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Mount Tamar: An Introduction to Educational Research
A Learner’s Guide to Educational ResearchDr Jim Rogers. Director PTSA
Dr Roger Roundhead: Please:
Be open mindedInquisitiveRisk-takingChallenging
Session Outcomes:• To understand the renewed emphasis on teachers as
researchers • To gain an understanding of what research is and how you can
do it! Explore some fundamental principles• Gain an insight in to action research• To challenge the misconceptions about academia. We are not
all Einstein!
Why? What? How? • Part 1: the context. Why consider research in education?• Part 2: the process. What is research? Fundamental principles of
research.• Part 3: an approach. Action research.
Why? The context
Question: why should the education profession engage with research?
• Evidence informed practice = sustainable• Constantly improving one’s practice and the quality of teaching and learning• Asking the right questions; challenging, leading based on the right
information• Applying local context to initiatives• Being ‘plugged in’ to latest findings
White Paper: Educational Excellence for Everyone (DFE, 2016)
Developing a Strong, evidence-informed profession• Too little research is directly driven by the priorities of teachers and
schools; too little is sufficiently robust in quality• Focus funders of research and academics on generating evidence in
areas which directly inform classroom teaching.• Incentivising teaching schools to publish their research and CPD
materials on an ‘open-source’ basis
How can we improve the quality of teaching and learning?
The process of teaching:LinearTeach
Teach
Teach
Teach
Or…Linear, reactiveTeach
TeachPolicy change, shiny CPD, Latest fashion from HT
Teach
Teach
Task 1 Define teaching!Oxford thesaurus:Advise, coach, demonstrate, direct, discipline, drill, edify, educate, enlighten, guide, impart, implant, inculcate, inform, instil, instruct, school, show, train, tutor.
And design a mechanism for improvement
Identify an issue
Co-construct an intervention
What does the evidence say?
Peers
Feedback
Reflect
Re-design intervention
Teach
So an ‘expert’ teacher would:• Engage critically with ideas• Be aware of personal values• Reflect on and in classrooms
This is the essence of researching practice
What?!?! Part 2: So what is research?
What do I need to do to make my coffee nicer?
Research vs Evaluation
Research:• Is ‘A systematic inquiry made public’ (Stenhouse, 1975)
• Is Systematic and enquiring, sharing findings.
• Creates NEW knowledge
• That is valid, robust, reliable
Its about being inquisitive!
Teacher/researcher. Types of knowledge
1. Codified knowledge: explicit knowledge. Object/rule based. For example chemical formula, policies, record keeping. Represented by language or symbols; easy to communicate.
2. ‘Craft’ knowledge. Implicit knowledge: Context-specific; the ‘craft’ of teaching. Difficult to communicate, built on experience.
3. Cultural knowledge: context specific; shared assumptions and beliefs. Used to perceive and explain classroom reality and place value to new ideas.
Teacher/researcherThe between 1 & 2:
‘The role of the teacher researcher is to bridge the gap between codified research knowledge and everyday craft knowledge’ (MacIntyre, 2005).
Research: fundamental principles:• account for ethics• a defined research focus and/or question• ascertain what is already known (literature review)• consider the theoretical position of the research/er (ontology and
epistemology)• methodology driven by the theoretical position• Methods designed to capture relevant data/knowledge Valid and
Reliable
What is true/truth?• Discuss!
Positivist v interpretivist• Seeking absolute truth/knowledge = positivist. Scientific
• All knowledge is interpreted, socially constructed = Interpretivism.
In pairs: Choose 1 of your research areas. Define the terms.• Teaching and Learning for SEND• Adapting our practice to meet the needs of children with Autism • Supporting mindfulness and mental health of our pupils to develop
strategies for them to learn effectively • Use of IT to aid pupil progress• Adapting our practice to meet the needs of children with Attachment
disorder• Developing learning during unstructured time
Hierarchy of philosophical ideas
ONTOLOGY – What is out there
to know?
EPISTEMOLOGY – What and how can we know about it?
METHODOLOGY –How can we go about acquiring
knowledge?
METHODS – What procedures can we use to acquire it?
Reliability and Validity• Reliability
• The reliability of the data we collect must, of course, be an important consideration, since if the data we use is not reliable, then the conclusions we draw on the basis of such data are going to be fairly useless.
• Validity
• Data is only useful if it actually measures what it claims to be measuring and, in this respect, the concept of validity refers to the extent to which the data we collect gives a true measurement / description of "social reality”
Ethics…• Acting with honesty and integrity.• BERA’s (2004) principles Ethical respect for:• The person• Knowledge• Democratic values• The quality of ER• Academic freedom
Ethical issues:• Informed consent• Confidentiality• Data storage and security• The selection of participants
• When are children interviewed? Should it be their break...or in a lesson?• How long are the interviews?• Are the children at a
disadvantage as a participant?• Who are the stakeholders?
Part 3: What is Action Research?• Action research can be described as: any research into
practice undertaken by those involved in that practice, with an aim to change and improve it.
• Action research is about both ‘action’ and ‘research’ and the links between the two. It is quite possible to take action without research or to do research without taking action, but the unique combination of the two is what distinguishes action research from other forms of enquiry.
Action Research ‘V’ Traditional ResearchAction Research• Researchers do research
on themselves in the company of other people.• Researchers enquire into
their own lives and speak of others as colleagues/ individuals• Action research implies a
process of people interacting with others
Traditional Research
• Researchers do research on other people
• Researchers enquire into other peoples lives and speak of others as data.
• Traditional research can be a thing in itself
Simplest form of Action Research
Part 4: Formulating a Research Question and plan.Go back to your earlier definitions.
AIMS
• My broad research aims are…• The stimulus for my research is…
AREA
• Possible research areas are…• My refined area is…
QUESTIONS
• A working title• My research questions• My sub questions
Literature Review• https://scholar.google.co.uk
• Abstract and conclusion!
• EEF
• Evidence Based Teacher Network www.ebtn.org.uk
Triangulation
Triangulation is the application and combination of several research methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon.
So thatyou overcome the weakness or intrinsic biases and the problems
that come from single method, single-observer, single-theory studies
Types of Triangulation• Data triangulation, • Investigator triangulation• Theory triangulation, • Methodological triangulation, • Multiple triangulation.
What next?
• Gain Accreditation for the research you are doing• MA Education course centres on your own needs, research interests and
work-based contexts. You can study on a full- (one year) or part-time basis (three years). http://www.marjon.ac.uk/courses/ma-education/• MA Education Plymouth University
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-education.• PG Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring comprises of 2 modules, each
worth 30 credits. http://www.marjon.ac.uk/courses/mentoring/
Some useful web based materials
• http://moodle.marjon.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2343• http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09650792.asp• http://www.jeanmcniff.com/items.asp?id=42• https://www.bera.ac.uk/project/research-and-teacher
-education
• https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit