Teacher Research

Carol Bedard, Ph.D.

Greater Houston Area Writing Project

Teachers Are Knowers(Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993)

Research defined

Contributions and Criticisms of teacher research

Components of a research study

Example of a teacher research inquiry

Group Work

Teacher Research Defined

Teacher research is a distinctive way of knowing about teaching and learning. It involves the careful study of students in educational practice---what and how they learn. The research is personal because it represents not only the search for general principles or theories of school curriculum or classroom instruction but also the search for understanding and improving one’s everyday practice (Zeichner & Noffke, 2001).

Teacher Research Contributions

Knowledge Generation for:

One’s own practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993)

Immediate community of teachers (Feiman-Nemser & Featherston as cited in Cochran-Smith &

Lytle, 1993)

Larger community of educators (Calkins, 1985)

Teacher Research Contributions

Teacher research adds another dimension

to the student/teacher relationship.

“Now I need them [students] as much as they need me.”

(MacLean and Mohr, 1999, p. 21)

Teacher Research Contributions

Teacher research creates opportunities for professional development (Goswami & Stillman, 1987).

Research presentations at national, state, and local conferences.

Research presentations at school-district in-service meetings.

Research published in educational journals.

Teacher Research Criticisms

Teacher Research adds to a teacher’s workload (Zeichner & Noffke, 2001).

Does teacher research maintain standards for methodological rigor? (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993)

How ToConduct Teacher Research

Formulate research question (s) Conduct a literature review Establish methodology

1. Research design

2. Instructional context

3. Participants

4. Instrumentation

5. Data collection strategies

How-ToConduct Teacher Research

Obtain permission from parents/students/ administration

Collect data Determine relevant data Analyze data Draw conclusions, implications Draft Publish/Present results

Teacher Research Example

The Relationship Between Talk in Peer-

Response Groups and Students’ Writing in

Fifth-Grade Classrooms

Research conducted during the 2003-2004 school-year.

The Questions

1. How can talk in peer group conferences be characterized?

2. Will talk about writing in peer group conferences influence the outcome of the final draft? In other words, in what ways will suggestions given in the conferences be taken into account and acted upon?

Literature Review Topics

Teacher Research

The Writing Process Model for Teaching Writing

Genre Development

Classroom Talk

Collaborative Learning

Methodology

Research Design:Conducted teacher research using

sociolinguistic and ethnographic methods.

Instructional Context: Writing Workshops in two fifth-grade

classrooms.

Methodology

Participants:

24 fifth-grade students

Instrumentation: Two writing rubrics Two student surveys

Methodology

Data CollectionData were collected from a variety of sources including: field notes of writing workshop activities audio tapes of peer writing group conferences video tapes of selected writing workshop activities student written work from two essays, an informative

essay and a narrative essay student surveys student interviews.

Methodology

Determine Relevant Data Peer Conference Transcriptions Student Writing Student Surveys Fieldnotes

Analyze Data

Code, chart, reflect

Findings

The optimal group had mixed-gender members with similar academic abilities.

Students learned to talk in an exploratory manner (Students supported their ideas with facts and challenged the ideas of others.)

Students learned the importance of each member’s contributions, learned to value differences, and learned to stay on task.

Groups that remained together for the entire year developed positive working relationships and benefited from knowing each group member’s strengths, weaknesses, and operating styles.

Group members expanded their problem-solving skills.

Implications for Writing Teachers

Student Suggestions:

1. Writing proficiency influences suggestion usage

2. Explicit suggestions are more often incorporated

3. Groups felt they were helped in both informative and narrative essays, but the help was different.

4. Instructional content (mini-lessons) influences the content of the writing conferences.

Implications for Writing Teachers

Empowerment: Student voices were heard

Students gained a sense of empowerment—involvement

Through talk students developed a concept of self

Implications for Writing Teachers

Process: Peer-group conferences encourage revision Both criterion based feedback and reader based

feedback are useful

Learning: New perspectives were introduced Conferences provided opportunities to practice

exploratory talk, assimilate new and old knowledge, and use higher cognitive functions

Implications for Collaborative Learning Students must be taught how to work in collaborative

groups

Each group developed its own personality and operating style

Students gained respect for student knowledge

Encouraged group norms for interaction and behavior

Diminished student indifference

Group Work

Brainstorm possible research questions.

Participate in a collaborative activity.

Big group reflection on collaborative activity experience.

References

Calkins, L.M. (1985). Forming research communities among naturalistic researchers.In B. McClelland & T. Donovan (Eds.). Perspectives on research and scholarship incomposition (pp. 125-144). New York: Modern Language Association.

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. (1993). Inside outside: Teacher research and knowledge.New York: Teachers College Press.

Dawes,L., Mercer, N., Wegerif, R. (2000). Thinking together: A Programme of activities fordeveloping thinking skills at KS2. Birmingham: The Questions Publishing Co. LTD.

Goswami, D. & Stillman, P. (1987). Reclaiming the classroom: Teacher research as anagency for change. Upper Montclair, MJ: Boynton/Cook.

MacLean , M.S. % Mohr, M.M. (1999). Teacher researchers at work. Berkeley, CA: NationalWriting Project.

Zechner, K.M. & Noffke, S.E. (2001). Practitioner research. In V. Richardson (Ed.). Handbook of research on teaching. Washington, D.C.: American Educational ResearchAssociation.