Personally, I feel like my comfort level relating to “mess” varies depending on the topic. If we are speaking about organizational mess, I can’t handle it. I like things to be neatly organized and easily accessible. My desk is clean, my house is clean, and the interior of my car is clean. In regards to my research I think this is a beneficial trait in both qualitative and quantitative research. When speaking about mess in another aspect for instance, in relation to a vast array of varied information, I appreciate the complexity of mess. I think of this type of mess somewhat like an abstract painting. From afar different aspects of the painting appear disjointed and at odds. Visually, the picture makes the viewer feel out of balance and conflicted. However, as one moves closer to the painting, the viewer will be able to better focus in on various aspects of the work allowing him/her to gain a different perspective in addition to their first impression. This analogy speaks to how I would like to view mess as it relates to ongoing research. From afar things might appear hopeless and conflicted. But as an interested scholar, I will hope to zoom in on various parts of the whole in order to see what previously might have been overlooked. This idea is both intimidating and exciting. In regards to my proposed teacher research project, I anticipate the coding process throughout the course of my data collection to be the messiest aspect. Sifting through the student photographs, transcribed student interviews, participation charts, videotaped class experiences, student survey responses, and my personal research journal in search of emergent themes will, I’m sure, prove to be the messiest work. However, I do not anticipate this to be the most difficult part of the project. Where I think uncovering emergent themes will be mess, I think the classification of these emergent themes into relevant, categorical topics for discussion will be the most difficult aspect of the study.
Jeff, part of the messiness is just what you mentioned in the last paragraph--determining what themes and claims emerge from your data. How you unlearn what you think you know is huge, and being open to this is so important.
Jeff, I really like your analogy of the abstract painting. At first glance abstract art can see confusing and overwhelming, but after looking at it longer you begin to make sense of it in some ways that can be very telling about a) your own thoughts and b) about the artist’s thoughts. I agree that there is a lot of excitement in looking towards the future when there will be some very clear a-ha moments when considering a) myself as teacher-researcher and b) considering my students’ reading identities. Most of the time I am comfortable with the mess. However, I have a lot of emotion mixed up my research and I have to separate some of that out from the actual research. It is okay to admit my subjectivities and be passionate about the topic; however, it is not okay to be as emotionally messy as the data! I am comfortable with the idea of data collection and analysis being messy. Right now though we aren’t at the that stage so the messiness of shaping research questions, defining terms, finding new literature, exploring new terms (i. e. New Literacies) and figuring where and how I fit in those terms is certainly a complicated process. I value this messy process. I value when my peers and my professors push my thinking, and I value when my thinking changes! Considering a students’ reading identity is messy. Recently I’ve been feeling like my field notes are too much about a student’s identity as whole and not enough about a student’s reading identity. So now I think it becomes important to figure out what I am looking at as a reading identity – what behaviors, actions, thoughts, words make up a reading identity compared to a student’s whole identity? Isn’t the need to be “cool” part of a student’s identity so really the question then is how does a student’s identity influence his/her reading identity?
I love that you name the emotional part of this process, Kristin! so much of OUR teaching identities are tied up with whether we see our students succeeding or failing. Maybe a Venn diagram would help with trying to locate the distinguishing features of reading identities versus identities in general.
Well, we all seem to know by now that yes, I have a problem with being messy. I am neat and organized and I never leave my home or classroom in disarray. I am a true Virgo. Virgo’s are the perfectionists of the zodiac signs who like organization and have an acute attention to detail. Before I even begin my research project I feel that I am in a mess. I am confused and unsure of myself which is something that I am just not use to. I’m really not sure that I have a good umbrella question and that bothers me. Is it the question that bothers me, or the class that has me feeling this way? As I stated before, it’s been a challenging year for me and lately I have been experiencing some of the chaos coming back that was there in the beginning of the year. In addition, I’m not sure that my field notes are being filled with the information I need to help me answer my questions. Will I be able to get the information I need through surveys knowing that my students are so reluctant to answer questions? It is like pulling teeth to get them to respond to reading comprehension questions. Oh, the unknown. So, I anticipate that collecting data for my research project is going to be “messy.” I already find myself messy by writing on sticky notes and small pieces of paper to throw in my notebook as I observe my students so I don’t loose those important pieces of information. I know that it will only get messier as time goes on. For the sake of research, I will be able to accept my messiness because it is important in the process of completing my teacher researcher project.
