Aura Auro team, Kavitha and Nirmala from Isai Ambalam had a session with Heidi_Watts on research in the i-SMART class room.
We started the session with what we wanted to learn. Then we looked at kinds of research as following
Qualitative research – Describe more to prove
- Action research – making a change
- Participatory action research – I am part of it and effecting the outcome and adding myself
- ethnographic research – culture and forms
Quantitative research – Numbers and phenomenon. Prove again and again and say that it works. More about measuring.
- Statistics
- Bell curve – Large number of people (10% needs a large number)
Mixed methods – Some description and some measurements survey, ask the same question in many different ways.
Methods – to be able to use more than one method in a research
Case study/studies – look for one thing; e.g one classroom, one set of children, one child (who is very reluctant and his progress through the term)
Formal observations – check list
Informal observations – observe every day at a particular time
Field notes – taken at class then and there
Journals – to think about the session and reflect later
Interviews, individual and group – one on one with child or with a group
Video and audio tapes – with video on needs to be careful as it changes the way one acts in from of cameras, with audios on can review at a later time.
Surveys – Has sample of different sources and structures in comparison e.g rural/urban, young/old, men/women,
Then we had a look at the work done in kindergarten and how it can be considered a research.
