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American Educational Research Association Takes A Stance on Research on Teaching vs. Teacher Research

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American Educational Research Association Takes A Stance on Research on Teaching vs. Teacher Research

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

This article takes a stance on the difference between two kinds of educational research, the first, Research on Teaching, and the second, Teacher Research. When approaching the topic of Research on Teaching the authors write that the research is often conducted without the involvement of teachers. They write, “Underlying this research is a view of teaching as a primarily linear activity wherein teacher behaviors are considered ‘causes’ and student learning is regarded as “effects” (Educational Researcher 2). The alternative approach is Teacher Research, which is “systematic and intentional inquiry carried out by teachers” (Educational Researcher 3). Since this approach stems from educators themselves, it has greater potential to address significant issues in education (Educational Researcher 3). The debate between these two approaches arises when considering which form of research is best suited for the field of education. Cochran-Smith and Lytle write, “What is missing from the knowledge base for teaching, are the voices of the teachers themselves” (Educational Researcher 2). Therefore, Teacher Research allows more of an opportunity for adding value to the teaching community and academic community. The main limitation with Research on Teaching is it lacks the perspective of those who work in the classroom. While both of these approaches have led to significant research outcomes in the past; it is important that teacher research continues to occur and teachers get involved with conducting research as it can greatly impact the field.

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This article was written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle.

This article discusses the divide between research on teaching, which is often done in the scholarly world and not by teachers, and teacher research, which is done by teachers. (page 2) Teacher research does not seem to have a legitimate place in the University setting.(page 4) This article calls for more teacher research to take place, as it has the power to greatly transform and improve education. (page 4) Teacher research can occur in one classroom, and inform practice in all classrooms. (page 6) This is an important topic because it shows the importance for research to occur within the classroom, as opposed to letting research done outside of the classroom be the sole source of what informs our teaching. We, as teachers, need to take on the role of researchers as well, and allow it to enhance the professionalization of our teaching. (page 9)

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

In this article, they discuss the difference and divide between teacher research and research on teachers. This article defines teacher research as systemic intentional inquiry by teachers (2) and has special potential to address issues that teachers themselves identify as significant, does not have a legitimate place (4); research on teachers is usually done by universities or on the scholarly level. These two types of research conflict in their nature and purpose of teacher research. There are many contradictions about which type of action research would be best fit for specific areas of teaching. There should be more action research done to give teachers the opportunity to do their own research in their own classroom. This article argues just that, the need for more teacher based research. There needs to be more systemic support for teachers that encourage initiative and autonomy for school improvement. The authors state that “once we understand that some of the things we teachers do may be helpful, some merely useless, and some downright harmful, we can begin to ask which is which. But only teachers can ask such questions and use their daily work and use their daily work with students to test their answers. All other kinds of research into ways of improving teaching lead mostly to expensive fads and nonsense” (6). Teacher research is the best way to ensure the most effective research is conducted and results implemented for change.

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The Battle of Teacher Research vs Research on Teachers

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The Battle of Teacher Research vs Research on Teachers

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Written by Mariyln Cochran-Smith, and Susan L. Lytle.

This battle of an article focuses on the division that there is between teacher research vs research on teaching, which are very different ways of doing research. Teacher research focus on the “systematic and intentional inquiry carried out by teachers,” (pg 3). Research on teachers, on the other hand, is research that is done on teacher’s methods of teaching and the successes and battles they have to overcome. This article in itself wakes up the monster of a problem, which is how often teacher research is put down. Others in research fields see teacher research as an “imitation of university research and is not useful,” (pg 3). By allowing us to categorize teacher research into something of an imitation, we are condescending the thoughtful work that teachers often must overcome in their classrooms. Teacher research, instead, should be “in its own genre,” (pg 4). By allowing us to gather teacher research on classroom settings, we are able to apply this knowledge of understanding “one classroom helps us better to understand all classrooms,” (pg 7).

