Learning, Teaching and ICT

  Elements of a Case Study:
•Rich, vivid and holistic description (‘thick description’) and portrayal of events, contexts and situations through the eyes of participants (including the researcher) …. all involved: me,  pupils (both in my own school and other schools e.g. Australian ‘AllStars’),  parents and other adults who comment
•Contexts are temporal, physical, organizational, institutional, interpersonal … describes the blogs well?
•Chronological narrative -  definately ‘fits’ well
•tell the story - also fits well with what I want to do 

The Course Textbook, however, reminds us that there are also Problems with Case Studies (my thoughts on how to overcome these problems are in ‘blue’) 

• Organisation difficulties (hopefully this won’t be too much of a problem because of RSS feeds to enable tracking posts)
• Limited generalisability (because of the nature of the study, I hope to identify general trends e.g. gender issues if applicable … but only within this particular group of pupils. No claim will be made that the same effect would happen with a different set of pupils in another class situation)
• Problems of cross-checking (using a variety of data gathering techniques should address the ‘cross-checking’ issue)
• Risk of bias, selectivity and subjectivity (I have asked the depute head in school to meet regularly to discuss the research. She is very skeptical about the use of blogging and admits that she sees no difference between what I’m doing and allowing the pupils to freely use other social networks such as ‘My Space’ or ‘Bebo’. We have a good working relationship generally, so it won’t be perceived as a ‘threatening situation’ J. Kim P, a teacher from Sidney, whose pupils also blog, has agreed to be my ‘critical friend’ during the research period. Some of our pupils communicate with each other regularly through their blogs)

 Data Gathering Techniques used in Case Studies:

• Observations (structured to unstructured) (regular RSS feed checks in order to observe who is posting, commenting)
• Field notes (what is being said? Are the comments building on what’s been posted, or are they written in ‘isolation’ – e.g. Hi, how are you doing? Type of comment)
• Interviews (structured to unstructured) (necessary, in order to establish that my view of what I’m reading is correct. Informal interviews can be held in class, formal interviews will ensure anonymity if required and will be useful for gathering data from pupils in Australia via teacher e-mail)
• Documents (?….)
• Numbers (although mainly a ‘qualitative’ study, some numbers will be included ….  explanation to follow!)

Triangulation

This will be used to ensure that I don’t ‘just see what I’m looking for’. Discussing my perception of events with my ‘skeptical colleague’ (depute head) and my ‘critical friend’ (Kim P from Australia ) will be one way of ‘keeping my feet on the ground’.  There will also be data collected from a variety of sourcesand in a number of ways over time in order that information gathered can be compared and contrasted. This should ensure enough information can be made available in order to answer the research question.

Stages in a Case Study:

• Start with a wide field of focus ( I will look closely at the ‘big picture’. Who is posting and commenting? Who are receiving comments and from whom? What is being said in posts and comments?)

·        Progressive focusing (a closer look at comments in order to establish any formal / informal learning taking place. Distribution of questionnaires. Holding of formal and informal interviews in order to verify my interpretation of events)

• Draft interpretation/report (avoid generalizing too early). (on-going discussions with skeptical friend / critical friend)

What’s the main methodology of the research?

I’ve been reading about the different methodologies, and here’s where I’m at so far.

These ‘Blue Sky’ font thoughts are mine …… all other ideas are taken  from the main course textbook or the companion website

Will it be ….

A survey?
An experiment?
An in-depth ethnography??
Action research?
Case study research?
Testing and assessment?
………. or what?  :)

I’ve chosen a  ’case study’ …  because it’s:

•a unique instance designed to illustrate a more general principle …. an (on-line) learning community (community of practice??). There’s plenty of  info. out there about this ‘general principle’
•the study of an instance in action  - pupils have ‘ownership’ and how they use that ‘ownership’ can be studied
•the study of an evolving situation - bloggs are ‘going somewhere’ … diaries/learning logs?
•the portrayal of  ‘what it’s like’ to be in a particular situation - ‘real’ accounts of ‘real’  pupils’ thoughts

 Elements of a Case Study:
•Rich, vivid and holistic description (‘thick description’) and portrayal of events, contexts and situations through the eyes of participants (including the researcher) …. all involved: me,  pupils (both in my own school and other schools e.g. Australian ‘AllStars’),  parents and other adults who comment
•Contexts are temporal, physical, organizational, institutional, interpersonal … describes the blogs well?
•Chronological narrative -  definately ‘fits’ well
•tell the story - also fits well with what I want to do

  
Strengths Of Case Studies
Can establish cause and effect;
Rooted in real contexts;
Regard context as determinant of behaviour;
The whole is more than the sum of the parts (holism);
Strong on reality;
Recognize and accept complexity,uniqueness and unpredictability;
Lead to action (link to action research);
Can focus on critical incidents;
Written in accessible style and are immediately intelligible;
Practicable (can be done by a single researcher);
Can permit generalizations and application to similar situations;

HOWEVER!!

