Learning to think "scientifically" about learning, development, and education is no small task. A scientific approach doesn't always fit neatly with our instincts as teachers. Teaching is often described as an art--one based on individual judgment and social interactions. That said, there's a great deal of scientific knowledge out there that can inform the art of teaching. What do you think will be the most difficult part of learning to think more scientifically about educational problems? What do you think you will need the most help with along the way?
During my master’s degree program, I took a class in action research. It was during this class that I realized just how much scientific knowledge and research we do as teachers even perhaps, without realizing it. We analyze our children's’ behaviors and create hypotheses for why they are acting or struggling the way that they are. Then we try to figure out how to address the problem. THIS is where I think having a strong scientific background is important and will continue to strengthen my teaching. By gaining a better and more solid understanding of brain based research, I will hopefully be more effective when creating interventions, IEP’s etc... The difficulty I think, might lie in being able to analyze research and find the information that will help my students and myself be more successful. There is so much information out there, and finding the “good” and helpful research sometimes seems like finding a needle in a haystack.
I also anticipate needing help with the statistics and math that accompany research studies and articles. There are times, if I am being honest, that I see charts and tables and I am not quite sure what is the relevant information and the key pieces I need to take away. So, I am hopefully that throughout the courses, I will gain the ability to look at research and cut through some of the technical language and see the big picture!
1 comment:
Hi Allyson
I am excited to learn of your interest in Teacher-Research! You’re right; we teachers do a form of action research during the course of our daily duties. I have completed a few Teacher-Research projects myself. In case you’d like to check out my projects, you can go to these links. Perhaps yopu might get some ideas for your own Capstone Project.
http://www.towson.edu/mwp/newsletters/spring06/MWP_WrtngWrks_SP06_04-05.pdf
http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/spring2010/breakingtraditioninkindergartenusingmove/index.html
Since we spend most of our time in real life practice, we classroom teachers often have a “blind spot” when it comes to statistics. Also ethnographic research (unlike experimental research) often does not include much statistical analysis.In the past when reading journal articles I’ve basically used this strategy: Trust that an article published in a reputable peer- reviewed journal is “safe.” However in cases where we need to make an important decision based upon research claims, it’s probably a good idea to meet a higher standard. So a basic knowledge of statistics would be helpful.
Dr. Rinne really did us a great service when he up-loaded to the Resource Section the many references on statistics. For a quick over-view of terms I especially like the little two page hand-out titled: “Statistical Hypothesis Testing: The Basic Idea.” Also for a deeper understanding of individual concepts, the Khan Academy videos are quite good.
Best regards,
Sharon
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