Literature Review 1500 words
EPM742_Assignment 3_2019 1 EPM742: Fostering Primary Children’s Mathematical Development Assignment 3: Literature review (30%) Equivalent to 1500 words – excess words will be penalised (Individual written assignment) Due date: 11:59 pm Friday 24 May 2019 Overview This assignment requires you to write a 1500 words literature review of current research on a topic related to the teaching of primary mathematics. What is a Literature Review? A literature review is an examination of the research that has been conducted in a particular field of study. It involves a selection of available documents and effective evaluation of these. Your literature review should be motivated by a question you want to answer for yourself relating to your own future teaching of primary mathematics. So you should start by posing a question to explore through interrogating the literature (e.g., research literature, papers written for teachers, papers written by teachers) to help you find out more about your chosen topic. Wherever possible, you should refer to current research and professional literature, Australian and international – i.e. recent articles from peer- reviewed journals or book chapters in scholarly books. However, there are often seminal papers or books that may be quite old that you should also include in your review. Your text by Reys et al. might be a good starting point, but you really need to consult journal articles etc. Please note that Wikipedia is not an acceptable source. Typically, you might use 8 to 12 references in your final literature review. For a good description of what is involved in writing a literature review see the following: Queensland University of Technology (u.d.). Writing a literature review. Retrieved from http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/litreview.jsp Focus for your literature review Your literature review should focus on one of the areas of primary school mathematics that is not covered in your other two assignments – namely: Early algebra Measurement Geometry Statistics Probability Your report Your report should consist of the following: • A title • A statement of the question you are researching • A sentence or short paragraph explaining why it is important to address this question • A synthesis of what you have found out from an analysis of your selected literature – this should be arranged around themes or issues rather than just being a list of articles with brief summaries of their findings. You should also focus on just the ideas and findings that are relevant to your question, rather than provide a comprehensive account of entire articles • A short paragraph stating what conclusions you have drawn from your review of the literature • A brief discussion of how what you have learnt will impact on your teaching practice • A list of references for the articles you have cited 2 What you should do As your first step, you should choose a possible topic, ask yourself what question you want to answer through your review of the literature, and think about how findings from your review are likely to impact on your teaching. You should then do a quick search for suitable articles. You should then send your tutor an email with the subject line EPM742 Literature Review Outline, containing the following information: your name, the topic title, the question you are researching, and bibliographic details of three possible references. Please send all of this in the actual email – not as an attachment. This is optional but if you want feedback to help you with this assignment, this brief outline needs to be emailed to your tutor by Friday 22 March. You will be given written feedback within one week. Note: Late submissions of your brief outlines will still be given feedback. Sample topics To help give you some ideas, here are some more sample topic titles and corresponding questions: Title: Using manipulatives to teach [insert appropriate topic] Question: What are some manipulatives that have been found to be effective in th e tea c h i n g of [insert appropriate topic]? Title: Children’s development of understanding of linear measurement Question: How can teachers support children’s development of understanding of linear measurement? Title: Children’s early algebraic understandings Question: What are some examples of tasks that can be used to develop children’s early algebraic understandings? Title: The use of digital technologies in the teaching of statistics in primary mathematics Question: What are some ways in which digital technologies can be used in the teaching of statistics in primary mathematics? Title: Developing key understandings within probability Question: What are some common misconceptions held by upper primary students relating to probability and what are some approaches that teachers can use to address these? Referencing You can use any standard referencing style as long as you use it consistently and correctly. Referencing can often cause students significant stress. If you are uncertain how to reference material correctly, please consult the excellent resources available in the Deakin Guide to Referencing available from http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study---support/referencing Assessment criteria – Assessors will be looking for the following when marking your assignment Total 30 marks • Demonstrated knowledge of the literature associated with your question (displayed through the breadth, quality and relevance of the literature reviewed) • Discriminating use of resources (displayed by selection of aspects of these resources that are critical to your question) • Coherent presentation (displayed by identifying and justifying your question; providing an evidence- based synthesis of findings from the literature reviewed; and drawing appropriate 3 conclusions) • Clear discussion of how findings from your review will inform your future teaching practice • Clear presentation of work, including use of clear, simple and correct English, and correct use of an appropriate citation and referencing style. An assessment rubric is provided at the end of this document. Due date Your final literature review is due by 11:59 pm on Friday 24 May. Assessment rubric for Assignment 3 Criteria HD D C P N Display knowledge of the literature associated with your question through the breadth, quality and relevance of the literature reviewed (20%) The submission demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the literature. A variety of sources of high quality and high relevance are reviewed The submission demonstrates strong knowledge of the literature. Most of the sources reviewed were of high quality and relevant The submission demonstrates sound knowledge of the literature. Limited sources were reviewed with some of quality and relevance. The sources reviewed was limited in terms of variety, quality and relevance The sources reviewed are not relevant to the chosen topic and are limited in quality Select and use aspects of the resources that are critical to your question (20%) Aspects of the resources are carefully selected and discriminately used in a synthesised manner to answer the research question. This is consistent throughout the review. Aspects of the resources are carefully selected and used in a judicious manner to answer the research question. This is consistent throughout the review. Some aspects of the resources were selected to show links to the chosen question. Some analysis is evident in the review. Aspects of the resources that were selected showed minimal understanding of how the resources were critical to the chosen question. Indiscriminate selection of aspects of the resources that bear no relevance to chosen topic. No critical analysis of chosen resources. Identify and justify your question by providing an evidence-based synthesis of findings from the literature reviewed; and drawing appropriate conclusions (20%) A very coherent and synthesised review with clear themes and arguments. Key terms and concepts were identified. Major trends and patterns were analysed. Gaps for further research were identified thus justifying your research question A coherent review with clear arguments presented. Most key concepts and trends were identified. Gaps for further study were identified thus justifying your research question. The review was a collection of facts rather than arguments. Some key terms, concepts trends or patterns were identified. No gaps were identified. The review was a collection of facts that were not carefully synthesised. No attempt was made to identify trends or patterns. No gaps were identified. The review made no attempt to identify key terms, concepts, trends or patterns . The review was not coherent or relevant to the question. Discuss how findings from your review will inform your future teaching practice (20%) A comprehensive and extremely well- articulated discussion of how findings from your review will inform your future teaching practice. Highly relevant examples are provided. A comprehensive and adequately articulated discussion of how findings from your review will inform your future teaching practice. Some examples are provided Discussion of the findings from review can be seen to inform future teaching practice with some examples provided There is limited discussion of how findings from your review will inform your future teaching practice There is no discussion of how the findings of the review inform future teaching practice Proof-read to ensure use of clear, simple and correct English. Use a referencing style consistently and with care to avoid simple errors (20%) A cohesive submission with very few, if any, instances of grammatical or spelling errors. Appropriate academic language is used throughout. The appropriate referencing style is used consistently, with very few, if any, errors A well-presented submission with limited instances of grammatical or spelling errors. Appropriate academic language is used. The appropriate referencing style is mostly used consistently, with a few errors. A submission with some instances of grammatical or spelling errors. Appropriate academic language is mostly used. The appropriate referencing style is mostly used