Being an Inquirer in an Era of 'Right Answers'

Some might ask how useful it is to prepare teachers with a passion for inquiry when there are so many constraints that they face from district and state curriculum mandates and high-stakes tests. My response to this question has two parts: one part concerns values and the other good teaching.

Although there are tremendous pressures in schools right now to conform to teaching prescriptions and to turn teaching into test prep, the knowledge base about how children learn has never been clearer that individual development varies and good teaching must be differentiated to accommodate those differences. Teacher educators cannot let current policies obliterate these critical understandings. We have a responsibility to stay true to what works best for students, to instill "habits of mind" in our teacher learners so that they continually question and examine what is effective, and to help them have confidence to stay true to their convictions, even if they have to "go against the grain." Inquiry experiences in teacher education programs have the potential to nurture these dispositions. Some of the inquiries that my students have conducted - on how mandated/scripted programs, early academics in early childhood programs, and skills-dominated early literacy instruction have affected their students' learning – have given them evidence they subsequently used to speak out against the adverse effects of these practices. Their new-found knowledge gave them power. Betty explained:

Although I work in a school for young children, I did not think it was an appropriate setting for early learning, especially in literacy. Before I came to the research class I already knew in my heart that this was the casee but the class gave me an opportunity and the support to pursue it. After my research I realized that I had been on the right track for how to implement literacy in my classroom. I became empowered to act on my new understandings.

The other reason to keep inquiry alive in teacher education is that the skills of research are the very same skills that are a part of good teaching. Although the focus of inquiry may be different when adults are examining their teaching contexts, the inquiry skills they use are exactly the same as those needed for examining learning: observing, recording, reflecting, analyzing, and applying the understandings to practice. Teachers who know how to do this well are effective at helping children. Their problem-solving orientation prepares them to foster authentic learning, no matter the context in which they teach. It also prepares them to help children navigate the world of tests.

My students continually reaffirm for me that anything is possible. It is inspiring to watch so many of them conquer their challenges, awaken and pursue their own questions, develop a new sense of themselves as able thinkers, and take action on behalf of their beliefs. It is thrilling to witness them "make audible their silenced voices, " "make visible their invisible faces," and "look at things as if they could be otherwise" (Greene, 1997, p. 27, 33). My students are blurring the boundaries between teachers and researchers, knowers and doers, experts and novices (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993, 1999; Vinz, 1996; Wells, 1994). They are becoming agents for change. I am humbled by what they know and do.

My inquiry about inquiry research has clarified for me what aspects of teaching support transformative learning. My students have told me that it helps them when they are allowed to pursue questions that have purpose and personal meaning and when they are listened to and responded to instead of having curriculum imposed on them in a standardized way. They say that they learn best in interdisciplinary, real-life situations; that they are helped when the criteria and expectations for their work are presented to them clearly, publicly, and in advance; that continual, instructive feedback on their work serves as a guide for their learning. My students say that it helps them when someone observes, documents, and reflects on their learning. They are also helped by being given opportunities to share with each other and help each other with their work. They are bolstered by working in community. They are motivated when they feel ownership of their learning.

This research about teachers doing research has affirmed for me that learning how to inquire and do research helps teachers not only develop skills and pedagogical understandings, but is also instrumental in helping them to connect theory to practice, pose and solve problems that have not heretofore been addressed, and to stay true to what works best for students. It is exactly this kind of expertise and professionalism that research on teaching has revealed to be the most critical quality of effective teachers (Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, 1986; The Holmes Group, 1986; Joyce, 1990; Lieberman, 1986; National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 1996; 1997). It is exactly this quality that needs to be developed further to prepare urban teachers to successfully tackle the challenges posed by the diverse and pressing needs of students who attend struggling urban schools.

Like Patricia, my study is completed but my inquiry is just beginning. Teacher research is still relatively new and holds many possibilities yet to be realized. The inquiries of teachers and other practice-based educators promise new understandings about schools and schooling. Their "vantage point, situatedness, materiality" (Greene, 1997, p. 34) should enlarge our perspectives, ignite our imaginations, and challenge our conceptions of the world as it is. Welcoming teachers to the world of research should help us to keep inquiry alive and to stay passionate in our profession. They will help us feel, as Pilar said at the end of last year's class, "It's like a party. It keeps getting better and better. You just don't want it to end."

