Research is a Puzzle: Interlocking Inquiries

It’s one thing to have a theory — another to test it.

Having developed my research question [What are the potential barriers for students with learning differences to access primary source documents in the history classroom?] and reviewed the existing research, the time has come to learn about how my theory performs in the context of my classroom.

My plans for research are primarily qualitative and correlational — I’m seeking to explore these potential barriers to better understand them. I’m not planning experiments so I’m not seeking causation — only better understanding.

Methodology can be a bit of a puzzle — collecting data in different ways and finding the interlocking connections to further a theory. My hope is that all of the different pieces (methods) will fit together in a way which can inform us on ways to better support students. Over the coming months, my methods will include:

Attitude Scale/Student Checklists: During some of my primary source lessons, I will have students use an attitude scale before the lesson. Later in the study, I will add on checklists for them to give me feedback. Some of the questions will include:

• Based on what you know so far, how interested are you in learning more about [topic]?
• On a scale of 1–4, do you feel confident about completing today’s lesson? Why?
• (After lesson) Was your confidence accurate? Should you have been more confident? Why?

Survey and Interviews: While I am interested in hearing directly from students, I am still developing a plan for the conditions of these interviews to make students comfortable enough to discuss the things that challenge them. I will begin with a mostly open-ended survey and full class discussions. My hope is these initial collections will lead to more targeted questions in follow-up conversations. Some of my initial survey questions include:

• How do you feel when you see a difficult text in history class?
• How do you try to figure out what’s going on in difficult texts?
• What tools or strategies do you use to read primary sources?
• Is it harder to learn from a difficult text if you are not interested in it?
• Is it harder to learn from a difficult text if you don’t feel confident about how to read it?

Student products/Artifacts: I will save some of the products from logged lessons early in the study and compare to products later on in data collection. I’m not necessarily trying to correlate my efforts over time, but repeated exposure to primary source lessons may shed light on the impact on student confidence.

Log/Field notes: Each month I will take note of 1–2 primary source lessons with details on lead in activities and my observations about how the lessons seemed to go.

The goal of research is to shed light on the topic, to reveal more of the picture within. At this stage of methodology development, it can seem so straightforward, clear cut — like machine sliced puzzle pieces. But I know soon, once the pile (files?) of qualitative data is in front of me, the real challenge will become clear. Fitting pieces together may be tricky, frustrating, and confusing, but I hope that at the end, a new understanding about how students use primary sources will shine through.

My next steps will be to begin logging and collecting student work, conduct an initial survey, and use this to inform some interview questions. Follow my journey here on Medium and follow me on Twitter!

Image credit: Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash