Research

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Alicia Alonzo

Abstract
Efforts to move beyond theoretical considerations of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and to support teachers' development of PCK depend upon methods for capturing this often tacit form of teachers' knowledge. Because PCK is topic-specific and embedded in how particular content is taught, this study focuses on teachers' enactment of a specific demonstration that is typically used to illustrate Newton's third law. We examined videos of classroom instruction and interviews with teachers and students to explore variations in classroom enactments of this demonstration. Rather than viewing PCK as a "bag of tricks" associated with particular concepts, this study allows us to begin to articulate a richer picture for the knowledge underlying the classroom use of demonstrations.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Dorinda Carter Andrews

Abstract
This study is an exploration of how the racial and achievement self-concepts of high-achieving African American urban adolescents in Detroit interact with individual, environmental, institutional, and societal factors that affect achievement and shape students' attitudes and beliefs about schooling and subsequent school behaviors. Data collection procedures included student completion of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen, five focus group interviews, and student completion of the African American Students Schooling Experiences High School Survey. Students hired to work on this project will engage in a range of research activities including, (a) transcribing and coding focus group data; (b) conducting basic statistical analysis of scale and survey data; (x) writing reports of findings based on data analysis; and, (d) conducting a literature review. Undergraduate students will work on a research team including Dr. Carter and 1-2 graduate students in the College of Education.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Matt Diemer

Project One: Critical Consciousness Measure Validation
Critical consciousness refers to how marginalized people develop a critical analysis of social injustices and become motivated to change those inequities via individual or collective action. Scholars across a variety of disciplines study critical consciousness, yet they use a variety of proxy measures, large scale survey datasets, or qualitative methods to do so. These disparate approaches hamper the unification and advancement of critical consciousness study, as different scholars use different terms to study ostensibly the same construct. A quantitative measure has the potential to unify and advance these diverse scholarly strands. This project therefore aims to validate a measure of critical consciousness, guided by multidisciplinary scholarship and best practices in instrument development. During the 2010-2011 academic year, my research team (including an undergraduate RA) obtained human subjects approval from MSU and two school districts, collected data, and have begun to carry out preliminary analyses of these data. The next stage in the measure validation process will be to finalize data collection, finalize analyses of these data, and move this project to presentations at scholarly meetings and to publication. In the coming year, I will complete the data collection process by receiving data from approximately 450 participants via a long-standing collaboration with a faculty member at another university. Using advanced statistical techniques, we will study how well this scale measures critical consciousness in the coming year.

Project Two: Postsecondary Persistence among Lower-Income Youth
This second project, contingent on a pending grant, examines how different people contribute to lower-income youth being able to stay in college until they receive their desired degree. If funded, this project would commence during the Spring semester. My research team will be involved in reviewing relevant literature, assisting with data cleaning and analyses, and writing.

Anticipated Roles and Responsibilities
Undergraduate RAs would work directly with me and my research lab, consisting of a team of advanced graduate students who are at different points in their training. Undergraduate RAs would work on reading and reviewing journal articles and books related to Project One and Project Two, discuss what they are reading with the research lab, gain hands-on experience managing large datasets with a number of variables, work with advanced graduate students and with me on data analyses, and understand the scholarly presentation and publication process. My expectation is that students (provided they made the necessary contribution) could receive co-authorship on scholarly presentations and/or papers stemming from this research. I also expect that undergraduate RAs would present their work at the Spring University Undergraduate Research Forum, such as a portion of this larger project of particular interest to the student.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Dr. Diemer at diemermmsu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Nell K. Duke

Abstract
This project, funded by the National Science Foundation, involves developing an interdisciplinary pre-kindergarten curriculum that addresses mathematics, science, literacy, and social-emotional development. In this year (2011-12), four teachers working with at-risk pre-kindergarten children will pilot five of the six units of the curriculum. The undergraduate student working on the project would assist these teachers by helping to locate, organize, and deliver materials they need for teaching. The student would also observe the teachers implementing the curriculum, observe children's responses to it, and talk informally with children to gain a sense of the degree to which they are meeting the objectives of the curriculum. The student would be working with a team led by Professor Nell Duke and including four doctoral student research assistants. We will meet weekly, on Fridays, both as a team and with the participating teachers. At these meetings and via email, tasks for the undergraduate student will be identified, and the students' observations from the classroom debriefed.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Dr. Duke at nkduke@msu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Deborah Feltz

