What does research mean to me?

What does research mean to me?

May 9, 2011

When I think of research I think of many things. In my daily life I do make decisions based on quantitative research. Over the years I drank coffee and then stopped and then started again. Each time was in response to research that said it was good or bad for you and then good again. Currently the research seems to claim that coffee is good for you. BUT I choose not to drink coffee because I choose another “poison”. Chocolate!

Research claims that 70% chocolate is good for you (DeNoon, 2003).  So that is how I get my caffeine kick! The only problem is that more recent research suggests that dark chocolate is only good for you in moderation (Parikh, 2011). Oops. Who do I believe? I need to look at my sources. Both of the references I have used here are web-based. Are they trustworthy? Both claim to be medical sites. But?

In this case I need to add my personal experience to help me make this judgement. If I eat too much chocolate I feel sick. And I feel a bit woozy like I do if I have too much caffeine. When I have just a little I feel good and I always love the taste. I have also read that 70% chocolate in moderation is good for you in many other reputable places such as the health newsletters that I get Nutrition Action and Consumer Report Health. The Web sites confirm what is said in my ongoing newsletters and my own experience.  Thus I continue to eat dark chocolate to feel good and to get a small jolt of caffeine  (instead of coffee).

At work, I am often the researcher and not the decision maker. I am trying to explore what is to increase understanding.  My research on assessment is actually based on a seminal piece of work by Black and Wiliam (1998). They did a meta-analysis of existing robust studies on classroom assessment to conclude that a certain type of assessment “assessment for learning” improves student achievement.  This was a very bold conclusion that changed the face of assessment and how educators think about it. Now educators strive to use assessment so that the student actually learns from it – rather than regurgitates memorized facts and promptly forgets. Further work done by Black et al. (2004) further describes assessment for learning.  Still it is an ongoing battle and educators are slow to implement this proven strategy.

My own research is qualitative and asks the question “What was your best experience with assessment?”  My team of researchers decided that we really don’t know what is the best way to assess until we ask how people how they actually experience successful assessment. So I have been involved in a 3-year federally funded qualitative study with 2 school boards where we have asked educators about their best experiences. As well, we have collected stories of best assessment from education students and other teachers and administrators in the field. We have over 220 stories so far. A summary of this research is being presented this Tuesday at the Ministry of Education/Faculty of Education conference May 10, 2011 (Drake, Beckett & Reid, 2011).

You will learn about my research in class as we explore qualitative research and how your stories fit in with what we have learned. Hopefully it will be interesting and enrich your understanding of both qualitative research methods and assessment for learning.   I look forward to hearing your stories.

I also want you to know that there are other kinds of research beyond quantitative and qualitative. For example, there is historical research and conceptual research. These types of research use the same process as “empirical” research but do not actually use living human participants. More on this later.

References

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C, Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 9-21.

Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80,  45 - 52

DeNoon, D. (2003). Dark chocolate has its benefits not seen in other varieties. WebMD News. http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

Drake, S. Beckett, D. & Reid, J. (2011, May). Exploring best stories of assessment experiences. Paper presented at MOE/FOE Conference, University of Toronto, ON.

Parikh, L. (2011). Is dark chocolate good for you? Clinical correlations. http://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/?p=4150