The choice of such a language, or inner symbol system, is not always a conscious one. It is embodied in the history of an individual, beginning with his or her efforts as reflection that first developed in childhood. But the transformation of what is heard, seen, or touched is dependent upon the individual skill of the human mind in representing experience as images, as inner speech, as movement of ideas. Through these varied languages of thought, the meanings of these experiences are stored and organized.
Experienced thinkers' reports and recollections aid in the depiction of varied transformations that lead from the young child's play to the formation of a powerful, internal mode of representation. Of central importance to the formation of language for thought, and to the development of one's talent, are the varied apprenticeships of intellectual and artistic work."
John-Steiner (1985). Notebooks of the mind: Explorations of thinking, New York: Harper Row Perennial Library, p. 8.
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John-Steiner's quote is a way to introduce your QUEST for your question as an artistic process drawing from the rich reserves of your talented lives. As you search for your question, remember to search for what has been and what is meanigful to you and use these metaphors to make connections. (Johann Gutenburg's printing press merged the wine press and coin press into something new that is still revolutionizing the world.)
Enjoy the process and the art of discovering your practitioner research question this Fall semester in LLSS 501. To a transformational semester for us both!
Frances Vitali, your practitioner research guide
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The word research originates from the French word recerche meaning to inviestigate thoroughly; careful or diligent search; studious inquiry or examination (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, p. 1003).
The word research was coined in the 1870's by reformers of Cambridge and Oxford universities who wanted to make these institutions more than a place for teaching but a place of learning. Scholarship referred to creative work carried out in a variety of ways and places and its integrity was measured by the ability to think, communicate and learn (Ernest Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered).
Teacher research has a long history evident in the work of educators such as Pestalozzi, Rousseau, Herbart, Montessori and more recently, Nancy Atwell (Hubbard & Power, 1999, p. 5-6). The systematic methodology of using student observations for understanding students to improve learning and teaching efficacy is credited to Herbert, Montessori, Atwell and now you. It was Lawrence Stenhouse in England who realized that successful teacher research is nurtured within a research community.
Welcome to the practitioner research movement. You are now in it and part of a research community.
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A QUESTION!
In 1997, I asked children at Lake Valley Navajo School in first, second, seventh and eight grades to define what a question meant to them.
The first and second graders anchored their definition within contexts which were very practical and relevant to them. They explained within the context of a situation, each wanting to define question within the context of his or her own situational story. You go to the store and you want to buy something, you see if you have enough money to get it was one situation given, for example.
The seventh and eighth graders defined question responding with emotional charactersitics identifying feelings of happiness, sadness, frustration and anxiety. In knowing or finding the answer, words such as happy, no worries, serious, smart were offered. In not finding a solution to the question, words such as nervous, stressed, angry, give up, scared were offered. These older students collectively defined question as: "When you don't know something; when you're curious and want to know more. Then you get anxious, feel weird, then get scared. You accummulate information and do your research."
The seventh and eighth grade Navajo instructional assistant suggested a metaphor in describing the question state explaining: "that if you don't know and want to know something, you are hungry. To seek out the answer is the only way to satisfy your emotions. Your brain is hungry for facts and information." What happens if you don't find the information, I ask? His reply: "Then you will be starving for information."
Eat up and enjoy the delicious questions of your research.
Frances
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