Why Read Research?

This week, I worked on writing my synthesis paper, in which we need to connect some aspect of education theory to educational technology.  I decided to expand on my annotated bibliography  on computer simulations and discovery learning.  Writing the paper required me to spend a lot of time going back to the articles I'd located and skimmed before to re-read them much more deeply, which lead me to seek out additional articles to read in-depth and resulted in even more time spent digesting dense, dry text.  All of this time pouring over articles from the campus library and Google Scholar leads to the question, why should teachers care about reading research?

Practicing teachers may not be the intended audience of most journal articles, but we are the ones who eventually implement the results of the research.  All too often, an administrator will decide on some new initiative, maybe even bring in a guru to promote it, and tell teachers "All the research supports it!"  Teachers, perhaps with some grumbling along the way, go along with it, accepting the version which has been filtered through numerous sources since the initial research and not entirely sure of what results to expect.

By going back to the peer-reviewed articles that eventually lead to the initiative, it is possible to gain a much clearer understanding of it.  The research lets you know what the originators were trying to accomplish and why its necessary.  With this understanding, teachers can identify what are really the key features of the initiative to more effectively adapt it to their classroom.  The research gives an idea of what kind of results others achieved with the initiative, which can guide the goals a building sets.  The research is how you find out if the administrator is actually right when they say all the research supports it, or if there's more to the story and there are pitfalls you should be wary of.

Over the years, I've made use of discovery learning, tweaking my approach based on my classroom observations as I go.  By reading what the experts have to say about discovery learning, I've begun to refine and improve my discovery lessons.  When managing a classroom and dealing with the grind of the school year, it isn't always possible to make in-depth observations and thoughtful reflections, limiting how well I'm able to identify the issues in the way I approach discovery learning.  An examination of the research however, has helped me see why certain portions are difficult for my students, which means I can now take specific steps to address those issues.

The reading I did on computer simulations can also inform my classroom practice.  Even if I never design my own simulations, I still make choices about how and when to use simulations, along with which ones to use and how to structure activities around them.  Reading the articles I did gave me insight into what it is that makes some simulations so much more effective than others, which will in turn guide my future decisions about using simulations.  In addition, even when a simulation lacks features which the research has shown are effective, there may be ways I can provide similar tools to my students.  I read about several that provide simple text reminders of what makes for good experimental design, and there's no reason I can't provide something like that to my students.

Most peer-reviewed journal articles are not targeted at the practicing classroom teacher, but they are still a valuable tool.  Spending time pouring over articles has given me insights that will improve my teaching next fall.  The ideas I got from reading educational research may not be as quick or easy to implement as a neat lab from a publication like The Science Teacher, but they have the potential for a lasting impact on my practice.