Textbook Blog Post!

Blog Post #3 - 6/4/21

For the following text: The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry by Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Chapter 3: Learning WIth and From the Literature

This chapter highlights and explains the importance of teachers reading and seeking new literature to become active inquirers within their practice. Dana and Hoppey exclaim that “far too often, a systematic search of the literature and the completion of professional readings from reputable sources is not part of a teacher's learning journey”. Understanding and practicing methods of active readership and reflection of literature in the field of specific content and/or instructional methods will help any educator refine their practice for the most successful inquiry methods for themselves and their students.

Section One: Why Read?

The authors make the case that teachers should actively seek out literature in their content subject matters and instructional methods to be more informed by and connected to the work of others. There is a benefit in teacher inquiry in that teacher researchers consult the literature to gain valuable insights into knowledge that already exists on their topic. Additionally, teachers should seek to establish and research specific questions that may challenge their modality of thinking and expand their understanding. To be specific - teachers should analyze several factors that determine how they teach: the students they teach, the curriculum, subject knowledge, teaching strategies, and personal ideologies of the profession. Other steps are mentioned here too in that active reading allows teachers to stay well informed on current knowledge in the field related to the topic too - as information is constantly changing and new practices emerge. Social Studies, for instance, is a prime example where active readership of literature and careful examination and modification of teacher resources, tools, strategies is key!

Section Two: Where and How do I Find Readings to Inform My Inquiry?

The second part of the chapter outlines key steps teachers can take to seek out literature to become active researchers and inquirers within their practice. In the first step: Considering Your Question, the authors encourage all teachers to refine their research questions with specific and well-defined areas of focus that they seek to improve. Next in Begin the Search, it is recommended that teachers use a series of key words and sources to enhance their search. For instance, using What Works Clearinghouse is a great source that provides research summaries written just for teachers that streamlines the research process. Additionally, using other research databases and/or journals published by professional organizations can prove to be helpful too. Third, in the Read and Synthesize the Literature steps, the authors stress the importance of gaining the general concepts of studies/sources and to actively take notes on what would most likely work for them in a classroom-setting. It is encouraged that teachers take time to consult their colleagues and other sources to gain further clarity on their findings and the feasibility of the implementation of their ideas. Finally, in the Enacting the Literature phase, teachers can and should actively make changes to any key lessons, assessments, projects, etc. in order to use what they have read. Ultimately though, teachers should value their own experiences and use what works best for them while still thinking about their own goals for both teacher and student inquiry.

Section Three: Personal Standpoint!

On a personal level, I can find great value in active teacher inquiry and research around literature. Social Studies education provides great opportunities for teachers to be active inquirers to research and develop new ideas, instructional methods and educational experiences for students to build student inquiry. Whether its examining newer sources promoting equity and representation, new instructional methods using higher-order thinking methods and/or expanding horizons of assessment opportunities to allow students to achieve and really show what they know - the options for inquiry-based learning are truly endless.

Blog Post #4 - 6/9/21

For the following text: The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry by Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Chapter 4: Learning With and From Your Colleagues

This chapter from Dana and Yendol-Hoppey emphasizes the importance of teacher collaboration in efforts to exercise and enhance inquiry. The rationale and importance for teacher collaboration in the inquiry process is that teachers can work toward a common goal while improving their own practices proactively. The chapter is divided into two sections - first, the authors outline and explain the fundamentals of the importance of collaboration and second, they explain different forms of collaboration inquiry that can be utilized.

Section One: Why is Collaboration So Important?

Reason One: Research is Hard Work - The teaching profession is very demanding and requires so much time and energy from educators. Engaging in collaborative inquiry can allow for teachers to build on each other’s work in ways that are conducive to individual teachers and collective groups at-large. One of the best ways to engage and sustain constant collaborative inquiry is through technology and social media outlets too. Teachers will find that much of the research and findings on a certain topic can be streamlined using the right technology/sources.

Reason Two: Teacher Talk is Important - Both authors state that “making your tacit knowledge (personal skills, ideas and experiences) more visible can often lead to significant discoveries when you are individually or collaboratively analyzing and interpreting your data.” (Dana and Yendol-Hoppey, 86). Teachers need to value meaningful conversations that help them question assumptions regarding several domains of teaching like instructional methods, standards, discipline, instructional materials, homework, etc.

