Natalie B. Milman: ATE Standard 2

Standard #2: Inquire into and contribute to one or more areas of scholarly activity that are related to teaching, learning, and/or teacher education.

Introduction | Standard #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 |

Artifact - Journal Article

Milman, N. B., & Heinecke, W. F. (2000, Fall). Innovative integration of technology in an undergraduate History course. Theory and Research in Social Education, 28 (4), 537-556.

Reflective Statement

Describe: The paper reports the results of a qualitative research study about the innovative and effective use of technology in an undergraduate history course. In addition, the paper provides a discussion of the implications of the strategies utilized in the course for social studies teacher education. The research described in the paper was the first in-depth qualitative study in which I was involved, and the first paper that I have ever written that was published.

Analyze: Not only does this publication demonstrate that I can conduct quality research, but also collaborate in writing it, and relate what was learned from that study to teacher education. While I did all of the research myself, Walt Heinecke provided invaluable guidance and inquisition in the conduct and writing up of the study.

Appraise: I learned a great deal conducting this study. There were many questions that arose during the course of the study that I would not have been able to answer had I not actually done the study. I learned how to conduct qualitative research, how to interview participants, how to write up and analyze the results. I realized how demanding qualitative research is, but also how interesting it is to spend so much time with the participants. At the end of the semester I felt like one of them even though I was the "fly on the wall" having observed them for weeks. While I believe I could have written a much better paper had my daughter not been 2 months old when it was due to the editor, I believe that it is a decent reflection of what I can accomplish, even under difficult circumstances (I was severely sleep deprived at the time as my daughter was a horrible sleeper and ate every 2 - 3 hours!)

Transform: The study that resulted in this publication transformed my view of research: how it is done, the time involved, the demands placed on the researcher. I believe it made me a better researcher and much more understanding of the demands of the higher education classroom.

Introduction | Standard #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 |

This page was last updated April 19, 2002 8:24 AM