Classroom research is the formal study of teaching and learning in a classroom setting. It aims to answer questions about how well students are learning and how effectively teachers are teaching. Through observation, collecting student feedback, and carefully designed experiments, teachers can learn more about how students learn and respond to different teaching approaches. Classroom research allows less control over variables than laboratory research but can study behaviors in their natural context. Combined approaches using different methods are needed to fully understand the complexity of second language learning.

1. Professor: Dr.Hadi Salehi
Presented by: Imaneh Amini

2. What is Classroom Research?
The formal study of teaching and learning. It
attempts to answer two fundamental questions:
• how well are students learning ?
• how effectively are teachers teaching?
Through close observation, the collection of
feedback on student learning and the careful
design of experiments, classroom teachers can
learn more about:
• how students learn
• how students respond to particular teaching
approaches.

3. Classroom
research
Laboratory based
research
V.S.
Allows the researcher to:
• tightly control the
experimental
variables.
• Randomly assign
subjects to treatment
groups.
• Employ control
groups.
No control

4. Combined approaches to
classroom research
Studies must be carried out in different
contexts and a range of different
approaches must be used to gain a deeper
understanding of the complexity of
second language learning.

5. • Observational data are common in second language
research.
• Useful for gathering in-depth information about some
phenomena occurring in L2/FL classrooms.
 Types of language
 Activities
 Interactions
 Instructions
 Events

6. • Can allow the study of a behavior at close range with many
important contextual variables present.
Contextual variables are environmental
factors
e.g.
Location of the school
Size of school/ classroom

7. 1. Obtrusive observer.
2. The Hawthorne effect.
3. Objectivity and subjectivity
4. Obtaining permission & requesting the
instructor’s help.
5. Debriefing the instructor.

8. The presence of obtrusive
observer may be felt in the
classroom to the extent
that the events observed
cannot be said to fully
represent the class in its
typical behavior.
The observation data will be of
limited validity.

9. Young learners get
distracted by observers.
Prevent instructors from
delivering the lesson to the best
of their ability.
+
Prevent students from learning
to the best of theirs.
Compromise the quality
of the lesson.

10. Between 1924 and 1932, the Hawthorne Works
Company near Chicago commissioned Elton Mayo
to determine if the level of light within their
building affected the productivity of the
workers.
Mayo found that the level of light made no
difference in the productivity, as the workers
increased output whenever the amount of light was
switched from a low level to a high level, or vice
versa.
They increased productivity, simply because
they were happy to receive attention from
researchers.

11. Accordingly,
• In observational research it may be
difficult to be sure that the observed
classes are the same without
observation.
• In controlled research it may be
difficult to separate the Hawthorne
effects from experimental variables.

12. May reduce the
Hawthorne
effect
students and
teachers begin to
feel more
comfortable and
natural about
being observed
Use of
time-
series
designs
Mellow,1996

13. • Instructors often observe each others classes for
professional development / may carry out
observations of their own classes.
• The level of objectivity and subjectivity may be
questionable.
• Therefore it is necessary for researchers to strive for
objectivity and be aware of the subjective elements in
that effort.

14. It is important to obtain the permission of the instructor
in advance of the scheduled observation(s)
Professional courtesy
Seating
arrangement
Arrival time
Help the instructor lessen any impact of observation
on lesson planning and implementation
Introduce
researcher
Previsits
Feedback

15. • Debrief the instructor about the
research findings or the content of
the observation notes of scheme.
Establish a more trusting and
cooperative relationship with
instructors.

16. • Clearly express appreciation to the
instructor, students and administration.
By:
• Thanks
• Acknowledgements
• Sending copies
For fostering good relationship
between instructors and future
researchers.

17.  Consider the goals of the research and the
observation
 Prevent duplication of effort by adapting
existing codes or schemes
 Existing schemes vary in complexity and
organization
 In most observation schemes, the observer
marks the frequency of an observed behavior or
event at regular time interval. E.g.

18. Part 1
Real time, low
inference checklist for
describing:
• Live classroom
activities
• Linguistic content
• Skill focus
• Teaching behaviors
• Student actions
Part 2
High inference rating
scale to be completed after
the observation
A 5-point scale for
categories such as:
• Enthusiasm
• Humor
• Negative/Positive
reinforcement

19. High inference categories
require judgement, such as the
function or meaning of the
observed event.
Low inference categories
Observers reach high levels of
agreement and reliability in
real-time coding situation.

20. Classroom Observation Tally Sheet From Nunan
(1989)

21. • Developed in the 1980s to describe differences in
communicative language teaching.
• Focuses on pedagogical and verbal behavior.
Part A
 For real-time coding.
 More than 40 categories
are provided for:
• Participant
organization
• Activities
• Topic type
• Content
• Control
Part B
For post-observational
analysis of tape-recordings

22. Common elements in observation
coding schemes:
Many schemes include categories for:
• Participants identity and groupings
• Content or topic of the lesson
• Types of activities and material used.
• Language employed
• The targeted skill

23.  Relative ease of use.
 Comparability with other studies
 Simplified analysis of complicated and rich classroom
data.
 Possibility of measuring change over different time
periods.
 More reliable focus on facets related to the research
problem.
 Different classroom contexts can be compared

24. CAVEAT TO USING OR MODIFYING
EXISTING OBSERVATION SCHEMES
 Determine if the scheme is appropriate for the
research goals.
 To be valid the finding must be the result of
appropriate and applicable schemes.
 Consider the type of findings that are likely to emerge
from an observation scheme.
 With most coding schemes only one rater observes
the data.
 The use of predetermined categories limit and restrict
the observer’s perceptions, important patterns could
be missed.

25. Data elicitation techniques that encourage
learners to communicate their internal
processing and perspectives about language
learning experience which cannot be detected by
observation approaches.
Definition
Methods
1. Uptake Sheets
2. Stimulated Recalls
3. Diary Research

26. Uptake:
Whatever is that
the learners get
from all the
language learning
opportunities
provided by
language lessons.
• Allow researchers to investigate learners’
perceptions about what they are learning.
• Often distributed at the beginning of the
lesson.
• Learners are asked to mark or note things
on which the researcher or teacher is
focusing.
• Helps creating a more detailed picture of
classroom events in the process.

27. Who said it? (check as
many as you want)
Was this new to
you?
What are you
noticing about…..
Teach
er
Class-
mate
Me Book Yes,
new
No,
heard
of it
No,
knew
it
Pronunciation
.
.
.
.
Vocabulary
.
.
.
.
Grammar
.
.
.
.

28. • The observer makes an audio or video
recording and plays it to the participant,
stopping to ask what they think in a
particular point.
• Provide researcher with access to the learners’
interpretations of the events that were observed.
• A valuable source of information for researchers
interested in viewing a finely detailed picture of the
classroom.

29. • A first person account of a language
learning or a teaching experience.
• Documented through regular candid entries
in a personal journal and then analyzed for
recurrent patterns and salient events.
(Bailey, 1990)
Definition

30. THANK YOU