Undergraduate research to enrich teacher education
Designing, conducting and presenting a research project based on classroom experience can give students an early opportunity for critical reflection on their learning
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A space to dive deeper into research methodologies can enhance teacher candidates’ undergraduate experience. We believe these students must take ownership of their pedagogical practices through classroom research, so we created a project that spans coursework, teaching experience, a research project and presentation of findings to support this belief. This process aims to cultivate a research-based approach to teaching and learning as well as an environment that fosters critical reflection and growth.
Teacher candidates as active researchers
Undergraduate teacher candidates at our campus learn to engage in action research during their senior year, before their final 16-week collaborative teaching experience with their assigned classroom teacher. During this penultimate semester, they take courses focusing on assessment and intervention on learning difficulties in reading and mathematics.
- Making undergraduate access to research experience transparent and inclusive
- Creating time and space for reflection in undergraduate research methods
- Challenge-based learning: design and delivery in undergraduate courses
At their clinical experience site, candidates develop and administer pre-assessments in both assessment and intervention, using the data collected to plan and implement whole-class lessons. Small-group and individual interventions also are completed, culminating in an assessment identical to the pre-assessment to measure what their pupils have learned.
Candidates then analyse the results and present their findings first at our campus research conference, then as an oral presentation with the School of Education (SoE) faculty. For many of our candidates, this is the first time they have conducted formal research or thought about their own work as such.
Placing teacher candidates in clinicals for research
When recruiting classroom teachers for clinical experience, the first point is to check your university’s policy, and consider how it could be enhanced. As mentors, teachers who value action research can set the tone for conducting quality research in the classroom and support candidates as researchers.
Our elementary education faculty has worked diligently to create partnerships with local schools that share our vision for the future of education. We work with principals to find exemplary classroom teachers for our candidates to teach with collaboratively for 16 weeks. We encourage the schools to look at our candidates as an extension of their faculty, giving them opportunities for hands-on learning and seeing the day-to-day operations of a classroom. When pairing our students with classroom teachers, we seek educators who are willing to guide candidates as they embark on their research projects.
Opportunities to face real-life challenges and learn by doing
A key element of the research project is encouraging candidates to embrace challenges as they come, and avoid penalising them when things don’t go quite right. Often, candidates encounter pupils who have attendance issues, are transient or just do not want to be part of more schoolwork. In other instances, if their pupils quickly master the concept that is being taught, candidates must revise their lesson plans mid-instruction to provide more challenging work.
Ensure that candidates take ownership of the process; they must be able to articulate when and where the problems occurred and discuss how they addressed them.
Professors working across disciplines
Collaboration across multiple disciplines can improve our teacher candidates’ learning experience. As educators, we leverage expertise from teacher educators in areas such as mathematics, reading and assessment to improve course instruction, students’ experiences and their ability to present at an undergraduate research conference. For example, the reading and mathematics faculty support teacher candidates’ construction of their abstract and research questions. Co-planning and co-instructing provide our students with interdisciplinary perspectives on presenting at a research conference before they apply to do so.
Research process for teacher candidates
Part of the success of such a project is reinforcing the research elements at each step of their practical experience. For example, to present at the undergraduate research conference, candidates must complete an application that includes a research question and an abstract of their work. Part of a class meeting is dedicated to assisting candidates with applying, crafting questions, composing abstracts and strategising how to manage feedback. Candidates then follow a checklist as they put together a presentation. Their slides must include their research setting, questions, pre- and post-assessments, lesson plans, interventions, data collection and findings.
Presenting at the undergraduate research conference
As part of their research conference presentation on campus, we urge our candidates to explain their research question rationale and justify how the interventions constructed and implemented during the project were data-driven and promoted student learning. At the end of their presentation, they collect audience feedback.
After their research conference presentation, our teacher candidates give a final oral presentation with the SoE faculty. Candidates provide a critical reflection on their experience at the research conference and are expected to detail how they plan to incorporate the audience feedback as actionable next steps in their future classrooms.
Considerations when planning an undergraduate action research project
Our senior elementary education majors (that is, student teachers) have always been required to complete this action research project and present their findings, but recent changes may be instructive.
- Introduce research as early as is practical. We have moved this large undertaking from the clinical practicum semester to the last semester of candidates’ coursework.
- Consider the research guidelines of your university. Our university does not require institutional review board (IRB) approval for any assignments completed for a course if the presentation is held at an internal conference. Our university considers that the presentations are a part of the course requirements and so do not fit our definition of research (which is designed to be published and presented more publicly for the advancement of knowledge). If our candidates were to disseminate their findings at an off-campus professional or academic conference, IRB approval would be necessary.
- Ensure that elements of the project flow logically. Our candidates are excited to have the opportunity to showcase their work to the SoE faculty, other candidates and faculty from other disciplines. Based on feedback, candidates would prefer to showcase their projects to their peers and faculty first, before to presenting them to the larger campus community.
During their clinical experiences, teacher candidates can discover stronger implications between classroom practices and theories discussed in coursework.
Molly A. Riddle is assistant professor of elementary mathematics education; Jacquelyn J. Singleton is associate professor of elementary reading education and coordinator of the elementary education graduate reading programme; and Cathy Johnson is associate professor of elementary social studies education and elementary education coordinator. All are in the School of Education at Indiana University Southeast.
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