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