Working on my dissertation this year has been a huge task. It’s even bigger than I ever imagined it would be. There are many days that I feel that I am in the middle of a huge sandpit of data that I will never be able to claw out of, but there are other days where I am amazed at the beauty of the data. The way the data tells the story of a classroom, a teacher and her students in a way that others many not ever be able to see. I’m working in a first grade classroom with a teacher who is 110% dedicated to her students and goes above and beyond the call of duty each day to ensure that her instruction is worthwhile. It’s refreshing to be in her classroom so that I can celebrate the teaching and learning in her classroom. As I collect data I’m collecting both quantitative measures and qualitative measures. Before beginning I didn’t realize what a tremendous impact the qualitative pieces would be to my study. It hit me the hardest as I looked at the student’s spelling. At the beginning of the year the quantitative numbers would have told me NOTHING about each student’s spelling ability because at that point few of them could spell any of the words on the list – so their scores were 0%, 5% and 10% correct. However, as soon as you look at their spellings and qualitatively analyze each one, you can see how much the first graders actually know. They know beginning consonants; they can mark that long vowel – even if it’s not done correctly. For example, I had one student spell the word 'thirsty' as 'thrsty'. Quantitatively it's wrong but qualitatively it's absolutely beautiful. If only we could get more policymakers to see that the qualitative research can take us toward a more complete curriculum. It can give us the insight we need to plan a curriculum that meets the needs of our students because many times it gives us the description that the numbers are unable to provide. Hinchman’s piece was easy for me to connect to because I see the value in teaching our students to think about their own learning. If we want students to learn from the sake of learning, to become life long learners, then we have to help them realize the power that comes from being directly involved in the learning process. It’s more than listening to your teacher and completing your assignments. It’s listening to your teacher, making connections to other learning you have experienced and extending that learning in new directions. For this to happen we have to listen to the students and I think Hinchman makes this point well.
I also appreciate Hinchman’s call for ‘varied research methodologies’. There are so many different ways to collect and represent data and each offers a new layer of knowledge and curiosity. It can only help our students to expose ourselves to different ways of learning because then we are still pushing ourselves to learn. We may not feel comfortable trying a new research methodology or reading in a new discipline, but that challenge can only make us better teachers. The challenge of something new encourages deep thought and pushes us to go beyond what we know so real learning can happen. If we allow ourselves to go through this process on a regular basis, I think we will also be better able to offer the same experiences to our students.
Amie Snow
Comments (4)
Amie,
Although I have not had much exposure to qualitative research, I also thought about analyzing children's spellings and how much is learned about what the student knows already. Here qualitative research provides information that assists the teacher in helping the student unlike quantitative research. In literacy research, it seems only logical that we should use research methods that provide findings that are most appropriate to affect change and improve student learning. Just as I would not use a spoon in the garden when I need a shovel, it seems unproductive to use a research method that does not adequately supply data that is useful in helping me find ways to assist my students.
Posted by Lisa Rasey | February 14, 2009 8:14 PM
Posted on February 14, 2009 20:14
"Pushing ourselves to learn" is so important. Why are some teachers so resistant? We have a literacy coach this year and I think he has some good ideas and strategies. But many teachers blow him off because they don't seem to want to change or try something new. I am ALWAYS wanting to try something new in the classroom to keep from getting bored and to keep from boring my students. I really wish there were more people who took advantage of the chance to learn. It is so important for the students to see us learning.
Ashley Catlett
Posted by Ashley Catlett | February 15, 2009 1:44 PM
Posted on February 15, 2009 13:44
Amie, that would be nice wouldn't it? The thing about it is, that lawmakers have no idea what are key markers for student progress. They just know numbers. But, as you have seen, there is so much more going on in a student's mind. Perhaps one day, they will start focusing on what is real.
Posted by Whitney Gilbert | February 16, 2009 9:33 PM
Posted on February 16, 2009 21:33
Hi Amie,
Data analysis is so rewarding, isn't it? I know it seems daunting, but when you find those nuggets in there that you described in your post, it makes your research burst wide open!
About thrsty -- I listened to a podcast of a linguist who says that text messaging will actually teach this new generation to be better spellers. I know it seems counterintuitive, but he claimed that spellers need to know the proper structure of phonetics to be able to text effectively. Who knew?
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 20, 2009 10:21 AM
Posted on February 20, 2009 10:21