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Week 2

Essential Question: How is Qualitative Research a good lens through which to view classroom research?

Qualitative research is “any kind of research that produces findings that are not arrived by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification” (Hatch, 2002). Qualitative research is a good lens through which to view classroom research because it allows us to look at our students as more than just numbers. "Qualitative research focuses in understanding a research query as a humanistic or idealistic approach" (Kalra et al., 2013). It is used to "understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behavior, and interactions [and it] gives voice to the participants in the study. It permits the participants to share their experiences" (Kalra et al., 2013).

The goal of classroom research is to better understand how effectively we teach our students and provide us with information to change future practices in order to improve. "It is not enough for teachers to merely make decisions; they will be called on to make informed decisions - decisions that are data drive" (Action Research, p. 262). Observation can be a research tool when it is used systematically and produces trustworthy results. Just as I teach my students in science, it is important that we not only write down numbers in our experiments but also how it reacts and changes throughout the process. We can and should use "qualitative methods to describe what is happening and to understand the effects of some educational intervention". (Action Research, p. 262, Table 9.1).


Resources: 
Action Research. (n.d.). Retreived from https://people.wou.edu/~girodm/library/ch9.pdf

Hatch, J.A. (2002). Doing Qualitative Research in Education Settings. Albany; State University of New York Press.

Kalra, S., Pathak, V., & Jena, B. (2013). Qualitative research. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 4(3), 192. doi:10.4103/2229-3485.115389

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 30, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    Good comments and descriptions. Nice work.

    ReplyDelete

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