1F Research Methods

Planned Method of Research

To address the research question “How can student self-evaluation impact critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion among students of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and needs to bridge inclusive gaps?”, I plan to use a mixed-methods approach that includes quantitative, qualitative, and thematic analysis. This multi-faceted approach is designed to offer a comprehensive understanding of self-evaluation’s varied impacts, aligning with Paulo Freire’s pedagogical aims of fostering critical consciousness and dialogic education. Each method is chosen for its potential to illuminate different aspects of student self-evaluation, contributing to a nuanced understanding of its effects.

Survey Methodology (Quantitative): Surveys will serve as the quantitative component of this research, aiming to collect numerical data from a broad participant base. This method will quantify students’ perceptions and experiences of self-evaluation, such as comfort levels and clarity of instructions. Through statistical analysis of survey data, I anticipate identifying clear patterns and trends that reveal the general impact of self-evaluation on critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion. Quantitative methods align with Freire’s goals by providing empirical evidence on the efficacy of self-evaluation practices, potentially highlighting areas where educational processes can be made more reflective and empowering for students.

Visual Ethnography (Qualitative): Visual ethnography, a qualitative method, will explore the deeper, subjective experiences of students engaging in self-evaluation. By analyzing drawings and photographs, this approach aims to capture the emotional and physical nuances of students’ interactions with self-evaluation. Qualitative insights gained from visual ethnography are expected to reveal the complexities of students’ internal and external responses to self-evaluation, offering a rich, contextual understanding of their experiences. This method supports Freire’s emphasis on the importance of understanding the lived realities of learners, facilitating educational practices that are responsive to individual needs and experiences.

Focus Groups (Thematic Analysis): Focus groups will be utilized to conduct thematic analysis, a qualitative research technique that identifies, analyzes, and reports patterns (themes) within data. This method will allow for in-depth discussions among students about their self-evaluation experiences, from which I will extract and analyze recurring themes. By understanding the themes that emerge from students’ narratives, this research aims to uncover the underlying dynamics of how self-evaluation affects critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion. Thematic analysis aligns with Freire’s pedagogical aims by promoting a dialogic approach to education, where students’ voices and perspectives directly inform the development of more inclusive and reflective educational practices.

Incorporating quantitative, qualitative, and thematic methods will provide a comprehensive picture of the impacts of self-evaluation, reflecting the complexity of students’ experiences and the educational context. This mixed-methods approach not only aligns with Freire’s aim of creating a problem-posing education that encourages active dialogue and critical reflection but also ensures that the research is grounded in both empirical evidence and the nuanced realities of students’ lives. Through this research, I hope to contribute to the development of self-evaluation practices that are empowering, compassionate, and conducive to the growth of all students, fostering an educational environment that bridges gaps and celebrates diversity.

Result of Research Methods

Summary Findings

Focus Group Summary

Mentimeter Survey Summary

Field Notes Summary

Next Steps

Following the completion of the research project that delved into how student self-evaluation impacts critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion, I’ve embarked on a reflective journey that intertwines the insights from Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy with the practical challenges and discoveries encountered through my research methods. This study, utilizing a mixed-methods approach with quantitative surveys, qualitative visual ethnography, and focus group discussions, aimed to provide a comprehensive view of the diverse experiences students face with self-evaluation.

The process revealed the nuanced ways in which self-evaluation practices can influence students’ learning experiences, underscoring the potential to enhance critical thinking while also highlighting the anxiety that such evaluations can provoke, especially among students from varied backgrounds. The focus group discussions, in particular, offered profound insights into the emotional and cognitive impacts of self-evaluation, challenging me to think deeply about the educator’s role in facilitating a supportive and inclusive environment.

My engagement with Freire’s work, especially the caution against reducing dialogical teaching to a mere technique, has been a critical backdrop to this investigation. It prompted me to critically assess not just the outcomes of self-evaluation but also the processes and interactions that frame these experiences. This reflection has led to an acknowledgment of the gaps in my approach, particularly in fully integrating the complexities of identity, power, and history into the self-evaluation framework.

The project serves as a reminder of the importance of continually questioning and refining our pedagogical approaches, ensuring they are aligned with both the research objectives and the transformative aims of education. As such, this work stands as an initial exploration into the intricate dynamics of self-evaluation in education, signaling the beginning of a deeper, more critical engagement with both Freirean pedagogy and the methodological rigor required to explore complex educational phenomena.

