I only have about 8 minutes before our reading time is up, but I thought I'd try out an entry anyway so that we could get an idea about how this book club blog is gonna work.
What struck me about the overall content of this piece
What I found most striking was Sarah Capitelli's realization that her interpretation of ELD students' participation in her class differed from her interpretation. They actually thought they participated frequently, but she just wasn't seeing it. I was struck by her admission on p. 35 that "...I tend to organize data based on my viewpoint as a white, well-educated, middle-class woman." Throughout her article, I experienced the same surprises she did because I think I would have had the same initial interpretations that she did.
What struck me about her question
Actually, she had more than one. The first one she started with was definitely big, but the smaller questions that spun out of it actually led to more detailed findings than her first questions probably would've.
What I learned about her methods
I learned how important it was to use multiple methods (think how different her conclusions would've been if she had only journaled or only distributed the surveys or only had her teaching assistant (Karina) interview the kids. Same thing about seeking other perspectives. If she hadn't shared her inquiry with her teacher research group, she probably wouldn't have uncovered the realization that I comment on above.
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8 comments:
I'm left with a lot of questions after reading this. How did her observations relate to the decision to de-track the ELD classes? Why doesn't she include her successes? What does her class look like now compared to her old one? How does she now talk and react to students like Lilia?
Although I had many of the same insights as you noted here, I had some different thoughts. Since time is limited, my responses will be as well.
What strikes me about the overall content is that this reads more like a personal reflection rather than research. Perhaps this is a perception issue peculiar to me.
What strikes me about her research question is that it doesn't appear to be answered in this article at least. I might refer you to the statement above, regarding the personal reflection vs the research. Since this seems to me to be a reflection, it logically follows that the research question won't be answered. Am I overanalyzing?
Finally, what I learned about the method she used to answer it - hmm, this is much more of a dilemma. When I look at what I think is her research question it strikes me that the major flaw in the survey is the lack of common language. In order to collect relevant data all the participants need to have the same reference point - i.e. my definition of low, medium and high needs to be exactly the same as everone else's.
Cindy mentioned what I, too, underlined, and that was Sarah's comment describing her background. (pg. 35) Even though her background may be different than many of her students, I was surprised that she being a bilingual teacher didn't realize learning can and should take place in whatever langueage is most comfortable for the student. As an ELL teacher, I used trial and error methods to best help my students. Her research methods were much more sound and professional, (I have more to say, but I want to see if I am "blogging" properly.)
I agree with Natalie that her questions are not answered in the article. I think that is why I am left wondering how her class has changed, why she changed it, and what the effects have been.
It was surprising to me that Capitelli was surprised that her past influenced her interpretation of the data. She was shocked to consider her own role in the problems her students were facing.
i liked the way capitelli explained the difference between the "traditional" vs. the way she was trying to approach data analysis. on pg. 35, she mentions that "using traditional spproaches to data analysis often places sole responsibility for achievement on the students and fails to illuminate what parts the school, the program, or i play in the students' achievement." this shift in perspective was clarified for me here. i think i needed this because i tend to think in the traditional way. i would like to try to research and analyze what i find to maximize my experience for the most relevance.
Isn't in interesting how this article surprised all of us? Probably, the expectations we started with for what kind of article that it was going to be influenced our responses to it.
The title tips us off, though: "Finding Myself in My Inquiry: A Teacher's Story." I just googled Sarah Capitelli and got a lot of hits, including other more research-y pieces she's written, so I don't she intended this article to be a report of her research. In fact, now that I'm reading more closely, she even says "This essay is an attempt to share the beginning of my inquiry story--a story that has not yet ended...My purpose in writing this paper is to provide a window into my life as a teacher-researcher and to share both the complexity of teacing and the complexity of thinking critically about one's teaching."
In other words, she wasn't trying to answer the question in this piece. My guess is that the Teacher Research Collaborative asked her basically to tell her story about getting started on this research.
Do you think she was successful in doing that?
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