Preparing teachers as researchers

1. Preparing Teachers as Researchers
EMERGENT: Gender awareness and implementation strategies in STEM education
https://emergent.home.blog

2. PARTNERS
Gender awareness and implementation strategies
in STEM education (EMERGENT)

3. • The ability to carry out educational research is often cited as an attribute a
teacher should possess.
• Teacher research is a worldwide movement, which includes a variety of action
research approaches that differ in teacher roles and research purposes.
• This presentation will elaborate on the need to prepare teachers as researchers
and discusses possible approaches that can be used in this field.
Preparing Teachers as Researchers

4. Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) define teacher research as:
• “…all forms of practitioner inquiry that involve systematic, intentional, and self critical
inquiry about one's work in K-12, higher education, or continuing education
classrooms, schools, programs, and other formal educational settings. This definition
includes inquiries that others may refer to as action research, practitioner inquiry,
teacher inquiry, teacher or educator self study, and so on, but does not necessarily
include reflection or other terms that refer to being thoughtful about one’s
educational work in ways that are not necessarily systematic or intentional” (p. 15)
Teacher Research

5. • “The desire of teachers to use approaches that “fit” their particular students is not
dissimilar to a doctor’s concern that the specific medicine being prescribed be the
correct one for the individual patient. The ability of the action research process to
satisfy an educator’s need for “fit” may be its most powerful attribute. Because the
data being collected come from the very students and teachers who are engaged
with the treatment, the relevance of the findings is assured.” Sagor (2000, p. 5)
Action Research

6. • Teachers who have been involved in research are likely to become more
reflective, critical, and analytical in their teaching, more open and committed to
professional development, and more likely to use relevant findings from the
literature to improve their classroom practice (Ratcliffe et al., 2005).
• Teachers are more likely to change their practice by reading reports of research
written by other teachers rather than by university researchers. (van Zee, 1998).
• To build professional cultures and professionalize teaching (Keating et al., 1998;
Sagor, 2000)
Why do we need to educate teachers as researchers?

7. • From your point of view, why do we need to educate teachers /
practitioners /explainers as researchers?
• Go to https://padlet.com/emergenteu/cqgtq7sy6zze3qny
Why do we need to educate teachers as researchers?

8. • Although these arguments given above seem reasonable, the call for
the teachers-as-researchers approach raises a number of questions
including:
How do teachers think about research?
What does research have to say to teachers?
How can teachers be prepared as researchers?
Challenges and questions to be addressed

9. • From your point of view, how can we prepare teachers / practitioners
/explainers as researchers?
• Go to https://padlet.com/emergenteu/4jiavb4hh6fzaktd
Challenges and questions to be addressed

10. • Selecting a focus / Problem formulation
• Clarifying theoretical background
• Identifying research aim and questions
• Identifying research methodology
• Developing data collection tools
• Collecting data
• Analysing data
• Reporting results
• Taking informed action
Action Research Process (Sagor, 1992; 2000)

11. • From your point of view, what kind of research need to be carried out
(at your institution related to STEM education or related to
EMERGENT project)?
• Go to https://padlet.com/emergenteu/lwpc62lrcmn2cr55
Identifying a problem for taking informed action

12. Preparing teachers as researchers: Evaluating the quality of
research reports prepared by student teachers (Cakmakci, 2019)

13. • Cakmakci, G. (2009). Preparing teachers as researchers: Evaluating the quality of research reports prepared by
student teachers. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 35, 39-56.
• Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (1999). The teacher research movement: A decade later. Educational Researcher, 28,
15-25.
• Keating, J., Diaz-Greenberg, R., Baldwin, M., & Thousand, J. (1998). A collaborative action research model for teacher
preparation programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 49(5), 381-390.
• Ratcliffe, M., Bartholomew, H., Hames, V., Hind, A., Leach, J., Millar, R., & Osborne, J. (2005). Evidence-based practice
in science education: the researcher–user interface. Research Papers in Education, 20(2), 169-186.
• Sagor, R. (1992). How to Conduct Action Research. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
• Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding School Improvement with Action Research. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
• Van Zee, E. H. (1998). Preparing teachers as researchers in course on methods of teaching sciences. Journal of
Research in Science Teaching, 35(7), 791-809.
References