A curriculum takes into account social and personal needs and interests of learners, provides a clear description of goals, creates opportunities for learners to engage actively and reflectively, and fosters strong motivation.
Published in Chapter:
Learning and Teaching Qualitative Data Analysis in a US University: Creating Supports and Scaffolds for Researcher Development
Eleanor Drago-Severson (Teachers College, Columbia University, USA), Pat Maslin-Ostrowski (Florida Atlantic University, USA), Anila Asghar (McGill University, Canada), and Sue Stuebner Gaylor (Allegheny College, USA)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-7409-7.ch010
Abstract
This chapter presents a case study that examines how the learning experience of graduate students enrolled in a seminar at a US university prepares them to conduct qualitative research, specifically data analysis. Adult development theory and literature related to doctoral student preparation for research and curriculum development informed the course design and data analysis. The research questions focus on course structure, pedagogical strategies, how doctoral students experience these aspects in learning qualitative research methods, and how faculty learned to identify and meet students' emerging needs. Findings include contextualized examples of how the course supported students, how students received feedback in developmentally different ways, and the role of student resistance and emotion in learning. This chapter highlights the need to create a context of supports and challenges for learners and illuminates the benefits of a constructivist curriculum with scaffolding for doctoral student development and learning to become a qualitative researcher.