Online Chat 5th April: Shift in Focus

On Tuesday I joined the online chat with Adesola, Danni (also on Module 3) and Lauren (on Module 1). I wanted to join the session to make sure I was analysing my data properly, as this is a process that I have been working through over the course of the last couple of weeks. I also wanted to join the session to be able to speak to others on the course and gain new ideas and insights into how I can strengthen the approaches to my studies.

Data Analysis

Adesola asked me to explain what I am currently concerned about in my studies. I explained that I was analysing the data I had gathered from my observations and interviews using both Matrix Analysis and Thematic Analysis. I said that I was concerned about making ‘over generalisations’ with my data analysis. Danni suggested that I should to be careful of the wording in my write up. As she Identified, I have obviously noticed that certain things have taken place just in my inquiry and the way I write this up should reflect that.

Adesola then explained that the inquiry links back to Module 1; it is just ‘a little piece of your world’, where you explore something in the context of your work place and your experiences. I found it extremely useful to hear this advice because I hadn’t forgotten to link my inquiry to my professional practices, but I feel that my focus had ‘drifted’ a little bit away from this during my data analysis. I felt like this process had become more ridged and I was more focused on linking what I had found to the literature. Adesola then discussed how the inquiry connects to your practices and that the data is about exploring ideas that resonate with me and my experiences, so ‘how do I feel about this incident?’ Again, this was really useful to hear. I had been calling upon my own interpretations and ideas during my Matrix Analysis grid, but I feel this is something that I need to take a little longer to reflect upon when I am developing these grids.

Finding ‘Answers’

I also mentioned that I was finding it hard to ‘select’ important data because, after spending so much time carrying out the inquiry, every aspect of the data seems important to me. I was concerned that I was selecting too much data to enable me to make valid conclusions. Adesola then talked about how, although there are no such things as ‘answers’ on the BAPP, the ‘answers’ for the inquiry are inside or you. The inquiry is not about trying to find what is outside, the answers are in your experience and your practices. Adesola said that the data collection is not trying to find out the biggest thing that you’ve discovered either. Again for me this was extremely important for my current inquiry stage. I now believe that my data analysis so far is valid, as I have been selecting data that I feel is important to me.

Shift

One of the most significant parts of the session for me was the idea of a ‘shift in focus’. Adesola asked us the question ‘How important is it to you?’ She discussed the idea that in Module 3, and in fact all of the Modules, the ‘answers’ are actually describing the ‘shift in focus’ that you have had throughout the Module process. In Module 3, this process involves asking yourself: ‘What did I think about x before I started my inquiry? Now, what do I think about x after carrying out my inquiry?’

For me I asked myself the question, ‘What did I think about engagement before I started my inquiry? Now, what do I think about engagement after carrying out my inquiry?’

Before the inquiry, I thought that engagement was a concept that was easily definable and ‘obvious’ to all teachers. However, through looking at literature and interview participants, I have found that ‘engagement’ means different things to different researchers (Reschly and Christenson 2012) and practitioners. There are common themes that run between the ‘delimitations’ of engagement, but there is not one singular definition, suggesting that engagement is a concept that is structured around the beliefs of the practitioners. I also believed that ‘engaged students’ were students who were completing work that had been set without any displaying and poor behaviour. Now, I have realised through the literature and my observations that I was focusing on the idea of ‘behavioural engagement’ and in fact engagement is a multi-construct consisting of affective (emotional), behavioural and cognitive engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld and Paris 2004). I now believe that engaged students show enjoyment towards their work and question what is in front of them, and engaged students do not merely sit at a desk and work in silence. I have observed and discovered through observations and interviews that this state of enjoyment and questioning is something that in instilled by the teaching practitioners themselves in their classroom environment…

Adesola said that the inquiry is not about finding something ‘earth shattering’ but understanding something more clearly in your field and communicating that to other people. It is about a shift, and the critical review is just articulating that shift through the material, methods and processes that you have used to discover that shift.

Closing Points

Adesola finished the session by saying that now is the time to get the things done that you need to get done in order to complete the module. Although it is not the best it could be, it is better to have something down on paper rather than a brilliant idea still stuck in your head. For Me this was fantastic advice, as I know that I do need to just get something down to form a first draft. I feel this has been a process that I have been putting off because I feel there are so many unfinished answers from analysing my data. However, I feel that bringing my inquiry back to ‘my little corner’ will help me to understand that this research is about me any my practices and help me to write my first draft. Explaining the shift in thinking will also help me to draw my conclusions together in my analysis process.

Thank you to Adesola, Danni and Lauren for your thoughts and ideas. It was so useful to discuss my concerns with others and receive such useful advice.

Reference List

Christenson, S. L., Reschly A. L. (2012) “Jingle, Jangle and Conceptual Haziness: Evolution and Future Directions of the Engagement Construct” in S L Christenson, A L Reschly and C Wylie  (2012) Handbook of Research on Student Engagement London: Springer pp. 3-20

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C. and Paris A. H. (2004) ‘School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence’ Review of Educational Research, 74 (1), 59-109