Challenges of Teacher Inquiry:Action Research is Limited
We are researchers in our classrooms but we feel that our findings are limited to the STEM-Teachers in Action Initiative. We hope that our findings and the process of action research can be applied at our school level and district level. Action Research can be used in any classroom and any subject area, STEM is just one of the areas where this is an effective means for change. There is adequate time for professional development in our collective agreement however Action Research has not yet filtered to the district or department. |
Surveying Young Children For our data collection we chose to survey students to determine their interest in science and their knowledge of science as a subject. It was difficult to do the survey with 6-8 year olds. Interviewing the students one on one helped with the difficulty they had with reading the survey. We were challenged by the fact that they still found it difficult to understand the questions. For example, when they were asked "What is your favorite subject?" they did not know what a subject was since that is not the reference made in a primary classroom. They did not understand the difference in subjects since their day is often cross-curricular. |