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Reflect, Re-examine, and “Re-search” their own experiences: the world of teacher research 

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Reflect, Re-examine, and “Re-search” their own experiences: the world of teacher research 

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lyte

This article discusses the lack of teacher knowledge and involvement when it comes to research on teaching. For example, the authors states that there has been little attention given to the roles that the teachers could play when it comes to researching schools. Therefore, in 1986 the “Handbook of Researching on Teaching” was written without a single teacher writing in it or sharing their experiences. The authors of this article continue to talk about the importance of teachers engaging in their own work in the classroom and inquiring/reflecting on their own practices. This is why it is so important for teachers to be implementing research practices within their own classroom so that they are able to reflect on their own work, while also enhancing the learning of their students.  As exemplified in the text, “Ironically, and indeed unfortunately, many school systems are slow to realize the potential link between research and enhanced student learning.” (9). Moreover, it is crucial for teachers to become more involved in the research process, as it will lead them to understand their students better, while also finding new and improved ways of teaching.

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Research On Teachers Versus Research By Teachers

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Research On Teachers Versus Research By Teachers

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Written by Amanda McCarney
Based on the article by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

The main premise of this article is to highlight the lack of teacher involvement in research that is done in order to improve educational practices. A lot of research on teaching is conducted by outside sources that do not experience everything that goes on day by day in school setting (p. 2). That being said, this research is not always accepted and findings are not always applied due to the fact that it is conducted by people who do not experience the same as teachers (p. 4). The article acknowledges the fact that teacher research is often not encouraged and there is a lack of incentives for teachers to take the time to conduct their own research based on problems of practice that they have experienced (p. 9). Overall, research on teaching by researchers who are not teachers is not discouraged, rather, teacher research is encouraged in addition (p. 10). However, in order to achieve this, support from schools may be required in order to encourage teachers to conduct their own research.

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Meaghan Ryan:Teacher Research without Teachers?                       Written by Marilyn Cochran- Smith, and Susan L. Lyte	                                              This article reflects upon the work that is done when researching on teachers, but also how teacher research usually does not amount to any large finding made. Teachers should be able to have more opportunities to do action research in their classrooms or buildings. The article talked about how a lot of teacher research is planned, and not spontaneous. However, in a environment such as a classroom, there are opportunities for research at any time, and maybe research should not be planned. On the other side of the debate, research on teachers should be done with some type of input from teachers themselves. Who best to conduct research then those who are trying to solve the problem. On page 3, the authors write, “Missing from the handbook are the voices of the teachers themselves, the questions that teachers ask, and the interpretive frames that teachers use to understand and improve their own classroom practices” (p 3). Teachers are sometimes faulted for not implementing the findings of some research, but realistically the findings do not impact the teacher nor his/her students positively because that individual classroom or group of students was not apart of the research. Teacher research, and research on teachers needs to be less exclusive and must focus on more holistic problems in a school building or classroom. If more specific problems become visible, then it is time for action research, which should be encouraged in the classroom. 

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Meaghan Ryan:Teacher Research without Teachers?                       Written by Marilyn Cochran- Smith, and Susan L. Lyte	                                              This article reflects upon the work that is done when researching on teachers, but also how teacher research usually does not amount to any large finding made. Teachers should be able to have more opportunities to do action research in their classrooms or buildings. The article talked about how a lot of teacher research is planned, and not spontaneous. However, in a environment such as a classroom, there are opportunities for research at any time, and maybe research should not be planned. On the other side of the debate, research on teachers should be done with some type of input from teachers themselves. Who best to conduct research then those who are trying to solve the problem. On page 3, the authors write, “Missing from the handbook are the voices of the teachers themselves, the questions that teachers ask, and the interpretive frames that teachers use to understand and improve their own classroom practices” (p 3). Teachers are sometimes faulted for not implementing the findings of some research, but realistically the findings do not impact the teacher nor his/her students positively because that individual classroom or group of students was not apart of the research. Teacher research, and research on teachers needs to be less exclusive and must focus on more holistic problems in a school building or classroom. If more specific problems become visible, then it is time for action research, which should be encouraged in the classroom. 

