What is pedagogic research

1
What is pedagogic research?

• Dr Sue Morón-García
• Pedagogic Researcher
• engCETL

2
Pedagogy Research

• Pedagogy
• a contested term (Cannon 2001)
• Some definitions
• pedagogy, teaching learning, education
• Some useful resources
• Research
• Definitions
• The Research Assessment Exercise
• Pedagogic scholarship

3
Pedagogy?

• Pedagogy is the processes and relationships of
  learning and teaching
• Stierer, B., Antoniou, M. (2004, p.277)

4
Pedagogy?

• Shirley Booth uses pedagogy to signify
  particular sorts of meetings between students,
  teachers and knowledge, where there is an
  intention to learn. it is less
  encompassing than education which can include
  institutions, political and professional
  regulations, and the needs and demands of
  society, as well as pedagogy. (2004, p.22)

5
Pedagogy / Education

• Wellington, J. (2000). Educational research
  Contemporary issues and practical approaches.
  London Continuum.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K. (2000).
  Research Methods in Education. London
  RoutledgeFalmer.
• Opie, C. (Ed.). (2004). Doing educational
  research A Guide to First Time Researchers.
  London Sage Publications Ltd.

6
Research

• Is NOT intelligence gathering i.e. just finding
  out something you dont know
• It goes beyond description and requires
  analysis. It looks for explanations,
  relationships, comparisons, predictions,
  generalisations and theories.
• (Phillips and Pugh, 2000 47-48)

7
Research

• Research provides the means of generating,
  testing and validating knowledge
• Research is a systematic process of
  investigation, the general purpose of which is to
  contribute to the body of knowledge that shapes
  and guides academic and /or practice disciplines
  
• Research is about advancing knowledge and
  understanding
• Research is finding out something and making it
  public
• Brew (2001, p. 21)

8
The RAE definition

• research which enhances theoretical and/or
  conceptual understanding of
• teaching and learning processes in HE
• teacher and learner experiences in HE
• the environment or contexts in which teaching
  and learning in HE take place
• teaching and learning outcomes in HE
• the relationships between these processes,
  outcomes and contexts.

9
The RAE definition

• Reports of studies providing descriptive and
  anecdotal accounts of teaching developments and
  evaluations do not constitute pedagogic research.
• Pedagogic research is firmly situated in its
  relevant literature, and high quality pedagogic
  research makes a substantial contribution to that
  literature.

10
Pedagogic scholarship
Relationship between research and other forms of
investigation (Ashwin Trigwell, 2004, p.122)
11
Other types of scholarship

• Scholarship of teaching and learning
• evidence-based critical reflection on practice
• aimed at improving practice
• Surveys of academic staff and student experiences
  of teaching and learning
• collection and analysis of current experiences
• of teaching and learning
• (Prosser 2005)

• Investigations and evaluations
• enhance our understanding of a local problem
• or issue, providing recommendations for
• policy and/or action firmly situated in the
• relevant literature
• Literature reviews
• collection and analysis of literature aimed at
• describing the various ways in which the
• object of the review is thought about, and
• recommendations for practice

12
References

• Booth, S. (2004). Engineering education and the
  pedagogy of awareness. In C. Baillie I. Moore
  (Eds.), Effective learning and teaching in
  engineering. (pp. 9-23). London RoutledgeFalmer.
• Brew, A. (2001). The Nature of Research. London
  RoutledgeFalmer.
• Cannon, R. (2001). Pedagogy a point of view.
  Teaching in Higher Education, 6(3), 415-419.
• HEFCW, HEFCE, SFC, DfEL. (2006). Generic
  Statement Electronic Version. RAE 2008 Panel
  criteria and working methods. Retrieved 20th July
  2007 from http//www.rae.ac.uk/pubs/2006/01/docs/g
  enstate.pdf
• Phillips, E. M., Pugh, D. S. (2000). How to get
  a PhD (3 ed.) Open University Press.
• Prosser, M., Trigwell, K. (1999). Understanding
  Learning and Teaching The Experience in Higher
  Education. Buckingham SRHE and Open University
  Press. (for the Approaches to Teaching Inventory)
• Prosser, M. (2005). Supporting the student
  experience, a scholarly approach. academy
  exchange, autumn 2005, 8-9. Retrieved 20th July
  2007 from http//www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/d
  ocuments/resources/publications/exchange/web0257_e
  xchange_issue_2.pdf
• Ramsden, P. (1991). A performance indicator of
  teaching quality in higher education The Course
  Experience Questionnaire. Studies in Higher
  Education, 16(2), 129-150.
• Stierer, B., Antoniou, M. (2004). Are there
  distinctive methodologies for pedagogic research
  in higher education? Teaching in Higher
  Education, 9(3), 275-285.