ACADEMICALLY “Developing the scholar in you�
The Monthly eNewsletter of The Scholar Mentor
December 2019 | Issue 8 www.TheScholarMentor.com
STACK THEM UP, BUILD YOUR CASE As a young child, I played with Legos and building blocks. They could be stacked high, they could be lined up, and they could be used to create
IN THIS ISSUE
wonderful displays with only my imagination to guide me. If you think of
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writing the Literature Review in this same manner, you are taking literature
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or articles, reading them, stacking them up, building and framing your study.
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The main goal is to review and synthesize the literature that your research study or paper connects and builds upon. Your literature, or the building blocks, have to be arranged in a particular way that focuses on a specific topic of interest. You are also building an argument, using the literature that is available to get to the point of your paper. The literature is connected to the topic, but you also identify what is not in the literature, or what is missing so that your work makes a contribution to the conversation or topic of study. In this issue of Academically, The Scholar Mentor shares how important it is
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Stack Them Up, Build Your Case The Literature Review Elements of a Literature Review Resources Twitter Post Subscribe to Academically Personalized Mentoring The Scholar Mentor Bio ---------
to develop and write your Literature Review for a manuscript or paper. Writing the Literature Review can be challenging; however, it is a critical part of your paper in framing your study and eventually leading to your research questions. So, stack them up, but then build your case!
The Scholar Mentor Newsletter is designed to advise, encourage, and mentor scholars in academic writing, and successful navigation and attainment of career goals in academe.
Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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THE LITERATURE REVIEW Over the next few months in the Academically Newsletter-- concluding with a special Anniversary Issue next year (May 2020) – The Scholar Mentor will share insights on writing a manuscript, highlighting each "must-have" section and the content that goes into each by modeling the process using two of my published pieces. I use these two pieces because they are short yet provide clear examples, especially for the early academic writer to follow. Fields of study are different, so apply information here to develop your manuscript in the traditions of your field. Still the academic manuscript follows a very typical format. See The Anatomy of a Research Article on The Scholar Mentor Drive. Writing the Literature Review Using the same two published pieces that I used as examples in the last issue, Writing the Introduction, they are used to help us learn to write the Literature Review. Example 1 - Mensah, F. M. (2011). A case for culturally relevant teaching in science education and lessons learned for teacher education. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), 296-309. Example 2 - Moore, F. M. (2007). Teachers’ coping strategies for teaching science in a “lowperforming” school district. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18(5), 773-794. (Full-text of both articles on Research Gate- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Felicia_Mensah2/publications)
The Literature Review is an essential scholarly piece of all manuscripts. You have to read and know what the field is talking about pertaining to your topic. The main goal of the Literature Review is for you to review and synthesize the current literature on a topic. All the articles, book chapters, and reports you have been reading have to be condensed into a form that connects and builds toward your study’s purpose and research questions. Remember the building blocks analogy; each piece of literature is a building block. Your aim is to tell a story with the blocks by connecting, stacking, and arranging them. The blocks speak to each other as you also build the case for your work. For example, in Example 1, the Literature Review covers multicultural teacher education. I start with Furman (2008), as my first block, and connect this to Villegas and Lucas (2002), a second block, and argue for the use of culturally relevant teaching (Ladson-Billings, 1995a), a foundational block. I pose the question of how to address the tension of multicultural teacher education with culturally relevant teaching as a viable solution: “In other words, how might teacher education address the effectiveness tension? What is a framework of culturally relevant teaching that can be used as both a curriculum in the preparation of pre-service teachers and a strategy for teaching an increasingly diverse public school populace? Teacher education is one context to promote culturally relevant teaching practices with the hope that these kinds of practices will be implemented in classrooms” (p. 296) This is followed by a paragraph that explains culturally relevant teaching. I argue that we cannot assume teachers will take up the practice of culturally relevant teaching or multicultural teaching. My focus is on preparing preservice teachers to teach in multicultural ways and to make culturally relevant teaching Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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part of their daily practice as teachers. Building from this, another argument is the use of culturally relevant teaching in content-specific teaching and elementary classrooms most specifically. Finally, I end with two research questions: “The research questions that guided this study were: What supports are needed in the preparation of pre-service teachers who focus on planning, teaching, and assessing science lessons and teaching in culturally relevant ways? What lessons are learned in preparing pre-service teachers to incorporate culturally relevant teaching in urban elementary science classrooms and their learning to become culturally relevant science teachers?” (p. 297). As you recall from last month’s issue on Writing the Introduction, the overall structure for Example 1 has several parts contained in the Introduction, including the Literature Review and the Theoretical Framework. Due the length of this published paper and style of writing, the Literature Review and the Theoretical Framework are shared. The literature covers multicultural education and culturally relevant teaching which are both used in framing my paper as theory guiding the study. (The January issue will cover Theoretical Frameworks). Let’s look at Example 2. This published paper has a Literature Review that covers five major topics: professional development, multicultural education, feminist pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally relevant teaching. I discuss each of these blocks, and connect them as approaches for multicultural science education but argue they are not used in science education. In fact, they can be used to support science teaching and science teacher professional development: “Multiculturalism seeks to provide opportunities for learners and teachers to empower and to change their conditions. Multicultural education, feminist pedagogy, and culturally responsive and culturally relevant pedagogies are examples that emphasize less traditional approaches to science instruction. They have a more critical focus on the process of teaching and learning of science. In this study, these approaches to teaching are presented as avenues to consider for science teacher professional development to address the economic, social, and institutional impacts on science teaching” (p. 775). I have a purpose of the study section that pulls all the blocks together to set up the primary focus of the study: “By noting issues that teachers contend with while teaching science in a low-performing school district, the potential exists for creating culturally sensitive, culturally appropriate professional development opportunities for teachers, students, and schools” (p. 778). Three Elements of a Literature Review For the Literature Review, there are some basic elements that define what it is and what it contains. Here are three of them: 1.
