So, I will admit that I’ve jumped the gun on this process quite a bit. I honestly never thought that I’d be excited about research, so this is a very weird time for me lol.
So, where am I at? Well, Dr. Libbey and I spoke the other day, and we will be meeting in-person on Monday before our next Thesis class. Right now, I have my faculty letter (project description) completed, and I also have a more detailed project overview document completed (which explains everything about my proposed thesis plan). While I have not conducted any research yet, I am very familiar with the Charlotte Danielson evaluation model. The research I will be conducting will be based on four areas:
Charlotte Danielson Framework
- The research/theory behind the Danielson Framework
- Why the domains/components were selected
- How Danielson defines effective/highly effective teaching
- Research on the framework’s validity and reliability
- Criticisms and limitations of Danielson
- Research on whether highly structured evaluation rubrics accurately capture effective teaching
Kean University’s Evaluation Model
- Obtain and study the actual evaluation instrument
- Understand each criterion and how performance is assessed
- Determine the intended purpose of the model
- Research the theoretical/research basis for its criteria, if one exists
- Determine how much evaluator judgment/discretion the model allows
- Compare its level of specificity with Danielson
Teacher Evaluation & Classroom Observation
- Research on classroom observations as measures of teaching effectiveness
- Observer subjectivity/bias
- Inter-rater reliability
- Whether a limited number of observations can accurately represent teaching
- Evaluation for accountability vs. evaluation for professional growth
K–12 vs. Higher Education
- How K–12 teachers are typically evaluated
- How college professors/instructors are typically evaluated
- Differences in expectations between secondary and college instructors
- Similarities in what each setting considers “effective teaching”
- Whether practices from higher education can reasonably transfer to secondary classrooms
Methodology for My Own Study
- Qualitative classroom observation
- Comparative case-study methodology
- Practitioner inquiry/research
- Reflective practice
- Researcher positionality—especially because you’re already trained in Danielson
- Limitations of using four observations
- How to avoid claiming that four professors represent all higher-education instructors
My Original Research
- Conduct four faculty observations
- Score/analyze each observation using Danielson
- Analyze the same observation using Kean’s model
- Record evidence supporting each judgment
- Compare what each framework notices, rewards, penalizes, or overlooks
- Identify patterns across all four observations
- Reflect on whether one framework’s additional specificity actually provides additional useful information
- Consider what aspects of college-level instruction could inform secondary teaching/evaluation
I know that this is a lot to be sharing right now, but honestly, there is a lot that I need to research before beginning Thesis 2. Much of the information above are genuine concerns. For example, my observations could be questioned because of my biases, or because it’s only one person conducting the observation. In addition, when observers are present, students act differently. This is also something that needs to be supported by research, and not just word-of-mouth, when I discuss it in Thesis 2, because these are all factors that can affect/influence the validity of my findings.
Overall, I think I’m in a good spot. My outline for the next few weeks is:
- Begin the IRB process (preferably ASAP)
- Get approval from professors so that I can observe them.
- Begin observing professors.
- Slowly conduct my research.
- Finish my literature review before December, so that I have enough time to begin refinements.
The only thing I am totally clueless about is how to start the IRB process. LOL. See you all next week!