References

Bissex, G. & Bullock, R. (1987). Seeing for ourselves: Case study research by teachers of writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy. (1986). A nation prepared: Teachers for the 21st century. New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation.

Chandler-Olcott, K. (2002). Teacher researcher as a self-extending system for practitioners. Teacher Education Quarterly, 29(1), 23-38.

Clandinin, D. & Connelly, F. (1995). Teachers' professional knowledge landscapes: Secret, sacred, and cover stories. IN F. Connelly & D. Clandinin (Eds.), Teachers' professional knowledge landscapes (pp. 1-15). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. (1990). Research on teaching and teacher research: The issues that divide. Educational Researcher, 19(2), 2-11.

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

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. (1999). The teacher research movement: A decade later. Educational Researcher 28(7),15-25.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2001). Educating teachers for California's future. Teacher Education Quarterly, 28(1), 9-55.

Enderlin-Lampe, S. (2002). Empowerment: Teacher perceptions, aspirations and efficacy. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 29(3), 139-46.

Erickson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods on research on teaching. In M. Wittrock (Ed.) Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 119-161). New York, NY: Macmillan.

Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013-55.

Fine, M. (1992). Charting urban school reform: Reflections on public high schools in the midst of change. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Florio-Ruane, S. & Walsh, M. (1980). The teacher as colleague in classroom research. In H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, & K. Au (Eds.), Culture in the bilingual classroom: Studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 87-101). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Fried, R. (2001). The passionate teacher: A practical guide. New York: Beacon Press.

Greene, M. (1997). Exclusions and awakenings. In Neumann, A. and Peterson, P. (eds). Learning from our lives: Women, research and autobiography in education, pp. 18 - 36. New York: Teachers College Press.

Grimmett, P. (1993). The nature of reflection and Shon's conception in perspective. In P. Grimmett and G. Erickson (Eds.), Reflection in teacher education (pp. 5-15). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Holmes Group. (1986). Teachers for tomorrow's schools. East Lansing, MI: Author.

Joyce, B. (1990). Change school culture through staff development. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Lamott, Anne. (1994). Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. New York: Anchor Books.

Lieberman, A. (1986). Building a professional culture in schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Lytle, S. & Cochran-Smith, M. (1989, March). Teacher researcher: Toward clarifying the concept. National Writing Project Quarterly, 1-3, 22-27.

McDonald, J. (1992). Teaching: Making sense of an uncertain craft. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. (1997). Doing what matters most: Investing in quality teaching. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.

National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. (1996). What matters most: Teaching for America's future. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Resnick, L. B. (1987). Education and learning to think. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Rock, R.C. & Levin, B.B. (2002). Collaborative action research projects: Enhancing preservice teacher development in professional development schools. Teacher Education Quarterly, 29(1), 7-21.

Vinz, R. (1996). Composing a teaching life. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Wells, G. (1994). The meaning makers: Children learning language and using language to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Zeichner, K.M. (1994). Personal renewal and social construction through teacher research. In S. Hollingsworth and H. Sockett (Eds.), Teacher research and educational reform (pp. 66-84). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Used with permission from the author, Beverly Falk. The article originally appeared in Teacher Education Quarterly, 31(4), 73-84, published by the California Council on Teacher Education, Caddo Gap Press, San Francisco, CA

Complete an activity in which you will engage in a guided inquiry exercise designed to help you identify an appropriate question or pressing issue to kick off your action research, based upon improving the implementation of authentic instruction.

1. 
   Answer the following questions. (Refer to the "Look-fors" document from Unit 1 to help you develop a question or wondering related to authentic instruction.)
   
   1. 
      Reflect upon the students in your classroom in regards to authentic instruction:
      
      • 
        Are there one or two students who stand out in your mind immediately who are puzzling to you? For example, do students struggle to find solutions to problems or discover new meanings by using 21st Century technology?
        

• 
  Do students have a difficult time demonstrating their understanding? Describe a student centered concern, question, or wondering that will be enhanced through authentic instruction.
  