Defined topic: The literature review is an overview of a topic that is well defined. In other words, the literature (building blocks) cannot include everything; therefore, the literature you select has to be focused on the main topic of study or research, such as “preparing elementary preservice teachers in science education.” It is a review of what is out there that will ground your work. 2. Synthesized content: The literature that is chosen is read and synthesized. Here you have to stack the literature into a coherent argument by pulling out what is most relevant to your work.
Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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3. Persuasive conclusion: The literature review offers a strong or persuasive argument for your topic. From the literature you have selected, there should be an argument that your topic will contribute to understanding the topic. It is putting the literature in conversation, and your goal is to enter into the conversation also. What do you have to say? How will you build upon and add to the conversation presented by the literature? There is creativity in building and writing the Literature Review. Putting the blocks together in a way that relates the importance of a topic and what has been done on a topic requires some skill in writing and communicating your ideas. For example, you may take a chronological approach (the topic over time); a thematic approach (recurring themes about a topic); a methodological approach (comparing research methods and findings); or a theoretical approach (highlighting theories, models, or key concepts). In whichever approach you decide to take organize and write the Literature Review, you have to summarize and synthesize the literature that is available on a topic. To do this, you must read and know what others are talking about and how you can come into the conversation. How will you build upon what others have said, or even to take ideas into a new direction? As you write the Literature Review, connect sentences and paragraphs with linking words and transition words. You do not want to introduce each paragraph with “The author said” or “the researchers found” where there is no sense of connection, or the Literature Review is not inviting readers to engage with you. Resources Below are two very useful websites to help with writing the Literature Review. https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/writing-literature-review https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/ As you read the literature in published papers, start paying more attention to the Literature Review and how authors have written theirs. You may learn about the different approaches and styles they take, but also see if they have the critical elements The Scholar Mentor has shared. There is some liberty to allow for individual expression; however, knowing your field of study and the target journals for your manuscript submissions will give you a better sense of how to organize and write your Literature Review. Now, it’s your turn. Take that manuscript you are working with and apply the insights shared on writing the Introduction! So, stack them up, but then build your case! Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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January 2020 Issue: Theoretical Framework February 2020 Issue: Research Questions & Methods March 2020 Issue: Discussion & Implications April 2020 Issue: The Conclusion Special Anniversary Issue May 2020!
Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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www.TheScholarMentor.com Current Bio Felicia Moore Mensah, Ph.D. I have an exceptional and very successful record in advising doctoral students and developing early career scholars. I enjoy teaching and serving as a mentor and coach to my students and many others I adopt along their academic trajectory. I also work with junior faculty, assisting them in obtaining tenure and promotion and improving classroom practice. From my 15+ years in the academy, I have personal stories and insights to make your journey less frustrating and more pleasurable. I have published extensively in top-tier academic research journals, written book chapters, and developed curriculum materials, teacher resources, and other scholarly products. As a researcher, my work addresses issues of diversity and equity in science teacher education, with an emphasis on culturally relevant teaching, multiculturalism, and critical theories. As a workshop provider, I can design a program that meets your particular needs for student, teacher, and faculty development. Let me develop the scholar in you! Like The Scholar Mentor on Facebook, Follow on Twitter & LinkedIn, Visit the website.
Felicia Moore Mensah, PhD | @docmensah | #thescholarmentor | https://www.facebook.com/TheScholarMentor
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