Abstract
The investigators in this project are interested in social influences on motivation and exercise behavior and have used exercise video games to examine the social psychological phenomena involved in such behavior. Much of our work over the past two years has examined motivation during exercise under laboratory conditions. The purpose of the current research project is to examine social psychological principles of motivation under free-living conditions. Second, we will examine the utility of such principles in increasing free-living physical activity among college students. Motivation will be defined in terms of both intensity (i.e. effort/calories burned) and direction (i.e. choice of activity). We will use portable monitoring devices (Sensewear armbands; http://sensewear.bodymedia.com/) to assess free-living physical activity over the course of an 8-week physical activity program. Research assistants will help with data collection and management, including assistance in analysis. Data collection will involve direct contact with the participants and requires basic computer skills. Student learning and contribution will be assessed and evaluated based on several criteria including 1) proficiency in experimental procedures as indicated by their ability to perform experiments and manage laboratory operations, 2) the quality and content of their laboratory notebook, 3) contribution to group discussion during laboratory meetings and 4) their competence in designing scholarly presentations. Contribution will be assessed by fulfilling the required 10 hours/wk. Mentoring will take place primarily during weekly meetings with the research team, but may also be by appointment.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Dr. Feltz at dfeltz@msu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Cindy Okolo

Abstract
We are seeking undergraduate students who can become members of our Virtual History Museum (VHM) research team. The purpose of the Virtual History Museum (VHM) is to use web-based tools and information to make history instruction more effective, interesting, and engaging for all students in the middle school grades, with a particular focus on students with learning disabilities. The VHM enables teachers to create exhibits about specific historical topics. Teachers then create inquiry-based activities that help students deepen their understanding of the topic of an exhibit. Previous research has shown that the VHM helps students improve their knowledge and understanding of historical topics, and that it is a highly motivating learning tool for all students. However, we've also seen that learning more about history does not necessarily help students reason or write in more sophisticated ways about those topics.

Therefore, we now have funding to develop strategies that will help students become better readers, writers, and thinkers as they learn history. We are developing three strands of historical learning and literacy strategies—that will be built into the VHM—to help students meet these goals. For example, the first strategy strand, Thinking Like A Historian, teaches students to view a historical topic through multiple lenses that include chronology, compare-contrast, and personal narrative, to develop a deeper understanding and to learn some of the ways in which history can be interpreted and communicated.

As a member of the VHM research team, you will assist us in developing lesson plans for the strategies we are teaching. You will help us locate historical content that can be included in these lesson plans, help us write the lessons and the resources needed to teach them, and help us develop scripts, and film videos of students using these strategies. We will pilot test the strategies that you help us develop with eight social studies teachers, and you will assist us in collecting data about the impact of these strategies on students' history knowledge, understanding, reading and writing. As a VHM team member, you will work with several faculty members and advanced doctoral students in the College of Education, computer programmers and web designers, and middle school social studies teachers and their students. You must be available for weekly VHM meetings with project staff, and the Project Director, Dr. Cindy Okolo, will directly supervise your work. Access to a car for transportation to schools is highly desirable, as is a strong background in history.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Dr. Okolo at okolo@msu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Karin Pfeiffer

Abstract
One of the most significant contributors to sedentary lifestyle is screen time, the amount of time spent in front of the television or computer monitor. Video games that require actual human body movements for interaction with the game interface (e.g., Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Fit) are increasingly being used to promote physical activity. Although promising evidence is available to support the use of these video games (which are called exergames) for physical activity promotion, few studies have adopted a theory-based approach to understand how these exergames work to promote physical activity. In addition, as it is not feasible to modify commercial-off-the-shelf games, researchers are also limited in their endeavors to manipulate features of these games to examine which features work better to promote physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this proposed study is to incorporate the self-determination theory into the design of exergames as well as to empirically test designing principles (e.g., feedback for competence) for exergames. The first aim of this project is to develop and test a newly developed exergame based on the framework of self-determination theory. The second aim is to test the game as an intervention tool to increase physical activity in college students who do not meet physical activity recommendations. This investigation is a two-year grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. However, the funding terminates at the end of August (2011). Data collection just finished within the last two months, and there is still much work to be done with data entry, processing, and analysis.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Jim Pivarnik