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The Divide Between Teacher Research and Research on Teachers

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The Divide Between Teacher Research and Research on Teachers

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

This article discusses the separation between teacher research and research done on teachers. Research done on teachers is about the successes that have had while teaching and how effective of a teacher they are based on observations in the classroom by another administrator. This is a positive aspect of teaching because without reflective feedback on a lesson, limited to no learning could be done. On the contrary, teacher research is “systematic, intentional inquiry by teachers, makes accessible some of the expertise of teachers and provides both university and school communities with unique perspectives on teaching and learning” (Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1990). There is a strong need for teachers to be involved in teacher research because they are the ones teaching the lesson and collecting data on student progress—which is necessary for accurate research studies.

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Why Isn't Research on Teachers Done by Teachers?

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Why Isn't Research on Teachers Done by Teachers?

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Written by Marilyn Cochran- Smith and Susan L. Lytle

This article discusses teacher research vs. research on teachers. While it would seem as if research on teachers would be done by teachers themselves, that is not always the case. The author's state that they "identify a number of critical issues that divide research on teaching from teacher research and thus make it extremely difficult for the academic community to
recognize the contribution that teacher research." (p 2) Teachers a faulted for not using research that has been collected by researchers. However, teachers often find this research to be "irrelevant and counter intuitive." (4) While researchers who are not teachers themselves do help teachers with their research, it is also encouraged that teacher research is done in addition to this research. I wonder is educational research would be more "relevant" and less "counter intuitive" as teachers see dome of it if it was done solely by teachers. I also believe that an outside perspective is beneficial to educators. Maybe if these researcher worked together more there would be less of a divide.

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Written by: Brittany Rose (based on the article Research on Teaching and Teacher Research: The Issues That Divide by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

Throughout the article Cochran-Smith and Lytle talk about the 2 types of educational research which are Teacher Research and Research on Teaching. Based on the article,  Research on Teaching is “exploring effective teaching by correlating particular processes, or teacher behaviors, with particular products, usually defined as student achievement as measured by standardized”. Teacher Research is a “systematic and intentional inquiry carried out by teachers”. The difference being one is a test-based on process and product while teacher research stems from the teachers inquiries.

The goal of teacher research is to gain insight and become reflective in the way teachers teach their students. The goal of Research on Teaching is looking at cause and effect (teacher being the cause and students being the effect).

Teacher Research has the possibility to become more known and can improve the education world. Research within education should come from inside the classroom as well as from researchers. No one knows their students as much as their teachers, so getting the teacher’s point of view is vital to gather correct data.

Source:

Cochran-Smith, Marilyn & Lytle, Susan L., Research on Teaching and Teacher Research: The Issues That Divide, Educational Researcher, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Mar., 1990), pp. 2-11.

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

(Caroline Gieger)

This article explains the differences between university based educational research and teacher based educational research. It describes the drawbacks and limitations that often occur when implementing findings from university research in K-12 classrooms. Additionally, it states the reasons why teacher research is often viewed as non-academic and is less prevalent than university based research. The articles states that traditional methods such as tests of significance, controls, and generalizability are not always the most effective methods for teacher research. Although generalizability is often the goal of research, this is much more difficult in the field of education where human behavior is effected by the environment. Teacher research is able to fill in the gaps by providing specific insights into how, why and for whom a particular strategy or method works in a classroom (pg. 6). With university based research, teachers are seen as an object. Teacher based research encourages students to become personally involved with the research process thus leading to an “emancipation” where “researchers justify themselves to practitioners, not practitioners to researchers” (pg. 4).

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

This article examines the disconnect between research conducted on teachers and research conducted by teachers. The author of the article explains that "teachers are the objects of researchers' investigations and then ultimately are expected to be the consumers of their findings" (3), which questions the involvement of teachers in said research. Without teacher involvement, the solutions that the researchers came too may not be effective in the classroom because the research didn't take into account the flow of the classroom. This is why it is important for teachers to be involved in the research process because without their insider knowledge, the practices that are implemented my not be effective. Research conducted on teachers is often don through modes of "traditional inquiry" (4) which fails to take into account teachers vastly different approaches to various situations. This makes it difficult to conduct research on teachers without teacher input because of the unique situations that arise throughout a teachers career. That being said, teacher research is encouraged and often helps to assist the findings of research conducted on teachers. Researchers and teachers need to find the balance between academic research and teacher-centered research in order to pinpoint the issues in the classroom and find the best approach to finding a solution.

