What is Educational Research?
When I started my masters in September I
considered educational research to be specifically (and exclusively) connected
to educational experiences and educational institutions. After my first term my understanding of
educational research has changed and expanded. To understand specific
education-related phenomena research needs to look beyond ‘education’ and take
into account the ‘real-world’ influences that impact education as well. In this way, an educational researcher must
operate as Aoiki’s Miss O does, ‘in-dwelling’ – between two spaces. The first space is that of educational
experience (similar to the curriculum-as-planned) – a more static and tangible
space. The second space is the real
world or ‘lived-experience’ (similar to the lived-curriculum), a somewhat more
fluid and changeable space, but as illustrated in Aoiki’s analysis of Miss O’s
in-dwelling, this ‘lived’ space is equally important to that of the ‘planned’
space. For this reason education research can be defined as any research that
poses questions where the intended consequences shape or affect education.
Educational research is importantly not always prescriptive; it does not always
offer definitive answers and solutions.
As a teacher I have found that frustrating, but as a masters’ student I
am learning to see the value in studies that reveal more questions than
answers.
Why do we do it?
Alex Generous, in her TED talk of 2015 titled 'How I learned to communicate my inner life with Asperger's', finishes by
stating that her dream is to remove the communication roadblocks that prevent
some people from learning (in her case, she is specifically discussing those
with Asperger’s’ syndrome or on the autism spectrum). This attitude encapsulates why we ‘do’
educational research – we do it in order to remove the roadblocks that may
prevent learning. This can take on many
different forms but the underlying quality or intention that binds the expanse
of educational research together is the desire to clear the road and improve
learning opportunities. What ‘improvement’
looks like is subjective, but that does not undermine the underlying shared
intention of educational research to make a change for the better.
I realise after reading the course outline that I have not completed this task quite correctly (typical teacher - dolling out the instructions but not reading them).
ReplyDeleteI did not give you an outline of the video I watched. It was a fantastic and inspirational TED talk at TED Women by Alix Generous who has Asperger's Syndrome. She talked about the complications of living with Asperger's Syndrome and her journey to where she is now. She is 22 and the co-founder of a bio-tech firm that hopes to develop technology to assist those who suffer from Autism. She was quite remarkable, and very funny. Something she explained it had taken a long time for her to show to other people as despite having what she called a 'complex inner-life' she found it difficult to show emotion.
In terms of finishing with a question: what barriers to learning have you experienced, as a learner or a teacher?
Hi Katy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the background into the video you watched, and for your thoughts on what 'educational research' means to you. I appreciate how you mention that we must "take into account the 'real-world' experiences" that affect the lives and learning of our students. I was speaking with a colleague today who introduced "Macbeth" to two different class; one class was fascinated by the witches and the prophecy and discussed it at length, while the other class hardly noticed the significance and had no interest in the subject. The outside lives our students lead are so important to their learning of the curriculum. In response to your question, I have faced barriers in my own learning experiences when I didn't understand or recognize the relevance to my own life and passions. As a teacher, I experience barriers when trying to keep my classes on a similar schedule in terms of activities and content, yet understand and allow for the environment to change and dictate the speed at which we move through the curriculum.
Fascinating to hear how your ideas of educational research have changed over the past few months, Katy! Thanks to you and Sarah for your very interesting observations and insights. Is Jennette the third member of your reading circle? We'll make sure everyone is up to speed on commenting in tonight's class.
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