Classroom Research- Principles and Procedures- By Raluca Dam

7/28/2019 Classroom Research- Principles and Procedures- By Raluca Dam

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PReSENTATION By Raluca Damian, 2ND

Year Maelt


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GGGGetting startedetting startedetting startedetting started__________

researchresearchresearchresearch

C

lassro

omre

search

I. WhatI. WhatI. WhatI. What to investigate ?

II. WhaT APPROACHII. WhaT APPROACHII. WhaT APPROACHII. WhaT APPROACH to use?

Assessing researchAssessing researchAssessing researchAssessing research

II. Which are the standards of. Which are the standards of. Which are the standards of. Which are the standards ofvalue?value?value?value??

I. HowHowHowHow to assessassessassessassess the valuevaluevaluevalue ?


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I. How to DecideWHAT TO INVESTIGATE________________

Youre a teacher in training not yet working with a group oflearners .

Read reports of earlier classroom research & get an idea on

how to replicate those that interest you

In doing so you can use:

Research plans Questionnaires Observation instruments from

published documents (toconduct your own research)

Case 1:


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! direct replication is very rarely possiblebecause each project usually learns from earliermistakes

so they could more appropriately be called-FALLOW UP STUDIES -rather than replications


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You have access to a class or youre a teacher with your ownclassroom you can observe - watching language learners can be arich source of ideas for investigation.

Case 2:

You can look for:interactions that intrigue youpuzzling behaviors that may arise

patterns or anomalies in currents of classroom discourse


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2 opposing points of view on choosingthe topic of investigation:

1. Experimental science theory driven ideasYou can decide what to investigate: by placing already existing research and/or theory first

decide in advance what to investigate on the basis of predictionsgenerated by theory

2. Ethnographic view data driven ideas

questions and hypothesis arise from the data that are collected

You can decide what to investigate by starting from your own observations

! The most important thing:To have a specific issue in mind, a particular problem to think about


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DATA - first position

-the theory comes from datarather than from logic alone

-the theory provides arationale for deciding what tomeasure or observe

goal: to test theories byfinding out if the theorycorrectly predicts whatactually happens

THEORY first position

it doesnt always lead todirectly testable predictions

putting theory first misses thepoint that theories themselves

have to come fromsomewhere.


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II. How to INVESTIGATEThe problem of approach

1. Experimental2. Naturalistic

enquiry

1. Actionresearch

2. Combined


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The experimental approach experiment & intervention

the researcher - high degree of control

treatment administered to some subjects(the experimental group) this treatment is withheld from another group inthe study called the control group)

After the treatment has been implemented a test of some sort is usuallyadministered to both groups and the groups and their results are compared

From the statistics we can conclude that the treatment either did or did notcause a measurable change in behavior or learning.

tests a hypothesis about a cause and effect relationship


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the Naturalistic enquiry

the researcher tries not to intervene in the research setting anddoes not try to control naturally occurring events.

observation & naturallyoccurring events seeingwhat happens

the researcher wants to describe and understand the process rather

than to test specific hypothesis about cause and effect relationships.


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Action researchintervention and observation

a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken byparticipants in order to improve their own social oreducational practices, as well as their understandingof these practices and the cases in which thesesituations are carried out

Experimental researchintervention, high degree of control over variables

Naturalistic enquiry- non-interventionist, non-controlling

Action research intervention large degree if exerted control- taking an actionand systematically observing what follows.


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Identifyissue

Seekknowledge

Plan action

Implemen

t action

Observe theaction/watch

and listen

Reflect uponobservation/think anddiscuss

Change theplan

Action research : a participatory, self-reflective and collaborativeapproach to research.

The process allows teachers who wish toinvestigate events in their own classroom to

take constructive steps towards solvingimmediate problems, systematicallyreflecting on the outcome.

Goals: achieving local understanding developing viable solutions to

problems


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Combined approaches

Measuring

+ structured

+ increased +selectivity

- intervention

Surveys Coding

Systematic observation.