Survey Results (Quantitative Analysis): The survey provided a clear quantitative framework for understanding student experiences with self-evaluation. Key points include:

A portion of students reported an enhancement in critical thinking skills, indicating that self-evaluation can foster deeper analytical engagement with their learning processes.
Conversely, the survey also revealed a significant level of anxiety among students, particularly those who found the self-evaluation criteria or process to be unclear or daunting. This suggests that without adequate guidance, self-evaluation may exacerbate stress rather than alleviate it.
The data indicated a nuanced impact on compassion, with some students feeling more empathetic towards themselves and peers, while others felt isolated by the process, pointing to a need for more collaborative and guided self-evaluation frameworks.

The survey results, thus, highlighted the dual nature of self-evaluation’s impact, underscoring the importance of clarity, support, and structure in its implementation.

Visual Ethnography (Qualitative Insights): Visual ethnography provided a deeper, qualitative insight into the emotional and experiential aspects of self-evaluation:

Visual data captured a range of student emotions, from engagement and introspection to frustration and anxiety. This diversity in emotional response underlines the complexity of self-evaluation as a tool for learning and personal growth.
The imagery also illustrated the critical need for adaptive self-evaluation methods that can cater to the diverse needs and backgrounds of students, as a one-size-fits-all approach seemed to contribute to feelings of exclusion and anxiety for some.

The qualitative insights from visual ethnography, therefore, added depth to the understanding of self-evaluation’s impacts, echoing the critical need for inclusivity and customization in educational practices.

Focus Groups (Thematic Analysis with AI): Thematic analysis from focus group discussions brought to light several critical themes:

Discussions reflected a critique of self-evaluation processes that lack clear guidance and fail to consider diverse student needs, reinforcing survey findings on the sources of anxiety and exclusion.
Students expressed a desire for more supportive and inclusive self-evaluation practices, highlighting the potential for such processes to foster not only critical thinking and compassion but also a sense of community and belonging.
Critical reflections on the process itself revealed a consensus on the need for ongoing dialogue between students and educators to refine self-evaluation practices, ensuring they are empowering rather than disempowering.

Focus groups offered a platform for rich, nuanced discussions, presenting critical insights into the implementation and effects of self-evaluation, and suggesting areas for improvement.Reflecting on this journey, my emotional closeness to students and introspective challenges underscored the value of using ChatGPT to achieve an objective analysis, revealing my growth areas as an educator, particularly in enhancing listening skills and embracing the vulnerability inherent in teaching and learning processes.

Conclusion: The research findings reveal a complex landscape where student self-evaluation has the potential to enhance critical thinking and compassion but also poses significant challenges related to anxiety and inclusivity. These outcomes call for a critical examination of current self-evaluation practices, advocating for a more nuanced, supportive, and adaptive approach. Aligning with Paulo Freire’s vision of a reflective and dialogic education, the study underscores the importance of integrating student feedback into the continuous refinement of self-evaluation methods. By addressing the critical challenges identified, educators can work towards developing self-evaluation processes that not only foster academic and personal growth but also contribute to a more inclusive, empathetic, and supportive learning environment.

Annotated Bibliography

The document by Bell, Judith (2010) Doing Your Research Project provides a comprehensive overview of various research approaches in the context of conducting a research project. It discusses the importance of understanding different research methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative research, action research, case studies, surveys, experimental research, ethnography, grounded theory, and narrative inquiry. Each method’s main features, advantages, and limitations are explored, highlighting the significance of choosing the appropriate methodology based on the research question and objectives. The text underscores the complexity of research design and the necessity of ethical considerations across all methodologies, offering insights into the practical aspects of conducting research and the importance of critical engagement with existing literature and methodologies.

Bell, Judith (2010) Doing Your Research Project, McGraw-Hill Education, McGraw-Hill Education ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=771407. Created from ual on 2022-12-12 17:25:49.

Bibliography

Bell, Judith (2010) Doing Your Research Project, McGraw-Hill Education, McGraw-Hill Education ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=771407. Created from ual on 2022-12-12 17:25:49.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th anniversary edn, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos, with an introduction by Donaldo Macedo. New York: Continuum.
Mellow Kyler (2022) YouTube. Video Audiobook: Freire, P. (2018). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 4th edn. [ebook] New York: Bloomsbury Academic: Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NzKrFAaCsA (Accessed: 07 June 2023-03 February 2024).
(2024). “Data Collection Using Drawings, Photographs and Transcript: A Reflexive Approach in Ethnographic Research”, Open AI ChatGPT. [Date of Chat: 05 December 2023 – 03 February 2024].
Noce, K. (2024). “Collection of Pictures: Student Self-Evaluation Observations Documentation” [Digital Photographs].
Noce, K. (2024). “ARP KIM NOCE – Growing Equity – Presentation 9-2-2024” [PDF].

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