RESEARCH METHODS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TEACHERS

Chapter 7

OBSERVING LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Definition

A classroom observation:

• is a formal or informal observation of teaching while it is

taking place in a classroom or other learning

environment.

• Typically conducted by fellow teachers, administrators,

or instructional specialists

• used to provide teachers with constructive critical

feedback aimed at improving their classroom

management and instructional techniques

Definition

• Pivotal (important because other things depend on it) activity

• with a crucial role to play • in classroom research, • teacher’s personal professional growth, • and school development as a whole

(Hopkins, 1993)

Definition

• Three categories:– System-based/ethnographic/ad hoc (for

a particular purpose or need, esp. for an immediate need) procedures

(Wallace, 1991)– Systematic/structured/focused/open observation

(Hopkins, 1993)– Binary structured/open distinction

(Seliger and Shohamy, 1989)

• Requires:– Observer’s degree of participation– Objectivity issue– Inductive (heuristic) parameter– Deductive (analytic) parameter

Heuristic: a method of learning or solving problems that allows people to discover things themselves and learn from their own experiences

Analytic : involving the careful, systematic study of something

Observation: uses and perspectives• Look at the example:

Observer:

• Course director• Head/senior teacher• Colleague/peer• Trainee/junior teacher• New/teacher• Researcher from outside the institution• External assessor

Goals

• Placement of students• Evaluation of efficacy of materials• Apprenticeship for novice/trainee staff• Staff appraisal: formative/developmental• Quality assurance and control• Personal development• Improvement in methodology

Procedures

• Checklists and written criteria• Audio-and video-recordings• Notes and logs• Participation/non-participation• With/without feedback

Observation for Research

1) Research to increasing knowledge and understanding of phenomenon

2) Research to bring about change, innovation and action

3) Research for personal-professional development

Systematizing observation

• Using preplanned observational categories:– Coding schemes or systematic observational

schedules• The observer recognizes instances of particular

categories• Notes them down as they occur• Either live or from recording

Why systematize?

• Research observation is an intentional activity, not reactive noticing

• Intentional observation implies planning and the use of some previously established categories

• Coding system is in widespread use: checklist approach

The Advantages of a coding system approach

1) Easier than paper recording

2) Enables comparisons with other studies and generalization

3) Tailor made for a particular problem

4) Simple analysis

5) Established patterns of interaction and development

6) Established personal patterns of a particular teacher and learner

7) Possible to train observers

The Disadvantages of Coding System Approach

1) Involves editing: reduction of the data

2) The preselected categories may not be the relevant ones

3) Cannot take into account relevant but unobserved shared knowledge

Kind of analysis

• High- Inference CategoriesAn observer has to make considerable effort

of judgment to decide whether a range of behaviors constitute a category

Kind of analysis

• Low-Inference Categories Using a description of observable facts or

events, without interpretation. Uses a low degree of subjectivity. Just the facts, not an opinion. A factual observation, not a judgment.

Published or Invented Categories

• There is no need to rely on published literatures for categories

• A researcher can develop his or her own for some particular research purpose

• For example: a teacher researcher might be interested in the possible effects of different strategies for giving oral feedback or intervening about an error in spoken performance.

Analysis of codings

Coded transcripts of classes can be analyzed in several ways

1. By counting frequency: the relative frequency of each kind of

behavior is set out in tabular form Conclusion is drawn from the overall picture

2. By finding patterns Soliciting answers→nominating a pupil

→receiving an answer→checking with another pupil→praise

Live Observation or Recording

• Any form of observation distorts normality• Live observation

– Distract the attention of students and teacher• Recording

– Distract attention– Microphones are more limited than human ears– Voices on the recording are less easy to identify

• Video– Camera equipment also distract and possibly invite

strange behavior

Alternatives to Coding Schemes

• Recording and field notes– Record a lesson and transcribe it using field

notes taken at the time of recording • Text analysis

– makes qualitative research faster and easier by highlighting important terms and categorizing open-ended responses.

– The ability to analyze what respondents say helps gain insight into their attitudes, behaviors, concerns, motivations, and culture.

Alternatives to Coding Schemes

• Stimulated recall– A recording is made of the lesson or class to

be observed– Interpretation of the observation is made with

the teacher and students– The researcher freezes the recording at a

point and ask them to memorize

Naturalistic Observation

• Naturalistic observation is:– a research tool in which a subject is observed

in its natural habitat without any manipulation by the observer.

– During naturalistic observation researchers take great care to avoid interfering with the behavior they are observing by using unobtrusive methods.

Naturalistic Observation

• In contrast to analog observation which is– a research tool by which a subject is observed in

an artificial setting. – Typically, types of settings in which analog

observation is utilized include clinical offices or research laboratories,

– can be made in any artificial environment, – even if the environment is likely to encounter

naturally.

Naturalistic Observation

• In contrast to – Contrived– Manipulated– Experimental

• Data are based on– Everyday lessons– Usual participants– In real time

Two corollaries

• First: Crucial context:– It sites the phenomenon of study in space and

time– It taps into fluctuating interactions and

relationship patterns• Second: the naturalistic observer:

– Multiple perspectives of those observed– Seek to interpret rather than avoid them

Corollary: something that results from something else

Dealing with Data

• To capture the natural setting:– The techniques used will be at the open, less

structured end of the methodology• The principal data-gathering instrument

will be description:– The aim is producing thick data (as

comprehensive as possible) in terms of individuals, interactions, behavior and setting

Analyzing Data

1. The data are examined and reexamined to foreground recurrent patterns.

2. Description can be selective and focused– For example: A teacher researcher may have

already decided that Student A is problematic

– He/she takes descriptive notes in class– Another teacher, unsure about its efficacy,

might invite a colleague to examine how he/she sets up pair work