Week 4 (Feb.13, 07)

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Week 4 (Feb.13, 07)

• Frame Refine Research Questions

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Agenda for Today

• Identify your area of interest (40)
• 1-minute presentation/defense of your research
  questions) (40)
• Peer review INTRO (20)
• For next week classroom teaching observation

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Agenda I

• Frame your research questions where to start?

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Identify Your Area of Interest 1st try

• What intrigues you in your classroom?

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Introduction to Action Research

• What is action research Mills (p5)

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Select an area of focus for your Action Research

• What criteria/tips does Mills suggest when
  selecting an area of focus?

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Select an area of focus for your Action Research
(cont.)

• Mills recommends the following criteria when
  selecting and area of focus
• The area of focus should involve teaching and
  learning and should focus on ones own practice.
• The area of focus is something within your locus
  of control.
• The area of focus is something you feel
  passionate about.
• The area of focus is something your would like to
  change or improve.

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Why teacher researcher? (4.1.1)

• What do I learn from this reading?

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Why teacher researcher?

• What does the author intends to say about
  research through Julie and little Johnny's story?

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In what sense is Julie a researcher?

• It conveys the simplicity of beginning with
  genuine questions.
• Goal of research to gain access to the play
  ground
• Method getting data- little Johnny to ask mom,
  analyze the data and find the pattern!

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Research is a process of

• Discovering essential questions
• Gathering data, and analyzing it to
• Answer those questions.

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What teacher research/action research is

• Research that is initiated and carried out by
  teachers in their classrooms and schools.
• Teacher researcher use their inquiries to study
  everything
• The best way to teach reading,
• Most useful methods for organizing group
  activities,
• Different ways girls or boys respond to a science
  program.

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Teacher research

• Begins with genuine research questions that are
  truly relevant to researchers
• Teacher researcher
• Significant contributor to research
• Source of systemic reform in individual schools
  and districts.
• Rich in classroom anecdotes and personal stories.
• Not written in distance, third-person voice, but
  has an immediate, first person tone.
• Stories are a critical tool for illuminating the
  deeper theories or rules governing the way a
  classroom community works.
• A maybe work after the list of so many
  duties/obligations but there are ways to develop
  inquiry skills that are relevant to almost any
  teacher and classroom

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Little r and Big R (4.1.2)

• What do I learn from this reading?

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Teacher-researcher

• Research can focus on problem they are trying to
  solve in their own classrooms.
• Observing students closely, analyzing their
  needs, and adjusting the curriculum to fit the
  needs of all students
• Teacher research involves collecting and
  analyzing data as well as presenting it to others
  in a systematic way
• Teacher-Researcher the end goal is to create
  best possible learning environment for students.
• e.g. blank look how else can I teach this
  concept? (and thats research!)

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Careful gardener metaphor
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Celebrating Things I learned last week (3.1.3)

• Observe your own teaching and your class/students
  for a week
• Look closely at the small details
• Process daily small moments
• These small details will become building blocks
  of our lives as researchers

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HW for this week Discovering my research
questions through observation

• Things Ive learned this week about teaching. It
  can be any form
• A journal
• A list
• A poem
• Remember the purpose of doing this though!!! To
  identify you an area of interest and try to frame
  your research questions.

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Strategies for working toward a research question
(4.2)

• Process the reading (whole class)
• Each group pick one of the strategies and help
  the class understand that strategies through
  giving examples.

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Understanding Action Research

• Textbook Chapter 1

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Framing research questions

• Open-ended (not yes or no question)
• Pose the question in a way that can be answered
  by descriptions and observations how what
• What intrigues you in your classroom?
• What are you puzzled by in your classroom?
• Are there what-ifs running through your mind
  begging to be explored?

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The way of finding and framing research questions

• It takes time
• It may involve a lot of exploration through
  wonderings
• The research cycle continues with new question as
  well as possible answers.
• Tip Dont rush to state a question so your
  research can begin. Figuring out the question is
  an important part of the research.

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3 major steps in doing a research study (Review)

• Preparing a proposal describing the study to be
  done and its significance (EDU651)
• Collecting and analyzing data (EDU652)
• Writing a report of the complete study (EDU652)

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Action Research Examples

• http//education.ucsc.edu/faculty/gwells/networks/
  

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Housekeeping
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Agenda II

• Frame and Refine
• Your Research Questions

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Frame/Refine your research questions

• Group work

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Frame your Research Question

• Form a group of 4/5 people
• Share with the group your wonders/concerns/questio
  ns about your teaching and/or student learning,
  or others classroom teaching.
• Frame/refine your question and prepare for a
  1-minute presentation/defense

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1-minute presentation/defense

• What is your research question and sub-questions?
  (Poster)
• Why do you think it is a good/not-so-good
  research question?
• You sincerely interested and/or invested in?
• Researchable?
• Feasible?
• Clear?
• Significant?
• Real world problem
• Ethical?

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House Keeping

• Hot Topic Debate for next week
• Assignment one week observation
• Q A?

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Q A