Closing the Gap...Between the University and the Schoolhouse

Teaching and learning science: a handbook, 2006

Teacher participation in educational research is not new. However, teachers' roles have been largely passive in that their cooperation with researchers, administrators, and policy makers has often relegated them to activities such as observing, testing, and implementing externally developed educational initiatives. Teachers have seldom been supported in investigating their own questions about their practices or their students' practices. Involving students as active members of classroom research is even rarer. At a time when educational research is being criticized for its distance from the classroom and its inability to effect change, providing teachers and students with the means to engage in research on their own classroom practices is relatively novel. This chapter provides insights into a process that brought research directly into my classroom, enabling me to make changes in my teaching while expanding learning opportunities for my students.

Remedial and Special Education, 1996

T

1994

A new form of knowledge proposed for a teacher education curriculum is dialogical and grounded in an educational researcher's experience of existing as a living contradiction within the politics of truth of a university. It includes a systematic form of action-reflection cycle and depends for its generalizability on teach6r researchers producing descriptions and explanations of their own educational development (their living educational theories) as they explore questions of the improvement of the quality of student learning. These educational theories are considered in Part One. Part Two describes an action research and educational theory case study based on the professional educational knowledge of competent teachers. It is argued that a teacher education curriculum for novice teachers should be related to the educational theories of competent teachers. This is shown in action in the educational theory of a university tutor in an educative relationship with a novice teacher as she forms an educational inquiry, defines her values, and is encouraged to gather evidence on the quality of her pupils' learning. Part Three draws the implications of a living educational theory for a teacher education curriculum and relates it to a practical science "model" and a common-sense "model" of teacher education. (Contains 36 references.) (Author/SLD)

Educational Theory, 1987

In his chapter "Philosophy of Research on Teaching: Three Aspects,"' in the Handbook of Research on Teaching, Fenstermacher resumes his work on issues that remained unresolved in his landmark "philosophical consideration" paper.' The three aspects he considers are the concept of teaching, the connection between the study and the improvement of teaching, and the manner of teacher education. His discussion of the concept of teaching is a valuable one, even though it lacks imagery as delightful as "the triple play."3 His "generic notion of teaching" leads him to consideration of a parallel concept of "studenting" and a conclusion that "the task of teaching is to enable studenting: to teach the student how to learn.'I4 This permits him to suggest that research on teaching might focus on the task rather than the achievement sense of learning. This paper is concerned with problems inherent in the second and third portions of Fenstermacher's analysis of philosophy of research on teaching. Fenstermacher joins the debate over methods of educational research (qualitative or quantitative) and concludes that pluralism is appropriate by forging a rigid distinction between the production and the application of knowledge. This leads him to assume that teachers make use of knowledge by constructing "practical arguments." Then, in exploring the manner of teacher education, the task reduces to showing teachers how to use research to criticize and improve their practical arguments, which he assumes may lead to improved practi~e.~ In the argument that follows, Fenstermacher's assumptions are contrasted with those made by Schijn6 Where Fenstermacher links research to improved practice by reference to practical arguments, for Schon the link is made through a process termed "reflection-in-action.'' Schan's perspective has the advantage of casting the teacher as an active contributor in the process of examining and improving practice. One's response to the issue of how knowledge generated by educational researchers can or should relate to the practice of teaching will be influenced strongly by one's assumptions about what constitutes "knowledge." Fenstermacher uses the term in the familiar and strict sense of "knowing that": what we know can be written and printed, read and criticized by others. The second broad category of knowledge, which Fenstermacher is not including in his references to teachers' practical arguments, is "knowing how"what one

Educational Researcher, 2000

Education Policy Analysis Archives

The concern of this paper is to explore why it is that so much educational research has tended to be manifestly irrelevant to the teacher. A secondary question is how that irrelevance has been structured and maintained over the years. There are I think three particularly acute problems. Firstly the role of the older foundational disciplines in studying education. Secondly, the role of faculties of education generally. Thirdly, related to the decline of foundational disciplines and the crisis in the faculties of education, the dangers implicit in too hasty an embrace of the panacea of more practical study of education.

Journal of Language and Education, 2020

Educational research has generally attracted negative criticism for its generalisability, contextual independence, and inadequacy in addressing teachers' practical problems in their unique educational settings. Moreover, as classrooms are always complicated environments, teachers are therefore encouraged to become active researchers of their own classrooms in order to maximize their instructional performance and provide optimal learning opportunities for their students within their particular context. To promote teachers' self-inquiry into their own practices, this paper will first define what teacher research is, followed by arguments for its need and significance in the teaching profession. Suggestions to help teachers become engaged in classroom inquiry are provided after commonly reported difficulties are reviewed. This paper is expected to provide considerable insights for classroom teachers as well as school administrators in their search for practical, concrete, and contextually-rich knowledge.

Educational Researcher, 2005

2008

Willard Waller, the author of the first and best sociology of teaching, described the school as a "despotism in a state of perilous equilibrium," a despotism "threatened from within and exposed to regulation and interference from without" (Waller 1932/1961) p. 11. I expect that educational administrators continue to experience threat from within and micro-management from without. To deal with such a situation they may seek help from the educational research community. Unfortunately, the educational research community faces exactly the same problem." Internally there is "little sense of community and few common standards to distinguish good from bad research, or significant from trivial" (Lagemann and Shulman 1999). Externally, the research community faces an attempt to impose a single "gold standard" for research that, if taken seriously, would eliminate most of social science and large parts of the natural sciences. As a result the embattled administrator would be seeking a cure from a group that has the same disease.

