The Skillful Teacher

Understanding Our Classrooms
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36
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KILLFUL
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EACHER
important dynamics exist in class that are escaping our attention.
Are some students behaving in ways that work to block the learn-
ing of others? Are teachers doing things they believe are helpful that
are actually confusing learners? Knowing these things helps us take
more informed actions as teachers. When we start to see ourselves
through students’ eyes, we become aware of what Perry (1988) evoca-
tively described as the different worlds in the same classroom. We
learn that different students perceive the same actions, and experi-
ence the same activities, in vastly different ways.
When we know something about the symbolic meanings that
our actions have for students, and the way their backgrounds, per-
sonalities, cultural traditions, and racial identities frame how they
experience learning activities, then we’re better placed to be able
to judge how to behave in ways that have the effects we’re seeking.
For example, if we know that our silence is never meaningless or
innocent to students (they think it either implies tacit approval
or signifies condemnation), then we are reminded of the need con-
stantly to say out loud what we’re thinking. Without the insights
provided by classroom research, it is hard to know how to develop
exercises that will engage students, encourage them to take on
responsibility for their learning, and help them see themselves as
co-creators of knowledge. This is why Shor (1992) argues that “the
first responsibility of critical teachers is to research what students
know, speak, experience, and feel, as starting points from which an
empowering curriculum is developed” (p. 202).
The second function of classroom research is to develop stu-
dents’ reflective capacities. When students complete the different
exercises outlined in this chapter, they cannot help but become
more aware of what and how they are learning. If you believe that
it is important to develop a student’s capacity to be reflective about
her learning (to “learn how to learn” as it is often described), and
if you hope that this habit will then be applied across the lifespan,
then classroom research is a crucial element in this project. Under-
taking classroom research exercises helps students develop the kind
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of epistemic cognition proposed by King and Kitchener (1994) as
the chief objective of higher education. Epistemic cognition is stu-
dents’ ability to say not only what they know but also why they
know it. It involves them providing the grounds for truth that
demonstrate why they have confidence in a piece of knowledge. It
also requires them to describe the procedures they have conducted
that convince them of the accuracy of those grounds. This kind of
cognition can only be developed through an intentional and consis-
tent study of one’s own learning processes and reactions. Developing
such a focus is, of course, at the heart of classroom research. In
this chapter I provide snapshots of four popular classroom research
techniques—the one-minute paper, the muddiest point, the learn-
ing audit, and student learning journals—and then describe in more
detail one instrument (the Critical Incident Questionnaire) that
has been particularly helpful to me in finding out what is really
going on in my classrooms.