I am experiencing a semi-internal conflict in determining my research topic. The conflict that I am momentarily wrestling with is rooted in the very conflict the authors discussed in the article we read for Part I of the quiz. My interests in education have been based on much of the research that the authors warned us against. my last weeks proposal was very much similar to the topics the authors claimed did not qualify as Research IN Education but rather research that is closely linked to it. The article, Dr. Milner, as well as the "bigness" of my previous topic all are forcing me to reconsider the topics I wish to study. Perhaps it would not be as effective, right now, to try and answer or solve huge sociological questions as they pertain to education. Instead of figuring out what environmental factors prevent certain kids from learning, I am going to step out of my comfort zone and go out on a little limb. The article we read for the quiz suggested that researchers need to study and analyze the direct relationship between teacher, student, and environment. I took this to mean that if we, researchers, spend more time assessing and targeting effective teaching methods that this new research has the potential, perhaps, to overlook the many differences that are stifling student's academic success.
So, the new topic shall be a quantitative causal comparative study where I assess the effect of English teachers use of canonical literature on student motivation. I will first examine research which states what is the typical canon for high-school English students. I will then send out a survey to High-School English teachers asking them which of these canonical texts they use and if there are any texts not listed that they teach to please list them. Even though this is a quantitative study, it will also incorporate qualitative aspects because I will assess student motivation both through survey and through observation. The student survey may ask them to list two favorite books they read and why they were most interesting to them. The survey could possible contain a list of the books they read in the class and have a Likert Scale that corresponds to each book. My observation will look at factors such as class participation and non-verbal ques (heads on desk, talking to friends, passing notes, etc) to see how involved students are in the dialogue surrounding the book.
This topic is of extreme importance because as a teacher, I want to know how best to reach my students. I know my life changed, no exaggeration, when I got to undergrad and began to take courses and study materials that catered to my passions and interests. I don't feel like the high-school curriculum does a good job of this and would like to see if more contemporary, multi-ethnic, or even books related to the kids lives will effect their eagerness to learn.
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3 comments:
Jessica, this is very good thinking.
Looking at motivation and its relationship to the books studied sounds like a good track. I would think there would be a lot to talk about here. You probably won't want to collect data in all the ways you suggest. You will need to refine your research question to decide whether you are most interested in the teacher perspective or the student perspective and then match the data collection that can best answer that question.
Good progress!
Jessica, I really like your idea. One of my biggest complaints about high school (and college) English courses was that the curriculum seemed not to have changed in decades. We were reading all the classics, which is of course important, but I thought there should have been more student input and an acknowledgment of the wide array of current, quality literature. Especially if we want to develop students' vocabulary skills and foster their interest in lifelong reading, the possibility of using non-canonical works should be explored.
Hi Jessica,
I liked your idea quite a bit. I think that it would be interesting to find out whether there are certain canonical works of literature are especially well-liked. In school, I think that I was made to read some things that were way above my level (and I was a fairly sharp kid who loved to read). Maybe student responses to these texts will indicate not only which works the students like best, but which works from the canon are most appropriate for people in their age group and academic skill level.
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