1991

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This article represents the collaborative efforts of three teachers. Each of us is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at a Research I university, struggling with the pressures and stresses of balancing newfound researcher voices with our teacher voices. Although this is collaborative, it is written in the first person as our voices mingle a reflection of our experience. We hope other teachers will find our ideas compelling, resonant with their own, and feel moved to action in the style we suggest. Education research should be the domain of teachers and this is a call for teachers to take back the endeavor. The field of educational research was largely homogenous in terms of its methods, epistemology, and values until the mid 1980's (Zeichner, 1999). Since then, the field has witnessed an incredible proliferation of methods and voices. This diversity has led to much innovation, provided needed breadth and depth of insight into educational phenomena, and illuminated areas and issues previously unexplored. Educational research today is a unique mix of genres and values. This diversity should be viewed as a strength of the field, as multiple voices speak to similar issues. It has truly become Shulman's "Great Conversation" (1986).

2014

This presentation is by keeping in mind the title of the seminar "Fostering 21 st century skills in teacher education", delegates of this seminar who are the teacher educator researchers, research scholars in education and student teachers. This presentation will largely be focussing the need for invigorating research in teacher education (TE) with focus on problems in it at national and regional levels. May be I will be lacking in a clear focus; these are some thoughts I could conjure up on educational research in context of TE. However, not without reasons. As is clear, TE or Education is not a little area to draw a clear picture before the beginners. Can you imagine the scope of education? In terms of levels of education, practices of education, subject matter or areas of study in education. It is as wide as culture and life. Hence, allow me to be a little hazy at times and jump topics. As indicated, this presentation focus more on local conditions, state of TE and education in Kerala, than onthe national or international perspectives. Teacher education has failed to respond to social changes First, I would like the audience to reflect on the way TEin India has evolved last forty or so years. Last day I had a privilege to go through one syllabus for teacher training course, Master of College Teaching, the content of which was not largely different from what we have for M.Ed. in our universities (University of Calicut, 1974). Likewise, generally Teacher education can be described as in adormant state which will make to describe it as "TE in Cocoon: Forty Years of Stagnant Metamorphosis from 1975 to 2014" . I urge you to reflect on what changes have occurred to content and practice of school education, higher education, and TE post-independence, or post Kothari report. May be there are visible changes in policy owing to LPG, and improvement in infrastructure with a more economically healthy nation, and ICT revolution. 10+2+3 pattern, three-languages, science, social studies, mathematics, Arts and crafts, physical education, three-year degrees, affiliating universities, lecture, chalk board, textbooks. And, then talks about activity, discovery, and paedocentrism, conventional teacher training. Changes had taken place in communication technology, electronics, in economic situation of the nation, society and the students, with empowerment of women, and backward classes. Was TE been able to match these changes that occurred in the bases of education? The emphatic answer is no. Except for NCTE regulations in infrastructure and student intake, ICT topics in the content and a little reduced amount of weightage to written exams at the end, TE has not changed much after 1970s. Have we changed according to the times and requirements? Yes, one theme I have delved and try to prick your conscience is to make you aware-how we have not changed. Principal responsibility of reforming TE lies with teacher educators In this prestigious institution named after a great reformer, Sree Narayana Guru who famously said, Reform the practices yourselves or else rules will replace you, I title this address as Status of research in TE-Go ahead or chase, or cherish or perish. Then who is to bell the cat? And,bring in changes to the system of education-primary, secondary or tertiary. It is teachers and teacher educators. Teacher educators have an advantage. They are in touch with all the three subsystems. Then, why are we not leading? There lies the answer to the question,why should we Research? Now, in talking about educational research I have limitations. I cannot escape the reality of being a teacher educator, an educator of educators. I cannot escape the love for my students who

Journal of Teacher Education

Professional Development and Workplace Learning

Professional development is a necessity for teachers in the K-20 system. To achieve effective teaching, teachers must be engaged in learning. On the job training and professional development provide learning opportunities for professional teachers in K-20 education. To achieve the most authentic professional development, students should be part of the learning process as they are part of the instructional equation. In order to promote lifelong learning of adults, teacher training needs to arise from problems and interests found in their practice. In this chapter, the author discusses Japanese Lesson Study (JLS) as a method for teacher professional development in the area of English Language Arts with emphasis on Situated Learning Theory as a necessary emphasis for teacher learning in K-20 classrooms. Connections are made to the National Common Core Standards as teachers compete globally to prepare students for success.

Interchange, 1988

INTRODUCTION education as his starting point. But he then goes on to argue forcefully that the methods of the sciences and the humanities cannot be seen as everywhere separate and complementary. In fact, at a deeper level, Keeves argues, the same metaphysical problems face research using the methods of the humanities or the methods of the sciences in educational research and indeed in research in general. He takes us through a maze of arguments in which Habermas, Popper, and Quine prominently appear to show that the valuational and the factual and the intentional, the metaphysical and the physical, the theoretical and the empirical are not everywhere distinct and thus that Hus4n's analysis must ultimately be flawed. However, like Hus4n, he concludes that in educational research a thousand flowers must be let to bloom.