Richards (1996) states that teachers can solve classroom problems when they become research practitioners. Is this true? How can this be substantiated?
In Statistics, I have asked my students to do project work from industries, educational institutions, banks, government organizations and Non Government organizations. The vast data collected are analysed by these students for their projects. They use averages, variance, correlation, regression, hypothesis testing, index numbers and so on. The data, organizational info (with permission) and statistical analysis needed are given as practicals for the next year students. This method has provided practical insight, true and latest data for the students. The students have heard of these institutions and hence get more motivated. I do not know whether this answers Dr. Jose Lobo's question fully.
Jose, i must agree with you, though i have no data, beyond my own experiences. I have always treated my teaching as action research, and as a head of science with 15 teachers in my team, i encourage the same. We celebrate our experiments, share our successes and failures and talk incessantly about what we are trying in our teaching.
My experience personally is of success. I am not a natural teacher as i am quite introverted, but i have become recognised as one of the better teachers. My faculty is regarded as one of the better in the school and described in ways that indicate that this is because of the action research model.
One plus is that my experimentation has had the unexpected effect of making me a better and happier person in general. I often cite teaching as the best thing that has happened to me for my personal development.
I like all your comments. They are all very insightful. I wonder how students from diffetrent semesters can help each other. This means how strong students can serve those who are not as advanced as the stong ones are. This would apply to students in the same classroom as well.
I also think about new technologies. As in the third world, administrators put a lot of students in one class, I wonder how by using action research, the teacher and the student, can communicate better and create a better ZPD. This would lead theoretically to better results. At least to a better communication.
I think that research can help us do a lot better now than in the past even if we complain so much as Socrates did 6,000 years ago.
I have observed that, in my class, if the research findings relevant to a particular academic topic are elucidated, the students not only actively participated and shown much enthusiasm to learn but also they rarely tend to miss the classes.
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