Research Blog Three
Battistich, V., Solomon, D., Watson, M. & Schaps, E. (2010). Caring School Communities; Creating a Caring Community in the Classroom. Published online; Routledge. 08 Jun 2010.
Strengths, Contributions and Ways to Improve; Graphic Organizer
Organization: The article was well organized and well written. The argument was developed and the analysis was informative.
Contribution to Field: The article’s contribution to the field was meaningful and significant.
Literature Review: The article did not provide a literature review.
Theoretical Framework/Lens: The article clearly demonstrated coherent theoretical framework. The research focused on creating a community of caring in the classroom.
Data Collection: Data was collected from The Child Development Project, as well as various sources.
Analysis: The article had a philosophical impact on current education action research.
Findings: The findings of the video were inconclusive however, the research does outline some assumptions about culturally relevant pedagogy and its meaning for intercultural learning.
Discussion/Conclusions: The article provides a formula for creating a successful classroom environment.
Minor Editorial Comments: No editorial comments for the article.
Miscellaneous: No miscellaneous comments for the article at this time.
Caring School Communities; Creating a Caring Community in the Classroom
The article; Creating a Caring Community in the Classroom discussed school change and intervention aimed at enhancing students social and ethical developments. This article was selected to advance my understanding of the culture of a great classroom environment. Furthermore, the subject is directly aligned with the week four theme of “leadership and innovation within action research”. What can be understood by researching prosocial development, providing students with opportunities to reach academic and social goals and provide meaningful pedagogy is the crux of this article.
The research for the study was conduct with teachers at three elementary schools that implemented the program over a 7-year period. The research team evaluated the program’s effectiveness by following a longitudinal cohort of students in those schools and in three other similar schools.
The major findings from the article were; schools differ greatly in the extent to which they can be characterized as caring communities. Second, school community is significantly related to a large number of desirable outcomes for both students and teachers. Third, a particular set of classroom activities and practices is related to the sense of community, with student behaviors.
How does the article relate to my own experiences? This article was very specific to my community of practice. As a former middle school teacher I was constantly seeking new ways to create a sense of “community” in the classroom. The data and research in the article was robust, in that it offered an analytical approach to building a successful classroom environment. This is a prime example of impact. As I reflect on my own experiences as a middle school classroom teacher, the research reminded me of the on-going efforts to create and maintain a professional learning community.
The Impact of the article on education research?
In my opinion, this article had a profound impact on my education action research. As a researcher, I find myself looking for new information and new methodologies to add to my bucket of knowledge. I chose this article because it provided me with a better understanding of classroom culture which is directly aligned with my area of inquiry. The article offered fresh perspectives and good insight that will benefit my area of inquiry in various ways. I hope to use this research to support my argument and to report a fresh perspective on an age old are of concern, the classroom.
Kermit
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