Reason Three: There’s Safety in Numbers - Both authors present the importance of teachers who engage in active inquiry in knowing that there is value in building meaningful relationships outside of your comfort zone. This applies to other teachers in your perspective department/grade, subject, district and beyond. By accessing the diverse pool of teachers for constructive collaboration, teachers will be more willing to engage in inquiry-based practices if they feel/know there is a tangible support system engaging in the same processes with them. This also has benefits of combating and then working with teachers who may be resistant to engaging in similar practices.

Reason Four: There’s Strength in Numbers - Teachers who collaborate with focuses on inquiry-based learning can also benefit from using their focuses to tackle other subjects together to demonstrate the strength and benefits of collaborative inquiry practices. These issues/topics might be broader things like school policies, policies regarding curriculum, school organization and more! Giving teachers time, resources and support from the school/district/community can allow them to seek reforms that can benefit more than just individual teachers and classrooms.

Reason Five: Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Builds Collective Teacher Efficacy - Teacher’s feeling valued is just as important as anything! Embracing and exercising collaborative inquiry can really help teachers better understand their ability to impact student and teacher outcomes accordingly. Additionally, building teacher efficacy can uplift a whole faculty to more proactively solve other topics in and outside of the classroom.

Section Two: What are the Possibilities for How I Might Collaborate?

Collaborative Structure 1: Shared Inquiry - This type of collaboration approach happens when two or more teachers conduct a single research project together. The benefits of this approach is that both teachers can create a relationship where they can meet, discuss, create, analyze and modify changes at the same time. The authors even make note that this type of approach is most used by teachers today.

Collaborative Structure 2: Parallel Inquiry - This type of collaboration approach happens when teachers support each other’s individual endeavors by partaking in separate lessons/projects but still partake in activities such as gathering data for each other, discussing findings, and teaching each other to provide the time needed to engage in their own inquiry. This can be conducive to the teacher’s needs as they are able to engage in separate lessons, assessments, projects but still support each other with similar approaches and modifications that still champion student inquiry and same goals in mind.

Collaborative Structure 3: Intersecting Inquiry - This happens when teachers might focus on the same topic but explore different questions and wonderings about that specific topic. The benefits of this is that the teachers involved would have the same content knowledge but approach research questions differently in their implementation methods and approaches. This can allow for teachers to work together to modify and adjust their inquiry lessons, assessments, projects by using the best of both educators.

Collaborative Structure 4: Inquiry Support - This involves a teacher inviting a professional who is not currently engaged in inquiry to support their work. Essentially, the invited person is a critical friend to help the teacher devise meaningful inquiry experiences but still aids in the collection of data and feedback. According to the authors - “If you invite these colleagues to provide support for your work, everyone wins! They stay connected to the systematic study of practice and you have crucial friends to help you get through the process.”

Section Three: On a Personal Note

I can truly find value in all of these reasons and approaches toward teacher collaborative inquiry! I think the main benefits for me as a teacher with a few years of experience is that I am able to be an active educator who works with others to better modify my practice. This can be even more beneficial when you consider that I am constantly trying to modify lessons, assessments, and projects to invoke more inquiry for my students. I think that teacher collaboration is just as important as student collaboration as more communication and constructive feedback to yield to better learning goals and outcomes.

Blog Post #5 - 6/14/21

For the following text: The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry by Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Chapter 5: Developing a Research Plan

This chapter from Dana and Yendol-Hoppey’s Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research is dedicated to different strategies that could be incredibly helpful for teacher inquirers who are seeking to collect meaningful data and use that information to develop their plans for their practice. Collecting and using data is vital to active teacher inquirers and their profession because it allows them to gather information through a variety of different avenues and then use that information to guide their teaching, planning, scaffolding, testing and more! Ten common strategies are presented here within this chapter with real-classroom examples.

Strategy One: Field Notes

The authors first spend a fair amount of time explaining field notes for teachers and the variety of different forms that they can take. The main purpose of field notes is that they capture what is occurring in front of teachers without any filters or nuances. Most teachers might incorporate scripting in their field notes as they write down what students are saying during a learning experience and/or they might have students take notes about what is happening before,during, and after learning experiences. The authors emphasize the importance of technology integration for field notes as many forms of technology and application can help with compiling field notes, sharing information, and keeping it as a running document throughout a unit or course.