Naturalistic

- controlled, - selectivity,

- intervention - structured

Observation Case study

Protocols Stories

Diaries

Experimental

+ structured + intervention

+ selectivity + controlled

Experiments Quasi -experiments

Asking/Doing

+ controlled , _ selectivity,

+ intervention , - structured

Action research

Interviewing

Elicitation


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II. How to assess the valueOF RESEACH?

valid?

Reliable?

Generally applicable?


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the research procedures must be consistent - over time and across thevariety of people who might use them.

Reliability__________________________the concern of consistency

when one than more observer is involved in trying to code or rate the samethings - there must be an at least 85% agreement among observers or ratersbefore going ahead with the coding of the data.

Inter observer reliability / inter rater reliability

Intra - observer reliability

the extent to which a single observer or coder working with the same data,codes or categorizes the data is consistent after a while

the consistency with which different researchers in the team use a categorysystem to code or a rating system to evaluate the same set of data.


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validity_______________the concern for truth

In experimental studies:

Internal validity a study has internal validity if the outcomes of the experiment can be directly

and unambiguously attributed to the treatment applied to the experimentalgroup rather than the controlled factors.

relates to the extent to which the result of an experimental study can be

reliable and unambiguously related to the treatment which wasimplemented.

External validity - generalizability

the researchers want to know if the treatment used in the study will work

in other settings. there can be no external validity without internal validity if the findings of an

experiment cannot be reliably determined to have been caused by thetreatment (if there are problems in measurements, say)


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In naturalistic, observational studies:

trying to determine through the use of 2 different measurements of the sameunderlying concept or trait (the construct) that the construct has some

psychological reality- in other words that is verifiable and can be capturethrough various measurement procedures.

Construct validation

Criterion-related validity

some form of measurement (usually an established and accepted instrumentor test) is used to measure a trait along with another form (the procedure tobe validated) and the latter is judged by how well its results correspond tobe measurement derived from the former

Treatment validation

related to process -the researcher tries to document that the treatment was infact implemented and that it was identifiably different from whatever it wasbeing compared with.

closely related to internal validity from experimental research.


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generalizability_____________the concern for applicabilityThe population in our case typical learners (ex: all children acquiring two languages

simultaneously or all adult learners attending English classes)

experiments must look for generalizability since the experimentalsituation is by definition artificial.

The sample the smaller group which is actually studied by the researcher

we do not just want to know what our students do in artificialsituations, we want to know whether their behavior in artificialsituations is likely to be repeated in real life.


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3.

- generalizability

+ see what happensin the classroomwhich is itself a

potentially uniquesocial context

2.

+ generalizability

+ any changes aftertreatment

Goal- to be able toclaim the research

results are valid notjust for the localsituation but for all

similar situations.

1.

- generalizability+ changes for the

better in thespecific situation

being investigated+ local solutions tolocal problems

Generalizability

and the differentapproaches to classroomresearch

Q:match the 3 different approaches toresearch (Experimental, Naturalisticenquiry, Action research)to the numbers and characteristics


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Conclusions: all basic research is aimed at improving our understanding there are alternative viewpoints concerning the sorts of

understanding we can most usefully seek

When starting to work on a research topic you should :

consider the most appropriate way to investigate the topic1. An experimental study2. Naturalistic enquiry3. Action research4. Combined approach

establish how the issues of1. Reliability2. Internal validity3. Generalizabilitycould best be addressed in your study

consider whether the topic should be investigated1. from a theoretically motivation position or2. by the collection of data first.


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Bibliography:Bibliography:Bibliography:Bibliography:Focus on the language classroom:Focus on the language classroom:Focus on the language classroom:Focus on the language classroom:an introduction to classroom research for language teachersBy DICK ALLWRIGHT & KATHELEEN m. BAILEY


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Thank you!

Start your research!Start your research!Start your research!Start your research!

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Classroom Research- Principles and Procedures- By Raluca Dam