The Teacher as Researcher What is the dissertation? Why do research?

The Teacher as Researcher What is the dissertation?

Why do research?

A good teacher is someone who is a learner

Astrid, Perth, WA, Australia

http://www.unicef.org/teachers/teacher/teacher.htm

University of Winchester Y3 Dissertation KP 2013 LL1

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Session Intentions

• Introduction to the module

• Considering the purpose of practitioner research in education

• Benefits for teachers, schools, and what does it do for pupils.

• Reflections on practice-based and classroom research;

• The role of action based research


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Dissertation Process

• Handbook

• Y3 Semester 1

• Y3 Semester 2

• Y4 Semester 1

• Y3 Professional Practice module link – semester 2


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Why do you think research is considered important to

Teacher Education?

• What is your view of research in Teacher Education – for others & for you?

• You are being asked to undertake some research:

• Discuss with the people around you why research may be important and make a list.


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Professors Bill Lucas – Expansive Education Networkhttp://groupspaces.com/eednet/e/380859?s=3c40c908&utm_medium=email&utm_source=group-mail&utm_term=group-mail-41996 (September 2013)

• “we have fundamentally to change the role of teachers. They need, as John Hattie has suggested, to become much better noticers of their own actions. As learners and researchers they can do this.”


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Learning about practice:

A good teacher is also a good learner.

Engaging in research helps us to continue to develop as learners – the ‘never-ending cycle of teacher growth’ (Brause & Mayher: 1991)

The important link with reflective practice.


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Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle


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Teaching: reflective critique and informed pedagogy

oA complex and highly skilled activity that requires primary teachers to exercise judgement in deciding how to act.

oAn area of work in which professional engagement must be grounded in clear understanding of how to develop and improve what is done through the use of evidence.

oOften referred to as Action Research.


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Why research practice? – Action Research

• Gain greater understanding and awareness – children, issues, ideas, concepts

• To initiate a change and observe the effect

• Share ideas• Consider theory and practice of

others• Informs practice• Develops reflectivity


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What is action What is action research?research?

‘‘The essence of action research is that The essence of action research is that it enables a reflective cyclic process to it enables a reflective cyclic process to be brought to bear on the be brought to bear on the understanding of the problem at hand’understanding of the problem at hand’ (Opie 2004: 79)(Opie 2004: 79)

i.e.i.e.

Analysis of a practitioner problemAnalysis of a practitioner problem

Introducing a particular interventionIntroducing a particular intervention

Further analysisFurther analysis

Modification of the interventionModification of the intervention


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The teacher as researcherOnly by becoming reflective

ourselves can we help others to be reflective:

Strategies for reflection: • Keeping a reflective journal• Working with a response partner• Working with a tutor• Setting targets• Being open-minded


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What does the researching teacher learn?

• A great deal about the topic of the research

• Something about the context of the research – both the setting in which it is carried out, and the current debates that inform it

• How to present and interpret evidence

• About her/himself as teacher and researcher


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And more…

• Skills of being a researcher – what do you think they are?


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Why do research? - Improving practice

Observation and Reflection: By looking closely and reflecting in depth upon an aspect of our practice we can think clearly about ways to develop and improve it.

Making informed judgements: Having considered one aspect of our practice in some detail and depth, we are better able to make judgements and reflect critically in other areas of our practice


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Informed practice: By observing aspects of our classroom environment and practice in detail, we develop habits of more careful observation of what is happening.

Empowerment: Because we understand more clearly what happens in an aspect of our teaching, we are enabled to enter into debates about practice more confidently. We are able to argue better for things that we want to try out.


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What does the researching teacher learn?

A lot about how to: – frame questions– assess research evidence– present ideas

• How to carry out systematic observations/ assessments

• How to collect data through interviews, observations, or using standardised instruments


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What does this really look like?

• http://www.pstt.org.uk/resources/continuing-professional-development.aspx

• http://www.expansiveeducation.net/


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Why do research?• As professionals, engaging in

research enables us to assess the research of others from a more expert standpoint.

