital for very distinct but
complimentary reasons. To begin, Educational Researcher can work well as a source of higher-level
scholarship with a notable degree of visibility, being highly ranked (9 of 224) and actively distributed to
members of the American Education Research Association. While less specialized, it can offer a good
sample of what is currently significant in the education research community in terms of promoting
positive development across multiple aspects of classroom environments. Secondly, having a journal with
an emphasis on empirical psychological research (across ages and educational levels) would be a great
reference when trying to learn what high-quality experimental studies would require. With this in mind,
while itd have a narrower focus, the Journal of Educational Psychology would be helpful to use. The
Journal of Learning Sciences would be helpful for seeing what goes into design studies (since it is a
journal that welcome that kind of research), in case some of my research requires hands-on collaboration
with schools and/or teachers. And finally, using the Journal of Positive Psychology would allow more
topic-relevant up-to-date news about studies specifically aimed at promoting positive psychological traits
(particularly within an educational context).
Quality handbooks where I am likely to find good research on my topic are likely going to be chosen
by me for both their content and their ability to provide information in a succinct manner. With this in mind,
Ill first aim to look at the Handbook of Educational Psychology (1st and 2nd Editions, if possible), in order to
get a proper overview of the educational psychology field, and to see how researchers assessments of
the classroom may have evolved from one edition to the next (i.e., with the ever-increasing presence of
technology on the horizon). And in order to examine a handbook that is more directly related to what I am
hoping to study first, I will likely examine the Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (2nd Edition), which
by multiple accounts serves as the definitive text in the field of positive psychology. Between these two
handbooks, it is my hope that I can be introduced to reference texts that can complement my navigation of
current educational research (specifically in the area of what teachers have attempted to do, in order to
bring out the best in their students on multiple levels).
[Note: Id like to thank Ming Lei for his assistance in helping me rephrase my research questions in a
succinct manner. His suggestions really helped my ideas become clearer within this assignment.]