Abstract
We will involve our undergraduate research assistants primarily in two projects during 2011-2012. The first project is a study of the reliability and validity of physical activity measurement in pregnant women, using the latest technology available. Results from this study will be important to researchers trying to determine (accurately) the amount and type of physical activity that is most beneficial for pregnancy and birth outcomes. The students will assist in all aspects of participant recruitment and follow-up, data collection, reduction, and management. The second project is a new initiative designed to integrate the "Exercise is Medicine on Campus" (EIMOC) program (developed by the American College of Sports Medicine) into the already existing MSU physical activity and wellness programs for faculty, staff, and students. The students will assist in the expansion of current exercise program offerings and the development of new initiatives to coordinate MSU's efforts to improve campus physical health. The effectiveness of these efforts will be studied by surveying participants and others on campus. The undergraduate students will also assist in an EIMOC research study being developed by Kinesiology Professor Jim Pivarnik and University Physician Beth Alexander, MD. The study will be designed to test the effectiveness of MSU physicians' use of a new electronic medical record tool that promotes physical activity to their patients. All projects will be overseen by Professor Jim Pivarnik will oversee all projects. Our undergraduate research assistants will present findings from both projects at the MSU Undergraduate Research Fair, and other academic venues, as well as participate in manuscript writing.

Faculty Researchers: Dr. Edward Roeber and Dr. Amelia Wenk Gotwals

Abstract
A team of researchers from CEPSE, Teacher Education, and the Education Policy Center is looking for qualified undergraduate research assistants to help implement an ambitious research agenda on how elementary and secondary classroom teachers learn to use formative-assessment practices in their classrooms. Formative assessment is defined as the use of a variety of strategies and tools to help teachers and students gauge the status of learning as instruction is occurring, permitting the adjustment of instruction to increase student achievement. Funding for the Formative Assessment for Michigan Educators (FAME) research project is provided by the Michigan Department of Education.

The FAME research effort is two-fold: 1) periodic surveys of the 60 participating learning teams and their coaches, and 2) intensive investigations of 6-8 learning teams. The overall group of 60 teams will be surveyed. From these surveys, changes in teaching and learning will be determined. In the smaller group of 6-8 teams, each learning team meeting will be observed, volunteer teachers will be observed using formative-assessment practices during instruction, these teachers will be interviewed, and students will be observed, interviewed and surveyed. In addition, the learning teams will engage with the MSU research team in trying to show the actual impact of the FAME professional development program on themselves as educators and on their students' aspirations, attitudes and achievement.

An undergraduate research assistant will be asked to help collect observational data, code and analyze survey information, and contribute to the write-ups and presentations of the results at conferences in state and out of state. A number of research reports are planned, and the undergraduate research assistant will be able to help author and present such work at a variety of locations.

At the current time, three graduate students are working on this project; no undergraduate students have been involved. However, this would be an ideal opportunity for a student considering teaching as a career to obtain relevant experience working with educators in a local school district.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Drs. Roeber or Gotwals at roeber@msu.edu or gotwals@msu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Cary Roseth

Overview of Projects and Role of Undergraduate Researcher
The Conflict Resolution in Preschool (IRB# 08-823) project has involved undergraduate RAs for three previous years. Broadly, this study examines preschooler's peer conflict and the effects of teacher intervention. In 2008-2009, undergraduate RAs videotaped 122 preschoolers during their free play across 8 weeks of school, following individual students for 10 minutes during free play and, in the event of a peer conflict, also following both conflict participants for 5 minutes after the event. Then, for the past two years (i.e., 2009-2011), undergraduate RAs have coded these video recordings for specific behavior patterns, focusing on aggressive behaviors, post-conflict conciliatory behaviors, and the nature and effects of teacher intervention. The goal this year (i.e., 2011-2012) is to complete video coding, with undergraduate RAs working directly with me, one undergraduate professorial assistant, and two graduate students.

Project Outcomes
During the past three years, the Conflict Resolution in Preschool research project has resulted in the following presentations at MSU's Undergraduate Research Forum. The names of undergraduate RAs are underlined to highlight their involvement.

