Happenings at the 2016 AERA Conference—Part II

Having a chance to meet and talk with EdD faculty from around the country is a wonderful chance to listen and learn, Several mentioned that they taught quantitative methods to both PhD and EdD students at the same time. Given that my book, Authentic Quantitative Analysis for Leadership Decision-Making is geared specifically for EdD students, I suggested that they differentiate the course somewhat. They could use this book for the EdD students, and use Chapters 1-4, and the chapter on the literature review with the PhD students, while also having a more traditional text specifically for the PhD students that delved deeper into methodology and internal validity. So some of the reading assignments could overlap and others be differentiated.

The thing that the folks I met were most impressed with about the methods in the book was the simplistic beauty of being able to teach EdD students to critique the most sophisticated quantitative experimental research by looking for just three numbers in order to determine the practical significance of the findings.

The most negative comment I encountered is where one person, after looking at the table of contents, was insulted that the book covered her entire course in just 18 pages. I noted that the book might give her some ideas of additional things she could incorporate into her course. However, she looked at me as though I was an idiot and walked off in a huff. Fortunately, that was the exception. Everyone else was very open to the notion that there was a need to reform how quantitative methods were taught, and that there was now a resource that would now provide them with the resource and credibility to do so. Furthermore, everyone understood that once students understood how to critique quantitative research all faculty could integrate more such research into their courses.

A final suggestion is that all faculty should encourage their students who attend AERA or any professional conference to spend some time in the exhibitor area. It is a place where they can see the latest publications from many publishers and meet with editors to discuss publication ideas.