2. 
   Reflect upon the class content and curriculum as related to authentic instruction.
   
   • 
     Are there issues or gaps in the success of a unit of study that concern you?
     

• 
  Is your content knowledge strong enough that you expose students to fewer topics, but in a more systematic and connected manner?
  

• 
  Do you promote student understanding of information over memorization?
  

• 
  Where could you include higher order technology as described in the "Range of Instructional Practice" chart and in the "Technology: Productivity Use vs. Higher-Level Thinking Use" chart? Who could you ask for help?
  

3. 
   Reflect upon your beliefs about teaching.
   
   • 
     Does your teaching philosophy align with your actual teaching practice? Where do you see discrepancies?
     

• 
  Do you encourage students to take risks, to ask questions, help each other, and build upon each others knowledge?
  

4. 
   Reflect on your answers to the previous questions. Please state the action research question related to authentic instruction that you would like to explore.
   

2. 
   Briefly summarize your rationale for selecting the inquiry that you stated in the space provided. Be prepared to add the summary to your Learning Log.
   

3. 
   Enter your summary in your Learning Log by clicking on "Resources" and then "Learning Log." (Label your entry "Research Inquiry Topic")
   
4. 
   Close the Learning Log window to return to the course.
   
5. 
   Return to the course.
   

 

Topic 4.1.3: What Student Assessment Data Should I Collect and How Should I Analyze It?

Nancy Fichtman Dana

In this era of high-stakes testing, many teachers hear the term "data," and immediately think of student performance on tests. The numbers that are generated by test scores of all kinds can be an extremely informative data source for teachers to gain insights into their action research questions and resulting changes they make in instruction as part of the action research cycle. Yet, because the process of action research honors the complexity of teaching, data collection cannot be reduced to just a collection of scores on various tests and assessments. Data collection for the teacher researcher means using a variety of ways to capture the action that occurs in the classroom.

Meaningful teacher inquiry should not "depart from" the daily work of classroom teachers, but become "a part of" their daily work (Dana & Yendol-Silva, 2003). Hence, learning about data collection strategies and selecting the strategies they will utilize for their study simply means thinking about life in the classroom/school and the ways life in the classroom/school can be "captured" as data. This article contains six common strategies teacher researchers use for capturing life in schools as data, in addition to scores on various assessment measures and performance on standardized tests.

Strategy # 1: Field Notes

The life of a classroom teacher is quite demanding. One of the reasons the work of teaching is so demanding is that schools and classrooms are busy places, jammed packed with "action." Teachers interact with students, students interact with each other, teachers and students interact with subject matter, and all of these interactions occur within a particular context that is mediated by values (i.e., all children can learn), norms (i.e., students must raise their hands and be called on before answering a question), and rituals (i.e., each morning, the class salutes the flag during homeroom).

To capture "action" in the classroom, many teacher researchers observe and take field notes. Field notes can come in many shapes, forms, and varieties. Some of these include: scripting dialogue and conversation, diagramming the classroom or a particular part of the classroom, or noting what a student or group of students are doing at particular time intervals (every two minutes). Field notes are free of interpretations by the taker, capturing solely what is occurring without comments as to why it might be occurring or judgments about particular acts.

The form(s) that field notes take depends on the wonderings of the teacher. For instance, consider the following descriptions of teacher researchers using field notes as a part of their action research design:

• 
  An English teacher was interested in studying her questioning techniques. Her field notes listed every question she asked during selected lessons.
  
• 
  A social studies teacher was interested in minority students' attitudes toward academic achievement. His field notes involved writing down verbatim (or as close to verbatim as possible) what his learners were saying during a class discussion focused on how they felt about their recent report card grades.
  
• 
  A high school chemistry teacher was interested in better understanding the relationship between lecture demonstrations and his students' attitudes toward chemistry. He had a student videotape him each time he did a lecture demonstration. After school, he would watch these videos and take notes on what was happening.
  
• 
  A general mathematics teacher researcher wished to better understand the behavior and thinking of a particular learner in her room when attacking a word problem. She enlisted a trusted colleague to come into her room during her planning period to observe and note what that learner was doing every two minutes as the teacher was delivering a lesson on solving word problems to the entire class.
  

