ERIC Number: EJ872056
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-7555
EISSN: N/A
Mental Models of Research: Generating Authentic Questions
Donham, Jean; Heinrich, Jill A.; Bostwick, Kerry A.
College Teaching, v58 n1 p8-14 Jan-Mar 2010
In this paper, we question how we might disrupt positivist research paradigms that preclude students from engaging and experiencing ownership in the research process. We question what we, as professors, could do to facilitate the transition from traditional research reporting to a disposition of inquiry that allows for ambiguity and discovery in the research process. Evidence presented was gathered over the course of a two-year qualitative research project completed in a capstone education course. Like most capstone courses, we required a summative research paper, but student work suggested they had minimal interest or enthusiasm for the project. However, by redirecting our students' research interest from traditional research reporting to the generation of authentic research questions drawn from their student teaching experience, a solution emerged. The students' questions provided the basis for the ensuing qualitative inquiry project that afforded them a new and authentic type of inquiry. This paper describes the process our students engaged in to complete this qualitative inquiry, including the identification of the research question and analysis of field notes and documents. It concludes by sharing samples of the students' research questions and findings that illustrate the authentic inquiry and ownership they experienced as a result of the project.
Descriptors: Student Teaching, Research Papers (Students), Qualitative Research, Research Methodology, Figurative Language, Teaching Experience, Inquiry, Teaching Methods, Ownership, Education Courses, College Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A