As someone coming from the sciences with a research background, I find the word quantitative very comforting. However, the more I consider the nature of my study, I think that at least incorporating some qualitative aspects would add a great deal of interesting data that answers my questions about how teachers could and do incorporate relevant issues into the science classroom. While I chose this topic with some specific ideas in mind already, I think that interviewing science teachers about how they already do this and how effective they think it is could bring some enlightenment to my own teaching. Although I realized today during our exercise in class that I may quickly amass more information than I can handle through an open-ended question, the potential value of the data far outweighs the difficulty. I have accepted that my research project may not result in a breakthrough for the educational community as a whole; however, I increasingly feel that if I really listen to what expert science teachers are telling me, then I will have a personal breakthrough.
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2 comments:
Erin, qualitative research can involve an immense amount of data to collect and analyze. We can work on designing several interview questions to ask that are focused on your topic and will still allow you to gain insight into your research question. There are also interviewing techniques to direct the conversation.
Erin, I am all in favor of personal breakthroughs. I am glad that you are considering a variety of methods....
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