What is most important is that he select an existing system or create a new system that works in practice and informs his wondering.

With field notes, data is constructed by capturing action on paper. Even without field notes, there already exists a tremendous paper trail that is produced as a result of much of the action that takes place in schools each day. The paper trail consists mainly of student work, but includes other "papers" such as curriculum guides, textbooks, teacher manuals, parent newsletters, progress reports, teacher plan books, written lesson plans, and correspondence to and from parents, the principal, and specialists. The litany of paper work that crosses a teacher's desk can make any teacher bleary eyed. Often the papers teachers view do not hold significant meaning when read in isolation, or when read quickly in order to be able to hand back papers in the morning. Teachers need to "get through" paperwork in order to remain sane.

Yet, when teaching and inquiry are intertwined with one another, with little extra effort, papers become data and take on new meaning. When teacher inquirers select and collect the papers that are related to their research wonderings, we call these papers, documents or artifacts. Systematically collecting papers provides them with the opportunity to look across these documents and analyze them in new and different ways. For example, as a method of tracking student productivity in the classroom, many teachers save student work, stamping dates on the work to know when it was produced. Through looking at student work over time, claims can be made that could not occur when viewing a singular piece of student work in isolation.

Documents are a naturally occurring form of data that can be extremely powerful. Teacher inquirers need only decide which papers are produced naturally in their classrooms and school, relate to their wonderings and plan a systematic way to collect, label, and organize them.

Teacher talk is important! As talk is crucial to the life of a teacher, capturing talk can be an important form of data collection. Notice in the examples of field notes that were shared previously, that this data collection strategy is one way to capture talk that occurs naturally in the classroom. Some teacher inquirers take naturally occurring classroom talk one step further and interview students as well. Interviewing can be informal, spontaneous, or more thoughtfully planned.

One example of interviewing comes from the work of twelfth grade English teacher and researcher, Tom Beyer (2007), who wanted to better understand the reading habits of his students in order to more effectively differentiate the instruction for his Advanced Placement, Honors, and English IV classes. He began his work by pulling a student aside from each of these classes during homeroom and posing a few questions about what and when they read.

Focus groups also offer teachers another vehicle for collecting the talk and thoughts of students in the classroom. In many ways, focus groups occur daily in the form of whole-class or small-group discussion. The focus-group discussion can serve as a tool for understanding students' perceptions. For example, a focus group can provide insight into how students experience a new instructional strategy or what prior knowledge students possess about a particular content area. Teachers who use graphic organizers such as "What we Know, What We Want to Know, What We Learned" (K-W-L) strategies are conducting a form of focus group that can serve as a source of data that can inform inquiry. Although focus groups can serve as a quick way to obtain data, focus groups have some limitations. For example, focus groups are more likely to capture breadth of opinion since the goal is often to understand the group's perspective. Additionally, sometimes due to the presence of diverging opinions, less confident focus-group members refrain from sharing their thoughts.

Thus far, we have discussed ways to make data collection a part of teaching by capturing what naturally occurs in your teaching day -- action in the classroom through field notes, student progress in your classroom through document analysis, and talk in the classroom or school through interviews and focus groups. One of the ways that interviewing and focus groups serve as a powerful data collection strategy is that through the talk of interviewing, a teacher inquirer gains access into the thinking of the child or adult being interviewed. To capture "thinking" that occurs in the school and classroom, teacher researchers often also keep their own journals reflecting on their own thought processes as well as ask students to journal about their thinking related to the project at hand.

Some teacher inquirers employ more formal mechanisms (such as sociograms, surveys, etc.) to capture the action, talk, and thinking and productivity that are a part of each and every school day. The most common formal mechanism I have observed in my work with teacher inquirers is surveys. Surveys can give students a space to share their thoughts and opinions about a teaching technique or strategy, a unit, or their knowledge about particular subject matter.

For example, recall the chemistry teacher whose action research focused on understanding the relationship between lecture demonstrations and student attitudes toward chemistry. This teacher researcher developed and administered a survey to his students as one form of data collection for his inquiry (Burgin, 2006):