Crossing the finish line... only to begin another race?

Time for that final blog. Still not feeling entirely confident with this research business but at least I’ve got a question.

I’ve decided that I am interested in how teachers use their daily time, whether it be 45 minutes or 90. Do they see themselves as having a particular style? Is that perspective reflected in reality? How do students feel about that use of time? Do they prefer one way over another?

I plan to collect my data by observing the class periods in the fall and coding the usage of time. I’ll be looking for categories such as time spent on “housekeeping” duties, lecture, discussion, questions, awkward silences, and time the teachers give students to work, rather individually or in groups. Next, I want to interview teachers and ask about their plans for each day. I am curious to see how much each teacher plans his or her class periods and if they see themselves as controlling time or flowing with it. I hope that my observations will be able to correspond with their own perspectives. Next, I plan to ask each teacher to choose 3-5 distinct students to do a group interview with me. I would ask them how they felt about the way their teacher uses time. I’m also curious to find out if students realize they prefer one way or another.

I’m still also interested in this idea of the “culture of the classroom,” as I mentioned last week. I must admit I haven’t looked it up yet but I’m going to try to make the idea work with this question of time. I think that an argument can be made that each teacher creates a culture in his or her classrooms through their use of time, especially if there is a daily routine involved. This, to me, can include students being used to a bell-ringer, personal reading time, or putting their homework in assigned boxes.