These two short videos by Dr. Rebolledo clearly show the key importance of Latin-American teachers conducting their own researches.
What's your opinion?
Have you learnt anything that surprised you? What? Why?
Can you establish any connections between these two videos and the ideas discussed in class? Which one/s?
Note: You can refer to the material by Dorney (2007) and the paper by Banegas (2018) to support your post.
Let's start our enlightening debate! 💬
Hello everyone!
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, following Dorney, we can understand that “research in the scientific sense is the organized and systematic search for answers to the questions we ask ourselves”. As we can see in the videos, knowing how to investigate is important as a strategy to strengthen professional development. I believe that as teachers it is extremely important to carry out research since the contexts of our society and our students vary a lot. For this reason, we must be aware of that in order to provide a better education that is based on the needs and aptitudes of our students to achieve meaningful learning. In this sense, we can read in the text “Introduction to Research” by Dorney that “a primary reason for doing research is to become more effective teachers. Research contributes to more effective teaching, not by offering definitive answers to pedagogical questions, but rather by providing new insights into the teaching and learning process”.
Regards, Dana.
Thanks for having broken the ice, Dana!
DeleteHello everyone!!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, teaching research is extremely important to improve our teaching practices. As we are part of the system, we can provide a significant point of view based on our students' needs and the problems that appear during our practices. Apart from that, teaching research helps us to critically analyze our professional practices, to improve our ability to recognize problems and to think about practical strategies to solve them. In addition, doing research has a powerful impact on our intellectual development, arousing our curiosity and keeping us updated.
After watching the two videos, I have noticed something interesting about the methodology books and theories that we commonly implement in our classrooms; they have been designed for a specific context, which is not related to our reality and background. Dornyei, 2007 says, “no two language/learning situations are the same”, based on this affirmation, these foreign strategies and theories cannot be equally implemented in all situations or contexts. Considering what Dornyei says, teaching research is totally necessary to become a more effective teacher by developing efficient tactics reached from the observations and investigations carried out in our classrooms.
I believe that the two videos by Dr. Rebolledo and the research papers by Dornyei and Banegas are strongly related to the topics discussed in class as we were debating our opinion on teachers conducting research. Both videos and research papers clearly demonstrate the benefits teaching research provides not only to improve our professional development, but also to suggest pedagogical ideas to our colleagues that may face the same issues. Another considerable topic is empowerment, this idea of controlling the situation by building knowledge through research instead of having to follow the suggestions made by people that do not know our context.
Regards, Silvia.
Fantastic, Silvia! I do agree with you... EMPOWERMENT is a central topic!
DeleteGood evening!
ReplyDeleteFirstly, following the Critical Interpretivism paradigm, I have learnt that all of us, as future teachers, can be researchers too, which is part of our professional development.
According to Banegas, "teacher research is a way of empowering teachers to create knowledge through a critical and context-responsive attitude" (Banegas, 2018). In other words, Dornyei mentions that ELT teachers must conduct Primary Research since we need to develop the ability to provide practical solutions to everyday challenges inside the classroom. Consequently, we have to be ready to face them and question our teaching practice to improve and help our students suceed in their learning process by finding the appropiate strategies, means and resources. What is more, I could reflect on the importance of building knowledge collaboratively due to the fact that we can help, share experiences and findings with other colleagues who are living similar situations.
Finally, I can establish the following connection between the materials analysed in class and these two videos: teachers should adapt theories and take the best of them in an eclectic way according to the particular context taking into consideration their students' reality (different needs, background, characteristics, previous knowledge, interests, among others). For instance, we are living a post-pandemic and struggling with teacher strikes due to late payment in Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut.
Regards, Camila.
Hi, Cami! I love that you've brought COLLABORATION as well as ECLECTICISM to our debate. Great job!
DeleteHello, everyone!
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, conducting research is necessary to understand students’ needs and interests as well as to learn about enquiries that may arise and concern a teacher. I have learned, among other things, that research is a crucial part of being an educator, not only to investigate specific topics in which a teacher could be particularly interested, but also to be more effective in the practice.
According to Dornyei (2007), “genuine curiosity, a lot of common sense, good ideas and something that can be best described as a combination of discipline, reliability and social responsibility” are the four fundamental features to achieve excellence in conducting research. Thus, a good researcher should be truly inquisitive about the subject of their research and also find a set of new ideas to investigate but keeping their feet on the ground at the same time. In addition, a good researcher needs discipline to carry out the process and awareness of the social responsibility that generating new knowledge to share with others has.
Dr. Rebolledo mentions the importance of teaching research as an empowering strategy to liberate from imposed theories. As well as this, she encourages teachers to observe how their students learn in order to make better decisions to plan their classes. Therefore, contextualising classes according to the students’ interests is crucial to engage them in building their own significant learning as referred in class.
Regards,
Vicky
Well done, Vicky! Definitely, CONTEXT is another key word when we reflect upon teachers conducting their own researches. Keep going!
DeleteHello everyone!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it is crucial that teachers conduct research because this activity would be helpful for us to understand a social context, student´s backgrounds and their knowledge. In our case, as English teachers, keeping on researching is important due to the language changes. According to Dornyei, “research simply means trying to find answers to questions” (Dornyei 2007). So, this is not new for us, because we are learning or looking for new words, meanings or ideas every day. But in teacher research, we have to take our time to reflect on our techniques, practices and decisions.
