Classroom Observation Educational Research Methods BA Education Studies

(Classroom) Observation Educational Research Methods BA Education Studies BA (Ed) Education D University of Durham Dr Robert Coe University of Durham School of Education Tel: (+44 / 0) 191 33 44 184 Fax: (+44 / 0) 191 33 44 180 E-mail: r. j. coe@dur. ac. uk http: //www. dur. ac. uk/r. j. coe

Why observe? n n n How much group work goes on in classrooms? Are children more ‘on-task’ than they were? Do teachers interact differently with boys and girls? How can a teacher ask questions most effectively? What is it like to be in the bottom stream of a secondary modern school? © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 2

Groupwork in primary schools Findings from PRISMS © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham

Changes in time ‘on task’ © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham Galton et

Teacher attention received by girls and boys © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham

Wait times © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 6

Disaffected youth n “the higher the stream of a boy, the greater the tendency for him to be committed to the school’s values. His attendance at school is more regular and his participation in school activities is deeper. He likes school and the teachers, to whose expectation he conforms, whose valuse he supports and whose approval he seeks. ” (p 159) © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 7

n Teaching problems are most concentrated in the low streams. The academically oriented boys in these groups are regarded by the teachers as conformists, whereas on the peer group level they are the deviants; and the ‘difficult’ boys whom the teacher regards as non-conformists are in fact the high status conformists on the peer group level. This tendency of the teacher to evaluate pupils in terms of his own rather than peer group values has important repercussions. He has little chance of eliciting the desired response from these high informal status but anti-academic boys, because the kinds of rewards he offers are considerably inferior to those offered by the deliquescent peer group from which such boys derive their security and status. The result is that when the teacher publicly praises the low status boy for his good work, he is in fact stressing rhe deviance of such boys from the group norm, and is thus reinforcing the anti-academic norms he seeks to disrupt. © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 8

Observation by Ofsted Observation for teacher training n n n How fair? How representative?

Observation n Gives direct access to behaviour n n High validity Observer can experience events Very time-consuming We do not observe all that we see n Observation involves n n Expectation Selective perception Interpretation Recall © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 10

Types of observation n Open n Ethnography n n n Qualitative Naturalistic Unstructured Interpretive Problems of representativeness, generalisability n n Structured Systematic Focused © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham Hopkins, 1995 11

General issues for observation n Reliability n Would you get the same results … n n On another day With another observer This may not matter if the results are not claimed to be representative or generalisable Validity n n Does it actually tell you what it seems to? Are your interpretations right? © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 12

Threats to validity n n n n n Did not observe what was important Chose untypical / inappropriate cases Those observed reacted to the observation (procedural reactivity) Those observed reacted to the observer (personal reactivity) Observer misinterpreted events Events not recorded accurately Inappropriate categories used Too much data to analyse Researcher biased © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham Foster, 1996 13

Ensuring validity n n Be unobtrusive Examine meaning of observations and interpretations carefully n n Triangulation n n Agreement with other sources of data Respondent validation n n Reflexivity Ask those involved to comment on interpretations Don’t let interpretations slip n E. g. don’t say ‘learning’ when you mean ‘engaged with the task’ © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham Foster, 1996 14

Ethnography n n n Qualitative Naturalistic Unstructured Interpretive Problems of n n n Representativeness

Systematic observation n n Behaviour coded (duration, frequency, interval) Reliability n n Criterion-related Intra-observer Inter-observer Problems: n n n n Observer effects Personal bias Leniency Central tendency Halo effect Contamination / blinding Drift Reliability decay © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 16

Wait times © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 20

Disaffected youth n “the higher the stream of a boy, the greater the tendency for him to be committed to the school’s values. His attendance at school is more regular and his participation in school activities is deeper. He likes school and the teachers, to whose expectation he conforms, whose values he supports and whose approval he seeks. ” (Hargreaves, 1967) © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 21

n “… the ‘difficult’ boys whom the teacher regards as non-conformists are in fact the high status conformists on the peer group level. … [The teacher] has little chance of eliciting the desired response from these high informal-status but anti-academic boys, because the kinds of rewards he offers are considerably inferior to those offered by the deliquescent peer group from which such boys derive their security and status. The result is that when the teacher publicly praises the low status boy for his good work, he is in fact stressing the deviance of such boys from the group norm, and is thus reinforcing the anti-academic norms he seeks to disrupt. ” © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 22

For the seminar … n Reading: n n Find a piece of research that uses observation n n Hopkins Foster May be one of the ones used here Describe how observation was used What claims are made? How valid are they? Why? © 2004 Robert Coe, University of Durham 23