ED 475 Week 8 Reading reflections-3-12-25 by

Open Spaces for the Unknown

2025-03-10 19:59:48 UTC

Although qualitative data was not meant to be generalizable and moreso to illustrate outcomes within specific settings and environments. If the study is copied and executed in various research projects the result is the same and interviews lead to generating the same outcomes, then it opens the opportunity for the unknown. Chapter 10 also did a great job at highlighting what is happening and unspoken in the scene as it may add much value to the research and the experiences of the participants especially for those that may be worried about consequences of participating in such a study.

Conversation Starter

2025-03-10 20:00:50 UTC

As personal histories and motivations do initiate the sort of topics that teachers may fill inspired to introduce into the wider discourse of the classroom especially for high school to undergraduate coursework as students may shy away from introducing topics that are heavy in nature. It makes me ponder, how does a teacher/instructor with little knowledge on topics that may affect a marginalized group successfully engage in discussion or start these discussions without seeming ignorant or dismissive of the experiences of others. I feel like I have seen the handling of such topics here at CGU where I feel like even professors see themselves as learners. In the more traditional settings of high school and undergraduate education, I feel like the boundaries of learner and teacher do not transfer which leads me to that inquiry.

Ontological Variations & Representation In/Out of the Movement

2025-03-10 20:01:22 UTC

In last week's reading of Evans-Winters, there was clarity about the ontological differences between the author and their classmates. For me, this illutsrated a great deal of the influences that we carry from our lived experiences and our beliefs grounded from childhood that may then be presented in the manner in which we wish to conduct research and the relationship that we hope to hold with our participants. In this week's reading, these ideas furthered with the inquiry of how social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and the concept of #BlackBoyJoy has thrived through social media posts, activism from organizations and individuals, and the possibility of seeing Black folx thrive in unforeseen spaces. The fact that representation may not be needed for certain people or even questioned because people in dominate culture rarely seek the question of "what or who is missing?" unless they find personal benefit.

Personal Histories Matter

2025-03-11 20:18:07 UTC

The study explores how teacher educators’ own experiences, backgrounds, and values shape their approaches to social justice education. This seems so obvious and almost a throwaway statement. However, look around and observe how society (in general) never gets around to doing this.

Into and out of a maze

2025-03-11 20:19:54 UTC

Analysis is wayfinding through a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a complex, intricate network of paths or passages, often designed as a puzzle to navigate through. It can also metaphorically refer to something highly complicated or confusing, such as a bureaucratic process or a person's thoughts. No matter how complex, there is a secret way to always get to the center of the maze and find your way out. Do you know the secret?

Making your work inviting

2025-03-11 20:23:12 UTC

· A worthy topic should point out surprises – perhaps be intentional about shaking things up.

· Rich rigor should be applied to ensure the research has been carried out in an appropriate manner.

· Sincerity means your research is genuine and vulnerable. This includes self-reflexivity means to be honest about one’s own identity and transparency which means describing how the research was conducted, including (especially?) any problems and how they were dealt with.

· Credibility refers to dependability and trustworthiness.

· Resonance is that feature(s) of the text that resonates with the audience.

I try to apply these concepts in all of my writing: poetry, autoethnography, even email.

2nd cycle methods

2025-03-11 20:31:14 UTC

Code mapping is very iterative. Code landscaping is a visual representation of the frequency or importance of various codes. Think of it this way: Before designing a formal garden, first gather and sort the plants, arranging them by type, size, and needs. Pruning and reshaping the garden is an ongoing process—trim, rearrange, and refine to create harmony. Stepping back, see how different plants (codes) dominate certain areas, forming a pattern of growth and significance. Now, with a structured layout, introduce trellises, pathways, and focal points—elevating the garden from a collection of plants to a thoughtfully designed landscape (themes).

Scaling culturally responsive practices

2025-03-11 20:32:51 UTC

I have questions about the most effective strategies for scaling culturally responsive practices across different educational contexts. This will be important in my postdoc work to catalyze K-12 reform.

Takeaways

2025-03-11 20:49:11 UTC

Coding isn’t enough, need to be able to understand the significance of the data.

6 Analysis Approaches

o Exemplars and vignettes

o Typologies

o Narrative and dramatistic approaches

o Metaphor analyses

o Analyzing for explanation and causality

o Discourse tracing

---- Theoretical frameworks used to guide which one to use. o Can be used individually or combined; Application depends on theoretical perspective.

