Why do educational research?

Merrilyn Goos

The University of Queensland

A plan• What is ‘research’?• Why is research worth doing?• Reflections on the rewards and challenges of educational

research

What is ‘research’?

Research and experimental development comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications.

OECD definition

What is ‘research’?

Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads to new and creative outcomes.

UQ definition

Why is research worth doing?• It’s fun! (intellectual pleasure of creating new knowledge)• It helps us to understand something• It helps us to change something (improve, influence, make a

difference)

Why is research worth doing?

Who am I?• Teaching• Research• Professional and

community engagement

Who do I want to influence?

• Teachers (pre-service and in-service)

• Curriculum and assessment authorities

• Policy makers (government)

• Wider community

A road map of sorts

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

1. New curriculum

Pre-service teachers

2. Transitions

In-service teachers

3. Partnerships

Policy makers 4. Numeracy

Community 5. Advocacy

Implementing a new curriculum

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

1. New curriculum

Pre-service teachers

In-service teachers

Policy makers

Community

Using curriculum implementation to drive professional learningGoals of the Mackay Region Action Learning Project:• To study the impact of the new Years 1-10 mathematics

syllabus on teaching and assessment practices;• To document innovative aspects of, and hindrances to,

successful syllabus implementation;• To investigate the effectiveness of an Expert Mentor PD

model that facilitates peer support and collaboration within and between schools.

Mackay project: Action learning model

Set goals

Implement

Evaluate Plan

Teacher knowledge and beliefs

School context

Mathematical autobiography

My teaching started out very traditional … very maths textbook, and I think I did a fairly good job where I could stand up the front and explain how to do something and show the kids how to do it.

Mathematical autobiography (cont.)

And you know, they kept on passing the tests based on that, but as I’ve gone through I think I’ve gradually realised that maths has got far more to it than standing up in front of the classroom showing kids how to find the area of a circle.

An investigative approach to mathematics

• a problem to be solved;• a question to be answered;• a significant task to be completed;• an issue to be explored.

The focus for planning can be framed in terms of:

The School Rage Investigation

Aim: to create a top twenty song list for the Sugartown State High School radio station.

Content: Census/Sampling

• Surveying formats

• Radio guidelines

• Tables

• Graphs

• Analysing data

Doing educational research … to influence curriculum implementation• Making a difference: Use curriculum

implementation to understand teacher professional learning and improve teaching practice.

• Challenges: Scaling up and maintaining the gains made initially.

Transitions from pre-service to beginning teaching

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

Pre-service teachers 2. Transitions

In-service teachers

Policy makers

Community

Beginning teachers: Licence to thrill or live and let die?

Pre-service curriculum: Using technology in mathematical modelling

Bungee jumping - How far will the rope stretch?

Pre-service curriculum: Using technology in mathematical modelling

Predicting the transit of Venus

Pre-service assessment:Authentic purposes and audiences

Designing Maths Trails at UQ St Lucia

Design a handrail How much sunshine?

Pre-service assessment:Authentic purposes and audiences

Designing Maths Trails at UQ St Lucia

Writing on the road How much evaporation?

Doing educational research … to influence the professionalisation of beginning teachers• Making a difference: Use pre-service teaching

to understand and improve the transition from university to professional practice.

• Challenges: Moving beyond small scale studies with one’s own students.

Teacher-researcher partnerships

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

Pre-service teachers

In-service teachers 3. Partnerships

Policy makers

Community

Teacher-researcher partnerships

Feature of partnership How it worked

Beginning the partnership• How?• Motivation?

• Initiation: mutual colleague.• Motivation: mutual interest in research topic

and process.

Participants• Roles• Expectations• Language• Trust/relationships• Communities• Asymmetric needs

• Separate roles but some blurring; explicit expectations.

• Trust established over extended time.• Complementary knowledge explored;

researcher & teacher communicate findings to both communities.

Purposes of the research• Topic• Research questions• Benefits

• Topic & research questions defined by researcher but evolve over time.

• Mutual academic & professional benefits.

Doing educational research … to build researcher-teacher partnerships• Making a difference: Achieve greater

recognition by researchers of the roles that teachers play in authentic classroom based research.

• Challenges: Building mutual trust and respect for the different types of knowledge that each partner brings to the relationship.

Making policy matter: The case of numeracy

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

Pre-service teachers

In-service teachers

Policy makers 4. Numeracy

Community

A national numeracy research project

Aims:(a)critically review recent Australian and international research; (b)identify, describe, and analyse the current range of home, school, and community partnership practices in Australia that support children’s numeracy learning; (c)report on the feasibility of, and options for, a further stage of research to identify key principles and examples of effective practices.

Contexts

Tools

Mathematical Knowledge

Personal and Social

CitizenshipDispositions

Work

21st Century Numeracy

Problem Solving

Estimation

Concepts

Skills

Confidence

Flexibility

Initiative

Risk

Representational

Physical

Digital

Critical Orientation

Who counts as “unemployed”?

1. Want to work, actively looking for work, available to start work immediately

2. Want to work, actively looking for work, available to start work within 4 weeks

3. Want to work, actively looking for work, not available to start work within 4 weeks

4. Want to work, not actively looking because they believe they wouldn’t be able to find a job, but would be able to start within 4 weeks

5. Want to work but not actively looking and not available to start within 4 weeks

6. Don’t want to work7. Permanently unable to work

Who counts as “unemployed”?

1. Want to work, actively looking for work, available to start work immediately

2. Want to work, actively looking for work, available to start work within 4 weeks

3. Want to work, actively looking for work, not available to start work within 4 weeks

4. Want to work, not actively looking because they believe they wouldn’t be able to find a job, but would be able to start within 4 weeks

5. Want to work but not actively looking and not available to start within 4 weeks

6. Don’t want to work7. Permanently unable to work

unemployed

marginally attached

no marginal attachment

Who counts as “unemployed”?• How would the unemployment rate change if we redefined

the “labour force” to include people who are designated as “marginally attached to the labour force”?

unemployed

marginally attached

Ways of interacting with policy makers1.Ignore them: stay on the “outside” by pursuing your

research agenda, communicating only with fellow researchers; or do not get involved in syllabus reform.

2.Fight them: stay on the “outside” but criticise them so as to undermine their agendas.

3.Yield to them: work on the “inside” but in ways dictated by them, thus losing one’s autonomy and credibility as a researcher.

4.Engage them: work on the “inside” by trying to understand their goals and strategies in order to influence their agendas in ways consistent with our interests and values, while retaining the right to criticise as an autonomous researcher.

Doing educational research … to engage with policy makers• Making a difference: Develop and validate a

theoretical model of numeracy that can be used by teachers in different education systems.

• Challenges: Influencing policy agendas where narrow definitions of numeracy still hold sway.

Advocacy for mathematics education in the broader community

Who do I want to influence?

Who am I?

Teaching Research Engagement

Curric. & assess. authorities

Pre-service teachers

In-service teachers

Policy makers

Community 5. Advocacy

Doing educational research … to improve the image of our discipline

• Making a difference???????• Challenges: accepting and becoming proficient

in our role as advocates for our educational discipline.

Why do educational research?Merrilyn Goos

The University of Queensland