Classroom-Based Research a.k.a. Teacher Research a.k.a. Action Research

1. Classroom-Based Researcha.k.a. Teacher Researcha.k.a. Action Research M. Michele Pittard, Ph.D. Teacher Education Wabash College

2. Specific questions “For too long, educational research has tried to answer big questions with short-term, large-scale questions that ignore the complexity of teacher and student interactions. Your research will probably start from a different point – individual students and their needs in your classroom.” (Hubbard & Power, p. 10)

3. Classroom-Based Research (CBR) • The purpose for doing classroom-based research is to induce teacher learning. • The process can be revolutionary to our practice.

4. Classroom-Based Research (CBR) • The process of teacher research systematizes and legitimizes the process of teacher learning. • The process is rarely linear and usually ambiguous.

5. Don’t good teachers always. . . . . . reflect on their work? . . . raise questions every day about their practice? . . . learn from their teaching? YES! This is informal “teacher research”

6. Reflecting and questioning . . . Teacher research (CBR) naturally creates conditions for teacher learning, as outlined by Lee Shulman (2004):

7. Conditions for Teacher Learning • Teachers gain and promote agency • Teachers make use of genuine reflection • Teachers commit to collaboration and/or more meaningful interaction • Teachers create a culture for learning

8. The (CBR) Research Cycle • Begins with questions from our practice • Development of a plan (research design) that is manageable. • Review of current research literature (“Distant Teachers”)

9. The (CBR) Research Cycle (cont.) • Making decisions about data (student work, etc.) • Gathering and analyzing data • Analysis usually generates more questions

10. “Distant Teachers” • “Looking at the body of work that has relevance to your research . . . can be a creative and enjoyable enterprise” (Hubbard & Power p. 135) • “. . . You will want to see who else has wondered similar things (Hubbard & Power p. 138)

11. Benefits “The benefits of teacher research begin with finding and enjoying the possibilities in your questions, not with analyzing research results. And the research cycle continues with new questions as well as possible answers” (Hubbard & Power, p. 9).

12. New visions “They (Teacher-researchers) want questions to research that can lead to a new vision of themselves as teachers and of their students as learners. These questions often involve seeing students in new ways” (Hubbard & Power, p. 4).

13. Sample QuestionsWabash Teacher Education Candidates Social Studies Candidate • How do journals assist lower-level writers in improving their writing skills? • How does gender affect students’ comfort level and ultimately their success within the classroom?

14. Sample QuestionsWabash Teacher Education Students Spanish candidate • How do different types of text affect student learning and engagement? Social Studies candidate • How does motivating students through peers (i.e. peer group work) improve learning?

15. CBR Teacher/Faculty Group • 2004-05 and 2005-06 cohorts • Montgomery County K-12 teachers • Wabash faculty (Education, History, English) • Supported by Wabash College Teacher Education Program • PRISM grant

16. Generating your own questions • Brainstorm a list of things that you wonder about in one or more of your classes. • Next, choose two or three of the most intriguing items on your list and frame them into questions.

17. You’re ready! • From your list of questions, you are ready to begin formulating a research plan.