Problems With Case Studies
Difficult to organize;
Problems of cross-checking;
Risk of bias, selectivity and subjectivity; 

Points to note from elsewhere on the website ….. just to keep me on my toes

Validity in qualitative research often concerns: honesty, richness, authenticity, depth, scope, subjectivity, strength of feeling, catching uniqueness, idiographic statements.   

Reliability in qualitative research often concerns: accuracy, fairness, dependability, comprehensiveness, respondent validation, ‘checkability’, empathy, uniqueness, explanatory and descriptive potential, confirmability.

Next post concerns: 

Data In Case Studies:
Observations (structured to unstructured);
Field notes;
Interviews (structured to unstructured);
Documents;
Numbers.  

Triangulation:
Time;
Place;
Methodologies;
Instrumentation;
Researchers;
Participants;
Theory (interpretive paradigms/lenses).  

Stages In Case Studies:
Start with a wide field of focus;
Progressive focusing;
Draft interpretation/report (avoid generalizing too early).        

Lots more thinking to do before before that sun rises

Orienting Decisions

1.      Why do I want to research this particular area?

In order to answer this I will ‘re-visit’ my last UOP module and highlight some of the main findings that led to me want to do this research. I’ve already discussed this HERE

2. Who might want to use the research – is there an ‘audience’?

The first answer to this question has to be, ‘me’!

I recently wrote a blog post  about  Konrad Glogowski ’s work. His thesis focussed on the use of blogging communities in education. His work was with pupils a little older than mine (I teach p7 - his pupils are 13 - 14). I’m looking forward to seeing if his ideas can work successfully in my own situation.

The findings will have a direct impact on how I use web 2 tools with future classes ….. and our school development plan for this session includes the setting up of blogs for all primary 7 and 6 stages.

Some teachers are keen to do this, others are sceptical (the Depute Head has agreed to be my ‘sceptical friend’!). I suspect that other educators who have set up individual blogs for their own pupils might be interested in the research results? I think that the pupils and their parents will also be interested?

3. Will Participants know how the research will be used and do they have the right to refuse to take part?

I have already discussed the research proposal informally with the pupils and at a recent Parent Evening it was mentioned casually (with no objections). I will contact all participants more formally very soon to give precise details of the research plan and ask for their permission to include them. They will have the opportunity to withdraw at any time.

4. How do I protect those who may be identifiable in the research?

The pupils have ‘blogging rules’ embedded in each of their individual blogs. I will refer to the pupils’ blogs throughout the research but this will be using the same rules as the pupils use (first names only, etc.)

5.  What time scale is involved?

Monday 12 November – Sunday 25 November:

Study the various methods available for data collection
Appreciate the difference between qualitative and quantitative data
Consider the different approaches required for qualitative and quantitative data
Decide on the best method/s of data collection for the project

Monday 26 November – Sunday 16 December 

Consider the different methods of data analysisDecide which methods of analysis will be most appropriate for the project
Investigate different methods for presentation of data
Consider how analysis of Findings leads to Conclusions and Implications
Finalise the design for the research plan

Monday 7 January – Sunday 27 January  
 Review of Literature. 

 Monday 28 January - Sunday 10 February     

Revise research plan
Revise literature review
Implement research plan                   

Monday 11 February - Sunday 24 February        

Implementation of research plan
Discussion of issues arising on ‘Blackboard’                  

Monday 25 February – Sunday 9 March 

Confirm with tutor that research plan is on timeImplementation of research plan
Discussion of issues arising on Blackboard
Decide on methods of presenting findings                                       

 Monday 10 March – Sunday 30 March

Implementation of research plan
Consider likely findings, conclusions and implications  

Monday 31 March – Sunday 20 April 
Prepare findings
Completion of research plan
Begin preparation of dissertation                                                       

 Monday 21 April – Sunday 18 May
Completion of Dissertation. 
Submit bound copy of dissertation to the University by Monday 19 May        
 

Yippee! …. except I have to actually do all the hard work in-between :)     

Is the research going to be useful?

Who might want to use the research?

Is there an ‘audience’?

Will participants know how the research will be used?

What time scale is involved?

Do participants have the right to refuse to answer or take part?

How do I balance all interests in the research?

Are the aims focussed enough to answer the research question?

How do I protect those who may be identified/identifiable in the research?

 Anyone out there

 I’m still reflecting on my last post - meanwhile I contacted Jackie Marsh and she had this to say ..

“I have had a look at the blogs and they are great! I like the way you are letting the children drive the use of the blogs, that is so important if they are going to be successful”  Her reply gave me a ‘confidence boost’ that maybe I’m on some sort of ‘right track’

She also had this to say:

“An interesting area to explore would be gendered representations of identity, it strikes me just from the pictures the children have used!”

More to think about

She gave me a link to Another Blog … but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.