RON MCDERMOTT spoke of WHOLE LANGUAGE 2 to DAN TRIPLETT on 09-08-96
  Conducting observations over time
RM>DT>will yield a great deal  of data and such an approach to research
RM>DT>is both necessary and  acceptable.   
RM>I feel compelled to jump in here... "Research" MUST follow
RM>strict criteria to be acceptable.  To suggest that someone
RM>just "watch" and then draw conclusions is a poor way of
RM>conducting "research".  This is not to say that one cannot
RM>come up with valid ASSUMPTIONS based on such a process;
RM>only that these ASSUMPTIONS would have to be verified by
RM>real RESEARCH in order to be validated.  We get far too
RM>much of the "Well, I watched how my classes ran, and how
RM>my kids responded, so the way to do things is...."  Or ...
RM>"I read this great book about how kids would really achieve 
RM>if we just asked them nicely".  What it amounts to is that
RM>someone just "feels" that something will work because it
RM>SEEMS right... As teachers, we're often on the receiving
RM>end of such "research" from administrators who have 
RM>attended some conference somewhere, and we all know how 
RM>that usually comes out...
RM> 
RM>DT>Your own observations of children are research to a degree
RM>DT>in-and-of -themselves and through these observations you have
RM>DT>learned a great deal  about your area of teaching.
RM> 
RM>You're misusing the term - What we have done is to OBSERVE;
RM>what remains is to form an hypothesis, design an experiment,
RM>set up controls, collect data, repeat process several times
RM>with different student samples.  Along the way we may have
RM>to modify/improve the experimental process itself.  Jumping
RM>from observations which are unstructured, to conclusions, is
RM>inadviseable...
RM> 
RM>SK>However, in math instruction I'm fairly experienced, fairly
RM>SK>opinionated,  and have my ideas what works in the classroom and
RM>SK>what doesn't. 
I don't think I am misusing anything. I am referring to qualitative 
research.  Educational research is changing and is no longer dominated 
by measurement, operationalized definition, variables, and empirical 
fact.  Qualitative research has a long history and is an approach that 
is gaining in popularity.  It emphasizes inductive analysis, 
description, and the study of people's perceptions and has begun to play 
a more central role to educational research.  
Qualitative research techniques such as participant observations and 
indepth interviewing are respected and regularly employed in the social 
sciences, particularly in sociology and anthropology.  It is slowly 
gaining acceptance in educational research.  Slowly because education 
has a historical link with measurement and experimental design.  Never-
the-less, qualitative research is being used more and more frequently in 
education.
Dan  
CMPQwk 1.42 445p
Why isn't phonetically spelled that way?
* ++++++  *
     _   /|    ACK!
     \'o.O'   /
     =(__)+
       U
 
--- GEcho 1.11+
---------------