• It provides us with the evidence we need to justify our classroom practice, to ourselves and to others, and helps us to strengthen our theoretical and practical understandings of how children learn and how teaching can be improved.


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Some student reflections

• Consider the skills gained by the students in the examples on the following slides

• How has the experience helped to develop practice?


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Why do research?

• “…assessment, yes. Levelling writing - it has helped me so much with assessment; because for my FYP I had to level writing before, during and after and that was about twelve samples altogether, if not more, and that’s quite a lot of levelling writing to do, and it’s not an easy task in the first place; and it takes a while; and that has given me a lot more confidence to do that; and to level writing’s hard; and of course we’ve just had optional SATs, and what happened – I’ve done all that - and that helped me”.


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Why do research?

“Maybe when you say to the children, especially in literacy that they’ll work with a partner, then I’ve thought more carefully about how I organise it. It may not be beneficial to the children, working with any old partner; and I’ve thought more carefully about grouping and the classroom dynamics. Like this afternoon, for instance […] I’ve grouped them a lot more carefully than I would have maybe a couple of years ago. And I don’t think that’s all just because I’ve grown… got more experience of teaching; but that is because of my FYP as well, because I looked at who to group with who, ability-wise, and friendship dynamics, male-female, age, and all that – lots of different factors. So there is that. I find myself not just saying ‘go and work in a pair’ or ‘get yourselves in groups of three’ if it’s literacy or maths or topic work like this afternoon. I actually have to sit down and think about it and write the groups down, and change them around”


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Why do research?

“I can tune in to discussions much more, actually listening to what the children are saying, what sort of language they’re using, whether it’s probing language or evaluating what they’ve learned. This afternoon I was just sitting down, listening to some of the conversations going on around me. […] And I’m not just listening to what they’re saying, I’m actually listening to how they say it, and who’s talking to who within the group or pair. So much more sensitive to what they say, yes. It’s funny, I hadn’t thought about that until now. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how much you get out of something that unless you sit down and think about it….”


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THE RESEARCH PROCESS

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgbdMgyKvWE


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The teacher YOU as researcher

Purposes of your research:• To consider current debates and

issues related to an area of practice• To explore an aspect of practice in

depth• To develop personal understanding• To improve personal practice• To become more critical and

reflective• To develop an understanding of how

children learn24University of Winchester Y3

Dissertation KP 2013 LL1

THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER

CARLINA RINALDI

• “All children are intelligent, different from each other and unpredictable. If we know how to listen to them, children can give back to us the pleasure of amazement, of marvel, of doubt. . .the pleasure of “why.” Children can give us the strength of doubt and the courage of error. They can transmit to us the joy of searching and researching. . .the value of research, as an openness to others and toward everything new that is produced by the encounter with others.”

• http://www.carlemuseum.org/studioblog/?p=39525University of Winchester Y3


Your Dissertation is your research

• This component of your study will help you to reflect on your practice by enabling you to:

• gain a basic understanding of research methodologies and their applicability to differing contexts

• engage in a self-organised, critically analytical investigation of an aspect of education

• identify a suitable area of enquiry• relate the aims of the dissertation to a suitable

method of enquiry• design and conduct a piece of focused research in an

educational setting• engage in electronic and other methods of literature

search, and locate specialist advice• use written and graphical methods, as appropriate, to

analyse data and to construct and present interpretationsUniversity of Winchester Y3


Why do research? – What might you do?

Purposes of your research:• To consider current debates and

issues related to an area of practice• To explore an aspect of practice in

depth• To develop personal understanding• To improve personal practice• To become more critical and

reflectiveUniversity of Winchester Y3 Dissertation KP 2013 LL1

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FOR THE NEXT LEAD LECTURE (WEEK 3)

• Please read and BRING to the next LL a short research based journal article of your choice.

28University of Winchester Y3 Dissertation KP 2013 LL1

Any Questions?


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Documents

The Teacher as Researcher What is the dissertation? Why do research?