Strategy Two: Documents/Artifacts/Student Work

This strategy incorporates using student work to use as a means of data collection to guide teacher inquiry. As with field notes, digital tools and applications provide for new ways to capture key documents, materials and student work for teacher access and use. Both authors cite specific examples like “emails, electronic parent communication tools, screenshots, student files, online work, photographs of the classroom and student work may offer key insights”. Creating and using electronic portfolios may help compile this type of evidence and may also allow teachers to simultaneously monitor issues related to student work and comprehension like student productivity and higher-order thinking skills.

Strategy Three: Interviews

Interviews are actually very effective tools for data collection for many reasons. Interviews can actually range from formal question/answer segments from teachers to students or more freeform occurring conversations between students with general contours as a guide. Using interviews as a practice allows teachers to gain information about multiple things from asking students about their learning, asking them about their experiences completing a lesson or project, and even asking students to make more connections between content units and/or real-world applications.

Strategy Four: Focus Groups

Focus groups can be key for data collection in that they allow teachers to see and assess how students experienced a piece of content or new instructional strategy collectively. The teacher during the focus-group process is actively taking notes and making active observations. Based on performance within focus groups, teachers can then differentiatie future lessons, projects, activities into different appropriate groups where students can be clustered by interests, skill, etc. Different tasks might then be given to certain groups based on criteria gathered.

Strategy Five: Digital Pictures

Digital pictures are another effective strategy for data collection for teachers. Having students document their work with pictures and/or drawing helps learners showcase their thought process throughout a lesson or project. This also helps teachers visually see what students are meeting the standards of performance and which students may need more help and remediation. In turn, this approach can help students assemble more meaningful reflections on their work and increase metacognition too.

Strategy Six: Video as Data

Video as data may be more effective than digital pictures! With this approach of data collection, teachers can tape classroom lessons, special activities, projects or unique assessments. Both Dana and Yendol-Hoppey suggest that “Teacher researchers have found that using video can help them collect descriptive information, better understand an unfolding behavior, capture the process used, study the learning situation and make visible products or outcomes.” Also, students can play an active role in taping their learning. This helps them to take ownership of their work, record their learning experiences and monitor progression and even document participant perspectives.

Strategy Seven: Reflective Journals

Simply put, journaling has many benefits for both teachers and students in data collection. Journals can help educators reflect on their own thought process and can also serve as a valuable tool for students to record their thinking. Both authors advocate for the use of weblogs or blogs for this process as it can allow teachers to interact with students in a technological and interactive way. Additionally, the use of blogs helps for both teachers and students to make greater connections to sources outside of school and publish their findings and experiences as an interconnected web of learners.

Strategy Eight: Surveys

Surveys can be vital for data collection as well when they are designed and implemented correctly. Teachers should design surveys with the purpose of gauging deep and meaningful feedback in regards to components of content, learning experiences, and student connections. With survey administration over the course of a year, teachers can capture growth over time and also active building blocks of knowledge. Both authors also mention that surveys can be used for parents to incorporate them into the learning processes and experiences of their children to build effective communication.

Strategy Nine: Quantitative Measures of Student Achievement

In this section of the chapter, Dana and Yendol-Hoppey state that valuable information can be assessed from grades and test scores in that they can allow teachers to see areas where they might want to modify and adjust for the future. This type of qualitative data also allows them to rehash key content and learning strategies for students who are currently experiencing difficulty. Both authors note, however, that although many conclusions can be drawn from assignments scores and test grades, teachers should use active inquiry to ask more meaningful questions about student progression and authentic learning. As a suggestion, both authors stress the importance of multiple criteria when it comes to accessing student achievement and learning. To be specific - diving deeper into students skills and content knowledge means assessing their mastery in a variety of different ways. Incorporating more learning experiences that go into a cumulative grade should look at elements like effort, engagement, participation and inquiry-based projects/learning (not just test formative assessments).

