Teacher Logs as Research Tool
July 13th, 2009
I have been wrapping up a long-term research project using video methodology to observe classrooms. This was a time- and resource-intensive project. I have been wondering about existing research on the tradeoffs of using teacher logs to gather information about teaching and classroom events. I came across two interesting studies of this coauthored by Eric Camburn in Wisconsin.
Camburn and Barnes (2004) compared teacher logs to observations of trained observers. The authors report that the rates of agreement between the teacher and one of the obervers were similar to the rates of agreement between the two observers. But here is my question: if the teacher knows that there are also observers in the room does that change their logging? In other words, are people more accurate in reporting their own behavior when they know that others are also making record of it? I also wonder if the act of recording behavior actually changes it (as we so often see in the diet/ weight-loss literature).
In a separate interesting study, Camburn and Han (2006) report that teachers reported higher frequencies for teaching practices on annual questionnaires than they did on a log. A frequent technique of those don’t do observation is to do retrospective surveys… how interesting if those surveys overestimate occurance of teaching practices.
Overall, I think most research methods have strengths and weaknesses. Different methods will reveal different things about a situation, just as different witnesses of the same event will report different things. So, it is very important to be aware of the potential things you are missing, and use multi-method investigations whenever possible.
References: Camburn, E., & Barnes, C. A. (2004). Assessing the validity of a language arts instruction log through triangulation. Elementary School Journal, 105, 49-74.
Camburn, E., & Han, S. W. (2006). Factors affecting the validity of teachers’ reports of instructional practice on annual surveys. Madison: Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Tags: teacher logs
Posted in Research Methods, Teachers | Comments (0)
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
- Games and Simulation in Science
- Simulations and Labs: Either/or?
- Open Source, E-Textbooks, Traditional Texts… oh my!
- Predicting eLearning Dropout
- Development of Help-Seeking
Categories
- Assessment (3)
- Curriculum and Materials (5)
- Policy/ Government (2)
- Publication (1)
- Research Methods (4)
- Schools (1)
- Students (13)
- Teachers (8)
- Technology (8)
- Uncategorized (3)
