ERIC Number: EJ1127744
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2159-0281
EISSN: N/A
Teaching APA Style Documentation: Discovery Learning, Scaffolding and Procedural Knowledge
Skeen, Thomas; Zafonte, Maria
Journal of Instructional Research, v4 p69-75 2015
Students struggle with learning correct documentation style as found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and teachers are often at a loss for how to best instruct students in correct usage of APA style. As such, the first part of this paper discusses the current research on teaching documentation styles as well as the learning theory behind discovery learning and scaffolding and advocates for using these lenses to address student problems with APA style. The second half of this paper provides practical exercises (called microthemes), grounded in sound pedagogy, that instructors can use in both a traditional ground classroom or in online and blended instructional models. This paper is aimed at not just instructors in a composition or research methods course who regularly teach APA style to students, but also to the frustrated psychology or science teacher who finds student submissions riddled with APA errors.
Descriptors: Citations (References), Documentation, Learning Theories, Discovery Learning, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), College Instruction, Teaching Methods, Learning Activities
Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University. 3300 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85017. Tel: 602-639-6729; e-mail: cirt@gcu.edu; Web site: http://www.instructionalresearch.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A