Strategy Ten: Critical Friends Group Feedback

This unique strategy involves the use of a professional learning community from the National School Reform Community that is dedicated to teachers working collaboratively to improve their practice. Teachers in this network may be grouped together by subject/grade/interest and create and establish learning experiences with their students while actively maintaining consistent communication throughout the process. This can be helpful for sharing resources, data analysis and extension thoughts and feedback for the future.

On a Personal Note

I can truly see why all of these strategies may be incredibly helpful for me as a teacher who plans to be an active inquirer while using inquiry-based learning methods for my students. I enjoyed how this chapter expanded my horizons for all of the available resources and options that are there for teachers to use to collect, organize, publish and share data. Using a combination of diversified data collection methods, technology and networking can allow teachers to create and implement effective inquiry-based learning experiences for their students accordingly. Also, the methods presented here allow for a structured, visual and interactive way for data collection.

Blog Post #6 - 6/15/21

For the following text: The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry by Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Chapter 6: Considering the Ethical Dimensions of Your Work as an Inquirer

This chapter from Dana and Yendol-Hoppey’s Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research is about the fundamental role and importance of ethical standards and practices in regards to active teacher inquiry. Although sometimes overlooked in importance and value, sound and just ethical standards should be the cornerstone of teacher inquiry and are key to effective case studies. The characteristics and roles of ethical standards are presented in different sections in this chapter with real-classroom examples to help guide any teacher inquirer from novice to expert.

Section One: What Should I Consider When Thinking ABout Ethics in Relation to Practitioner Research?

Both authors begin this section by providing an official definition of ethical standards from the National Education Association’s Code of Ethics protocol. “The educator, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognized the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic principles. Essential to these goals is the protection of freedom to learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal educational opportunity for all. The educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards.” (Pg. 157) Essentially, the principles of a strong commitment to the student and the commitment to the profession itself are key to establishing and upholding sound practices. The reason why ethical standards are even more important for educators who are seeking to perform inquiry-based research is that it provides a formal blueprint for how case studies will be designed, implemented and evaluated. Some key cornerstones of sound ethics are presented; which are as follows 1) Looking carefully and closely at the student work to better understand student’s progress and to see what adjustments can be made to help all students learn 2) Assessing all students on a regular basis while analyzing scores on various assessment measures to help them achieve highest potential 3) Asking students questions about their learning to ensure successful learning opportunities and 4) Closely observing students as they work looking for meaningful insights into student’s acquisition of knowledge. Both authors fully acknowledge that areas of ethics in the teaching profession might differ greatly from ethics in conducting research that governs the field of higher academia. We should not, however, minimize the importance of ethics in teacher practices as they can allow for structure, transparency, professionalism and clarity.

Section Two: What Role do School District Research Policies Play in the Inquiry Process?

In the second section of the chapter, the authors present the rationale for understanding and abiding by the school/district protocol for ethics and case studies. It is stated first that most districts might exempt teacher inquiry from a formal review process because it is considered a natural occurring part of the work teachers do to improve their practices. However, there are important fundamentals that should be adhered to to allow for professional and effective case studies to truly work. First, honoring confidentiality is key. Removing information of students, parents, colleagues, etc. is vital. Keeping in mind key legal aspects like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is paramount in importance - especially when partnering with colleges and universities too. Some key steps that most districts require when it comes to implementing case studies consist of presenting a list of inquiry task descriptions, establishing assignments, activities, assessments to be reviewed, and also establishing their goals in course syllabi accordingly. It is even encouraged that teachers create and then send out a letter notifying parents/guardians of their intention of the case study and ask formal permission that their child participate. Making it clear to parents key specifics like the purpose of the inquiry/study, the data collection process, the publication outlets, and how the study will specifically help teachers improve or better understand something, is very important!

Section Three: On a Personal Note

I can truly see why ethics are so important for active teacher inquirers for many reasons. Of course, they form the foundation for any type of active research, but they also allow for the teacher to make their goals clear and identifiable while abiding by legal precedents and school/district policies. Since inquiry-based research is broad, ethical standards are more important than ever to ensure safe, professional and sound measures. The value of creating and implementing ethical research is that it allows the teacher to publish and share with a community of active researchers and inquirers too - thus improving the practice for all.