• Guenther, K., McCarthy, A., & Roseth, C. C. (April, 2011). Teacher intervention and preschoolers' conflict resolution.
• Guenther, K., McCarthy, A., Moulvi, H., & Roseth, C. J. (April, 2010). When winning isn't everything: The moderating effects of social ostracism on cooperation.
• Roseth, C. J., Derian-Toth, M., Eby, C., Ochalek, C., & Schurig, A. (April, 2009). Inequity aversion in early childhood.

For this year, I have every reason to believe that we will be similarly successful in involving the undergraduate RAs in research dissemination. In fact, we may be able to accomplish more as the two undergraduates RAs (both in the College of Education) working for me last year have continued to work in for me this summer, and would like to continue working with me through the 2011-2012 academic year. The continuity of our work may make it possible to present our findings at a national undergraduate research conference.

This year, because several aspects of the coding process have already been completed, we will also be working on publications and one graduate student will use portions of the data for her dissertation. For the undergraduates, this means that during lab meetings they will also gain exposure to process of data analysis and manuscript preparation.

Assessing Learning and Contributions
This project requires on-going and immediate feedback on students' learning and contributions. Videotape coding requires that undergraduate RAs become familiar with fundamental aspects of measurement, including operationalizing behavior and issues of validity and reliability. I find that coding naturalistic behaviors is particularly challenging and requires constant clarification of the behavioral categories and the underlying psychological processes of interest to our research. As such, this work is dynamic and provides ample opportunity for asking questions, making suggestions, and becoming deeply involved in the research.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Jack Smith

Abstract
Evidence from national and international assessments and smaller-scale research studies have repeatedly shown that U.S. students' understanding of spatial measurement is poor, but research has not revealed the source of the problem. Work of our prior project has shown that fundamental deficits in the textbook content for measurement (content and forms of presentation) exist and are very likely one factor contributing to this problem. Our current project is deepening and reporting our prior analyses of the limitations in current elementary mathematics textbooks' treatments of length, area, and volume measurement. The current project also addresses the tasks of putting that knowledge to work to improve educational practice (curriculum and teaching). Measurement teaching and learning in the elementary grades can be very successful in highly supportive conditions (e.g., Stephan, Bowers, Cobb, & Gravemeijer, 2003), but it remains unclear what typical teachers working with commercial curricula need to know to use those materials more effectively. In addition to completing and reporting our analysis of current curricular treatment of length, area, and volume, this project is working with the authors of three elementary curricula to find ways of strengthening their existing materials. It is also developing and testing effective ways of enriching pre-service teachers' knowledge of core measurement principles, particularly using the activity of Lesson Study for measurement lessons. It is working with regional professional development staff around the state and practicing elementary teachers in these regions to improve measurement lessons and teaching, using both innovative activities and existing mathematics textbooks. Finally, it hosts annual measurement "mini-center" research meetings in the Fall to bring together the major U.S. research and development scholars and projects for sustained interaction, innovation, and collaboration.

Two undergraduate research assistants [URAs] are currently playing important roles in this project, principally in coding the volume measurement content in curriculum materials. In this work, they play identical roles to project graduate students and the PI. They also participate all problem-solving work related to this coding, e.g., optimizing our coding scheme for maximum content coverage and reliability. Two different URAs worked for the previous project. The nature of our curriculum-based work allows for the deep engagement of serious undergraduate who possess the requisite mathematical knowledge. Recruitment and selection of new URAs will follow past processes that have been productive: (1) recommendations from instructors of relevant classes (e.g., MTH 201, 202, TE 150 math-majors section), contacts from other undergraduates who have worked as RAs on other projects, and expressions of interest from COE Professorial Assistants.

Research position(s) may be available for one or more undergraduate students (FS11-SS12); contact Dr. Smith at jsmith@msu.edu.

Faculty Researcher: Dr. Peter Youngs

Project Description/Activities in Which Student Will Participate
The Interstate Teacher Support and Assessment Consortium (InTASC) Standards Defensibility Project involves a) reviewing empirical research to provide support for the revised InTASC teaching standards (2011) and b) developing a document (i.e., a cross-walk) that articulates relationships between the InTASC teaching standards and the new Common Core Standards (being developed to address student assessment and accountability).