I've been giving this idea lots of thought recently due to a short conversation I had with Brian Khun and Dean Shareski. (excerpt below)
Rod Allen - all teachers need to be action researchers all the time #futurebc #bclearns - wonder what others think of this statement
— Brian Kuhn (@bkuhn) April 25, 2013
@bkuhn agreed, the fact that many teachers aren't researching all the time is one reason the profession isn't esteemed as it could be.
— Jasper Fox Sr. (@jsprfox) April 25, 2013
@jsprfox @bkuhn they are researching all the time. They just aren't all documenting and sharing.
— Dean Shareski (@shareski) April 25, 2013
The Need For Objectivity
I agree with Dean that teachers in general are researching all the time. I know from my own experience that I tried new things in the classroom every year and luckily most were successful. But why were they successful? For many of these innovations I couldn't tell objectively why so I looked to the end of the year scores for affirmation. Not having broad based, definitive reasoning for success made my conversation with Brian and Dean have such a tremendous impact on me. With action research in place a teacher can firstly know that they are setting up a new project in a well thought out manner. This is due to the professional discussions that take place prior to the research project taking place. Secondly, during the research period the teacher is measuring a specific variable and collecting the necessary data to support analysis. After the research period is over, decisions can be made based on much more than just the test scores. Being able to look at a project more deeply and from more angles than just scores truly sells the idea of action research to me.
Towards The Future
I'm taking my reflections about my conversation with Brian and Dean and starting to initiate a more objective research based direction in my reflections. This is very important to me because when I integrate something new into my classroom experience, I want to know how the students used it and how they felt about it. Unfortunately, just looking at scores doesn't allow for these details to shine through. I'll be writing about my research project throughout the next school year as I've decided to research how using standards based grading in lab activities effects students perceptions of grading and teacher feedback.
I'm excited about using a research based approach to this initiative because I feel strongly that educational improvements are needed in more areas than just scores. I want my students to feel that they learned a lot during their time in my classroom and not have been overly focused on just purely a score. I plan on finding out how giving quality feedback impact these feelings and experiences.