VIRGNIA S. BERNABE DR. MIGUEL G. GELLADO, JR. BEED-IV Professor
ST 3 ADDRESSING LEARNING GAPS First Semester, 2014-2015
Home Task: As a teacher, why is research important? Support your answer using related readings in books or internet. Do not forget to write your references.
Research is important to teachers because
To satisfy mans (teachers) craving for more understanding, to improve his judgment, to add to his power, to reduce the burden of work, to relieve suffering, and to increase satisfactions in multitudinuous ways. (Good and Scrates, 1972)
According to Amy Anderson, it empowers teachers to thoughtfully examine and analyze classroom practices in order to improve teaching, a tremendous outcome for teachers and students.
In addition from Amy Andersons article that, as McLean and Mohr explain, it facilitates an exploration of the implications for classroom practice that emerge from self-study. A new practice or strategy may be embraced or rejected following the teacher research process. Writing up findings can also facilitate greater collaboration among colleagues, for a report of the research not only describes the process (the data collection and analysis, for example) but also shares insights valuable to the larger school community of educators.
According to Bryan Bardine, in his article Research to Practice: Teacher Research: Getting Started it fulfills several different roles throughout their inquiries. First, teachers act as researchers as they "build theory concerning the particulars of their circumstances through reflection, inquiry, and action" (Patterson & Shannon, 1993, p. 10). Next, teachers act as curriculum designers based on the results of their research. Finally, they again play the role of teacher as they "adjust their practice based on their conclusions from the study" (p. 10). Obviously, these three roles are critical in the development of the teacher as researcher and classroom practitioner. Without doing the research, teachers may be inhibiting their own growth because of the myriad of experiences they will not encounter. Moreover, research makes informed decision- making possible--we know what changes to make in instruction, and we know how to evaluate the impact of the changes.
According to UW Madison Education professor Kenneth Zeichner that it gains a new sense of confidence from conducting research and their professional development. In addition, it helps teachers become more flexible and open to new ideas, it narrows the gap between teachers aspirations and realizations, and it heightens the quality of student learning.
According to Gail Ritchie, it empowers teachers to make a positive difference in terms of classroom practice; it enables us to provide relevant information about teaching and learning in actual classrooms. Most importantly, by engaging in reflective practice, the Teacher improves the lives of students by always seeking to discover better, more effective ways of implementing teaching/learning.
According to Professor Kit Field, research can help teachers to understand what works and why, what the short and long-term implications are, provide a justification and rationale for decisions and actions, help to build a repertoire to help deal with the unexpected, identify problems, inform improvement and so forth.
According to Jose F. Calderon and Expectacion C. Gonzales, it find answers to problems which are only partially solved by existing methods and information. They added that it improves existing techniques and develop new instruments or products. Lastly, it improves educational practices for raising the quality of school products. Research surveys often result in the revision of curricula and instructional innovations to maximize the effectiveness of the learning process.
Resources: Good, Carter V. & Douglas E. Scates, Methods of Research:Educational, Psychological, Sociological, Manila:Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1972. (Reprinted by National Book Store). Calderon, Jose F. & C Expectacion C. Gonzales, Methods of Research and Thesis Writing, National Book Store, Mandaluyong City, 1993. Reprinted 2012.
World Wide Web http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/659 http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pubs/0200-20.html http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/news/coverStories/teaching_research_spurs_pro_dev.php http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/tr-definition http://www.expressandstar.com/education/2011/06/14/the-importance-of-research-for-educations- future/
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