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The Split Between Teacher Research and Research on Teachers. 

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The Split Between Teacher Research and Research on Teachers. 

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle.
(Sabrina Scorsese)

Some may not know that there is a difference between teacher research verse the research on teachers. This article examines the differences when it comes to what it exactly means and why there is a split between these two types of educational research. In the article the author states " Yet teacher research, which by definition has special potential to address issues that teachers themselves identify as significant'' (pg. 4) Teachers are known to use research from their own experiences making their classroom better each year. Teachers have been known to not use the research conducted by real researchers because it can come across as "irrelevant" or "Counterintuitive". There are many reasons why a teacher would feel this way about using research done on teachers because most of the time teachers learn over time and the experience they have each year with a new set of students. The research being conducted on teachers does not make or break a class environment its the teacher who is in charge job. Although this article states many different opinions on the divide between the two types of educational research teachers will " testify to the power of their own research." (pg.6)

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

This article mentions the research done on teaching and the teacher research. The divide between the two is research on teaching “emphasizes the actions of teachers rather than their professional judgments and attempts to capture the activity of teaching” (page 2) and teacher research is “systematic, self-critical enquiry, and in part on an ongoing survey of the literature of teacher writing” (page 3). There are many different forms of research used in the field of education but one of them is not better than the other. It is important to have both others who are not teachers and teachers do this research so other perspectives are looked at. When doing action research a lot of the time teachers are not the ones performing the research. They need to have more of an input since they are the ones experiencing this first hand. When others perform this research they tend to miss out on key details and do not see what the teachers see.

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The divide in Research - Catherine Aylward 

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The divide in Research - Catherine Aylward 

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

In this article the authors discuss the differences between teacher research and research done on teaching and provides the importance for each. For research that is done on teaching, it is often done by non-teachers and teachers are expected to take in their findings to use to improve their own teaching and classrooms. For teacher research the teachers are conducting their own research to help better their classrooms and teaching but it is often hard to do. There are many differing views on which is the best research to use for each concept of teaching. This topic of different views on research is very important since the research is coming from different perspectives and could be useful in multiple settings.

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Shouldn't Teacher Research be done BY Teachers?

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Shouldn't Teacher Research be done BY Teachers?

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

Many people fail to realize that research in education is not only a necessary part of education but also it has multiple parts. There is what we call teacher research which is when teachers conduct their own inquiry and research and there is also Research on Teaching/Teachers which is where an outside researcher is conducting research on the action of teachers and the effect it has on students. Research of teaching is mostly conducted through observations and sometimes fail to see the teachers interpretations and reasoning behind the way they run their classroom

Teacher research is often seen as less scholarly, but is actually more important. A teacher is usually doing research on their own classroom and implementing changes to see how they can make the best classroom environment. This is ongoing because ever class is different so each year a teacher researcher will have to make adjustments accordingly. No one knows the students like their teacher does and this is why teacher research can be more successful, the teacher is able to make the appropriate changes based on the observations they make in the classroom on a daily basis.

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Teacher Research or Research on Teachers?- Molly Mastrianni

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Teacher Research or Research on Teachers?- Molly Mastrianni

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Written by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle

Within this extremely interesting article, the authors talk about many difference sin research. But, the one they focus the most on is the difference between teacher research and research on teaching. The article suggests that teacher research is the idea that we need to reflect on how teachers behave with their students. Within this idea the article specifically references the idea of it being an "umbrella to describe a wide range of activities, which many trace to action research"(Page 3). This idea is extremely important to the overarching idea of research and seems to really layout the outline for teacher research.
Whereas, when looking at research on teaching it is the idea that what the teacher does directly effects the students and we see this idea of input and product.
I think both of these concepts of research of teachers and teacher research are equally important because teachers need to adapt to their students environment will also adding to it and then reflecting upon it. What this article brings to light is the ides that research, when being done on education should come from the classroom itself as opposed to an outside source.