Blended Research Design

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

The early history of pedagogical research surrounding technology is best summarized in the meta-analyses done by Chen-Lin Kulik and A. James Kulik. Their studies concluded that comput-er-based learning approaches show potential for improving student achievement, saving student and teacher time, and improving student attitude toward specific types of schooling. The earliest computer impact work related dependent and independent variables in decidedly positivist research frameworks. The computer was often regarded as the independent variable; dependent variables included final test scores, scores on standardized achievement tests, as well as such things as attitude measures of content and schooling in general.

Those strictly quantitative studies of comparing Computer-Based learning with non-Computer-Based learning have more recently been replaced with a trend toward understanding the nature of students' interactions with computer technologies. Neil Selwyn posits that the overreliance on quantitative descriptive methodologies provides a limited perspective, while qualitative and ethnographic studies have the potential to better describe what actually happens in real classrooms, including the changing role for teachers.

The research on the impact of computer technology on classrooms requires an interpretative lens due to the complex nature of classrooms. There are simply too many variables to suggest direct cause-and-effect relationships in experimental studies. Not only do the computer and user exert reciprocal influences on each other, but the social construction of knowledge through cooperative learning in these settings involves a sophisticated interaction that invokes notions of symbolic interactionism. The nuances regarding the nature of the learning environment require specific research methodologies that blend both quantitative indicators and qualitative introspection. Quantitative surveys of students and teachers allow the researcher to identify trends, whereas qualitative interviews and focus groups unearth the “reasons” for the trends. Qualitative feedback offers windows of understanding and invokes new questions that would never be evident in statistical analysis of surveys. The quantitative data point the researcher in the right direction with respect to what questions should be asked, and the qualitative feedback enriches the understanding of the system through an emergent process of iterative inquiry.

Progressive research design on particular cases of technology integration in classrooms has the potential to allow identification of new learning modes empowered by technology. Case study research has an important role in responding to emerging research typologies. Significant research guidance has been provided by Margaret Roblyer, who has suggested four distinct types of pedagogical research with respect to technology, namely: Type 1—research to establish relative advantages of technology-based strategies; Type 2—research to improve implementation strategies; Type 3—research to monitor impact on important societal goals; and Type 4—studies that monitor and report on common uses and shape desired directions.

Application

The underlying premise and strength of the blend-ed-design case study is that many sources of feedback are triangulated to yield an understanding of the nature of the learning environment as impacted by the technology.

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