Local causality

alysonthach — 2025-03-12 07:31:40 UTC

Qualitative research is not designed for universal decontextualized findings, but rather contextualized activity. Qualitative research can contribute to local causality which focuses on how local events and contexts can lead to specific outcomes

Connections

alysonthach — 2025-03-12 07:32:10 UTC

Providing a thick description of contextual meanings, details, processes, and activities enables readers to experience a given scene or context which increase the study’s rigor. I could see how this process can be enriched through narrative analysis and use of in vivo codes as well

Better than a puzzle

alysonthach — 2025-03-12 07:32:54 UTC

Second cycle coding is not prescriptive nor inflexible. This cycle is focused on reorganizing and reanalyzing first cycle codes to lead into categorical/conceptual meaning. Although qualitative analysis is like putting a puzzle together, it is not the exact same concept as the data can transcended and re-presented in different ways.

alysonthach — 2025-03-12 07:33:44 UTC

I found it interesting that the program emphasized a social justice mission but only required one course on the topic. Given that their social justice contains a variety of topics, it is important for teachers to consider their own positionality and give space/wholehearted efforts towards discussing various social justice topics.

Children's stories

alysonthach — 2025-03-12 07:35:33 UTC

Evans Winters offered me a new perspective on the moral dilemma of sharing young children’s stories. If a researcher feels hesitant on sharing their own child’s story, why would they expose the stories of other young children without proper protection or consent? This emphasizes the importance of ethical research and IRB safe guards.

Codeweaving?

2025-03-12 18:26:52 UTC

What is codeweaving? Saldaña mentions it on the first page of chapter 12, but I didn't notice anything more explanation later in the chapter. Then again, I might have missed it...did anyone else catch it?

Why?

2025-03-12 18:34:00 UTC

The word, "why," comes up a lot in education. There was/is a trend in teacher professional development of asking, "What is your why?" This was/is supposed to help retain teachers in the profession by motivating them to focus on their purpose and reason(s) for choosing the classroom life. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I always found this a little too fluffy and full of feelings to be helpful. Then again, maybe it's why I'm not a middle school teacher any more!

Tracy's "why" overlaps with this in the way that the author asks researchers to step back and look at the bigger picture. In recent conversations about writing and publishing, several people brought up the importance of connecting the research to broader themes, perspectives, and populations. They emphasized that the "birds-eye view" leads to better storytelling and compassionate writing (aka writing that's easier for readers to access).

Questions, 74-75

2025-03-12 18:50:36 UTC

Well, I fully intended to read up to page 105, but the questions on pages 74-75 stopped me in my tracks and I lost SO much time thinking on them. The first question has been nagging at me for more than a year in various contexts. It has led me to think about keepers of culture and how we use and manipulate "tradition" as a word and concept.

Anyway, here are the questions for you to ponder too:

"Who can research whom? Who legitimates research questions and claims?
Are we imposters on Black girls’ bodies and experiences?
Should Black girl literacies be considered in data analysis and re/presentations?
Is there an anything goes mentality in theorizing and researching young people’s, poor people’s, and women’s lives as long as good intentions are involved?"

Personal experience

2025-03-12 19:03:29 UTC

TL;DR -- I know a few of us have teaching credentials. I'm curious: did your teacher preparation program include lessons, discussions, themes, etc. on social justice/DEI?

(the long version)

I did my credential around the same time as this study - 2018-2019, which is why a lot of the language and themes are very familiar. Along the way and especially once I got into the classroom as the teacher of record, I found the emphasis on social justice both an advantage and disadvantage.

The advantage: contextualizing students' backgrounds, highlighting their strengths (lol, if you know that textbook), validating experiences as knowledge, etc.

The disadvantage: METHODS. The focus on theory and social justice eclipsed lessons on how to teach. I remember nagging professors to explain methods on how to teach multiplication. Their response always took the form of, "You don't need to worry about that," or, "The admin will give you a curriculum and train you," or "You'll end up teaching middle school and the students will know arithmetic already." WELL. Surprise, surprise: turns out teachers have to teach in addition to being compassionate.

Brenna

2025-03-12 23:02:40 UTC

This brings up the point that hiring teacher educators with certain identities/demographics does not guarantee or prevent certain social justice topics from being covered in a course or program.

Also, I liked the concept of the event map that was used in the data analysis.