I should've known you were a Virgo, Brenda! As an Aquarian, trust me, I need folks like you :). I love your question about whether it's the question or the class that is bothering you. We will work on constructing surveys, so that may make you feel a little more confident. it's okay not to know what you are doing, btw. You are a novice researcher, and the learning will come in fits and starts.
I like to think that I am pretty comfortable with mess. My desk is an organized mess. There are piles, messy drawers, and baskets. However, I know where everything is. Does it bother me? Sure, but I can get the job done and live in it comfortably. My house is clean, and neat, but there are messy areas. There’s a “junk drawer” in the kitchen that odds and ends get thrown into. The closet in the spare room is a mess of storage. However, just as my desk I know where everything is and can find it within a moment’s notice. My problem, or rather internal conflict lies when I am motivated to tackle the mess. I always struggle with a starting point. Usually I end up tackling a few areas and going back and forth between them until the mess is straightened out. This mess is easy to fix because I have an end goal in mind and I know what it should look like. The mess in terms of this research project, I am learning, I am not very comfortable with. It appears that from the start my project is a mess. Finding a starting point is messy, coming up with questions only to tweak them to the point of wanting to cross them out altogether. Formulating the questions when you have the idea is difficult, especially since there is not a yes or no answer at the end, but hopefully valuable insights to be gained. Also, not knowing what the end is supposed to look like is a messy challenge. The framework itself is neat and tidy, but pulling out the value in the data you have gathered gives me the impression that the tidiness will soon be gone. Overall, I would say that my impression of the mess that the research project creates provokes a range of feelings.
Indeed, Ashly! As Kristin noted, this is an emotional as well as academic process. We are confronting the difficult issues in our teaching, and frankly, that's hard, but necessary work. as Campano said, being a TR is having a vulnerable identity--a willingness to admit we don't know if, for example, we are being effective, to what extent, and/or how to work with students and conditions who defy our best efforts. It's all part of the process.
Personally, I feel like my comfort level relating to “mess” varies depending on the topic. If we are speaking about organizational mess, I can’t handle it. I like things to be neatly organized and easily accessible. My desk is clean, my house is clean, and the interior of my car is clean. In regards to my research I think this is a beneficial trait in both qualitative and quantitative research. When speaking about mess in another aspect for instance, in relation to a vast array of varied information, I appreciate the complexity of mess. I think of this type of mess somewhat like an abstract painting. From afar different aspects of the painting appear disjointed and at odds. Visually, the picture makes the viewer feel out of balance and conflicted. However, as one moves closer to the painting, the viewer will be able to better focus in on various aspects of the work allowing him/her to gain a different perspective in addition to their first impression. This analogy speaks to how I would like to view mess as it relates to ongoing research. From afar things might appear hopeless and conflicted. But as an interested scholar, I will hope to zoom in on various parts of the whole in order to see what previously might have been overlooked. This idea is both intimidating and exciting.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to my proposed teacher research project, I anticipate the coding process throughout the course of my data collection to be the messiest aspect. Sifting through the student photographs, transcribed student interviews, participation charts, videotaped class experiences, student survey responses, and my personal research journal in search of emergent themes will, I’m sure, prove to be the messiest work. However, I do not anticipate this to be the most difficult part of the project. Where I think uncovering emergent themes will be mess, I think the classification of these emergent themes into relevant, categorical topics for discussion will be the most difficult aspect of the study.
Jeff, part of the messiness is just what you mentioned in the last paragraph--determining what themes and claims emerge from your data. How you unlearn what you think you know is huge, and being open to this is so important.
DeleteJeff, I really like your analogy of the abstract painting. At first glance abstract art can see confusing and overwhelming, but after looking at it longer you begin to make sense of it in some ways that can be very telling about a) your own thoughts and b) about the artist’s thoughts. I agree that there is a lot of excitement in looking towards the future when there will be some very clear a-ha moments when considering a) myself as teacher-researcher and b) considering my students’ reading identities.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time I am comfortable with the mess. However, I have a lot of emotion mixed up my research and I have to separate some of that out from the actual research. It is okay to admit my subjectivities and be passionate about the topic; however, it is not okay to be as emotionally messy as the data! I am comfortable with the idea of data collection and analysis being messy. Right now though we aren’t at the that stage so the messiness of shaping research questions, defining terms, finding new literature, exploring new terms (i. e. New Literacies) and figuring where and how I fit in those terms is certainly a complicated process. I value this messy process. I value when my peers and my professors push my thinking, and I value when my thinking changes!
Considering a students’ reading identity is messy. Recently I’ve been feeling like my field notes are too much about a student’s identity as whole and not enough about a student’s reading identity. So now I think it becomes important to figure out what I am looking at as a reading identity – what behaviors, actions, thoughts, words make up a reading identity compared to a student’s whole identity? Isn’t the need to be “cool” part of a student’s identity so really the question then is how does a student’s identity influence his/her reading identity?
I love that you name the emotional part of this process, Kristin! so much of OUR teaching identities are tied up with whether we see our students succeeding or failing. Maybe a Venn diagram would help with trying to locate the distinguishing features of reading identities versus identities in general.
DeleteWell, we all seem to know by now that yes, I have a problem with being messy. I am neat and organized and I never leave my home or classroom in disarray. I am a true Virgo. Virgo’s are the perfectionists of the zodiac signs who like organization and have an acute attention to detail.
ReplyDeleteBefore I even begin my research project I feel that I am in a mess. I am confused and unsure of myself which is something that I am just not use to. I’m really not sure that I have a good umbrella question and that bothers me. Is it the question that bothers me, or the class that has me feeling this way? As I stated before, it’s been a challenging year for me and lately I have been experiencing some of the chaos coming back that was there in the beginning of the year. In addition, I’m not sure that my field notes are being filled with the information I need to help me answer my questions. Will I be able to get the information I need through surveys knowing that my students are so reluctant to answer questions? It is like pulling teeth to get them to respond to reading comprehension questions. Oh, the unknown.
So, I anticipate that collecting data for my research project is going to be “messy.” I already find myself messy by writing on sticky notes and small pieces of paper to throw in my notebook as I observe my students so I don’t loose those important pieces of information. I know that it will only get messier as time goes on. For the sake of research, I will be able to accept my messiness because it is important in the process of completing my teacher researcher project.
I should've known you were a Virgo, Brenda! As an Aquarian, trust me, I need folks like you :). I love your question about whether it's the question or the class that is bothering you. We will work on constructing surveys, so that may make you feel a little more confident. it's okay not to know what you are doing, btw. You are a novice researcher, and the learning will come in fits and starts.
DeleteI like to think that I am pretty comfortable with mess. My desk is an organized mess. There are piles, messy drawers, and baskets. However, I know where everything is. Does it bother me? Sure, but I can get the job done and live in it comfortably. My house is clean, and neat, but there are messy areas. There’s a “junk drawer” in the kitchen that odds and ends get thrown into. The closet in the spare room is a mess of storage. However, just as my desk I know where everything is and can find it within a moment’s notice.
ReplyDeleteMy problem, or rather internal conflict lies when I am motivated to tackle the mess. I always struggle with a starting point. Usually I end up tackling a few areas and going back and forth between them until the mess is straightened out. This mess is easy to fix because I have an end goal in mind and I know what it should look like.
The mess in terms of this research project, I am learning, I am not very comfortable with. It appears that from the start my project is a mess. Finding a starting point is messy, coming up with questions only to tweak them to the point of wanting to cross them out altogether. Formulating the questions when you have the idea is difficult, especially since there is not a yes or no answer at the end, but hopefully valuable insights to be gained. Also, not knowing what the end is supposed to look like is a messy challenge. The framework itself is neat and tidy, but pulling out the value in the data you have gathered gives me the impression that the tidiness will soon be gone.
Overall, I would say that my impression of the mess that the research project creates provokes a range of feelings.
Indeed, Ashly! As Kristin noted, this is an emotional as well as academic process. We are confronting the difficult issues in our teaching, and frankly, that's hard, but necessary work. as Campano said, being a TR is having a vulnerable identity--a willingness to admit we don't know if, for example, we are being effective, to what extent, and/or how to work with students and conditions who defy our best efforts. It's all part of the process.
Delete