After watching the two videos by Dr. Rebolledo, I think that is very important to take into account that research in our context is important to get meaningful and applicable results for our practices. Also, we can find solutions for our questions; analyse our strategies, theories or conclusions, and finally share them with other teachers that are in the same or similar context, building a collaborative environment focused on a common objective, a meaningful teaching and learning process.
I can establish a connection between Dr. Rebolledo´s idea of “liberating” ourselves from imposed theories with Banegas idea related to carrying out research as a way to empower teachers. He says that “teachers can also be researchers” (Banegas, 2018) in this sense, we have no limits to conducting research, even if we are not formal or experimented researchers. So, we can carry out research and at the same time, use it as a tool to be independent from foreign and non-contextualized theories, to create ours.
Regards,
Lautaro.
Good job, Lautaro! You've added another key term to our debate: INDEPENDENCE. Indeed, the last sentence of your post is truly effective.
DeleteGood evening!
ReplyDeleteI think Dr Rebolledo's message is clear and extremely important. Her work in encouraging teachers to conduct their own research is fascinating. It is admirable how she shows the perks of being a researcher. What stood out the most to me is how empowering and liberating it can be.
Dr Rebolledo explains the importance of research in Latin America. We need Latin American teachers to be researchers because it is essential to focus on our own context. Since most of the material is foreign and does not apply to our own specific region and students, it is imperative to liberate ourselves from it. By doing so we can be able to create a more meaningful learning experience, that is specifically made for a particular group of students in a unique context.
These two videos are clearly connected to the ideas discussed in class since all the materials mention the importance of teacher research. As well as Dr Rebolledo, Banegas states that teacher research is a way of empowering teachers. Dornyei says that it is the most effective form of professional development and it can also benefit other people. This point was also discussed in the video. If teachers conduct research and focus on contextualized learning, they improve as educators which benefits their students.
It was eye-opening to read the materials but it was more meaningful to watch the videos and see teachers learning tools that will help them become better educators. It is encouraging to know that this is something that takes place in our region and that we are able to do it. As Banegas said: “We can also be researchers”.
Regards,
Marcia
Impeccable post, Marcia! In fact, you've clearly referred to the main topics under discussion. By the way, it's great to know that you've found the given materials and the videos eye-opening and meaningful. Go ahead!
DeleteFirst of all, I really enjoyed Banegas' text and Dr. Rebolledo's videos. I felt fully engaged because I could feel close to the authors ; they are Latins, they are young, and they are English teachers.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I was surprised when I heard Dr. Rebolledo because she mentioned some ideas we were talking in class, such us how teacher research influences on teachers' professional development, the way teacher research helps teachers to take better decisions and to expand their knowledge. I was greatly impressed because we have not got a wide experience but with the guidance of teacher Lore, we were able to draw similar conclusions to the ones the author mentions in the video.
What was new to me was the idea that research liberates you from imposed theories. As new teachers we can feel frustrated if we cannot apply in our classes the methods, approaches, or techniques we learned at teacher training. However, if we understand that some theories are not adapted to our context, we will manage these feelings and will be more confident about our profession.
Finally, after listening to Dr. Rebolledo, I believe that in order to carry out research it is fundamental to feel a passion for teaching. If passion does not exist you will not be aware of what is happening in your classroom or if your students are learning or not . After watching the videos I am more conscious of the world of possibilities teachers have.
Thanks for having shared your valuable thoughts, Belén! Indeed, I'm glad you've found the article by Banegas and the videos by Rebolledo meaningful and informative. Keep up the good job!
DeleteHello, everyone!
ReplyDeleteTo start, I agree with Paula Rebolledo when she explains that most teaching theories we have are from foreign people with different realities. In my case, I had never seen Argentinian research in education until we studied here. Moreover, I also agree that the value of teaching research is a very empowering strategy for professional development. This is similar to what Downey (2007) said but he added that research could also “benefit other people as well” (p. 2). In fact, research can help us to learn more about the school world which is the one we are going to habit in the future. In addition, I understand the value of making research is in taking better decisions at the time of planning our lessons and at the same time giving our students more opportunities for learning. As Downey points out “For teachers, a primary reason for doing research is to become more effective teachers. The research contributes to more effective teaching, not by offering definitive answers to pedagogical questions, but rather than providing new insights into the teaching and learning process” (2007, p.2). Finally, I would like to add that this idea of research proposed by Rebolledo is similar to the divergent view proposed by Dario Benegas when he said that “research is a way of empowering teachers to create knowledge through a critical and context-responsive situation”(2018, p. 99).
Regards,
Nicolas Herrera
Thanks for having brought your thoughtful voice to our debate, Nico! Indeed, it's great to know that you're exploring Argentinian research in education because of this seminar. Go ahead!
DeleteExcellent! I fully agree with the second idea you mention in your post: "Educators don't need an outsider to come to their classroom to carry out an investigation to solve their problems". Keep going, Enzo!
ReplyDeleteHi, everyone :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with dr Rebolledo and this idea of "you suggesting pedagogical ideas to others that know your context". In line with this, I would like to mention the paper by Banegas that has been made into our immediate context, so it can be used for us both from Argentina and more specifically from Chubut. We can learn and use it as a guidance at the time of doing our own research as future teachers.
As it was already mentioned, it's interesting to know that we all can be researchers, so start thinking about the context from each book or material was written is crucial to start researching by ourselves.
These 2 videos are directly related to the ideas we've been discussing in class: doing research opens our minds, helps us to contextualize knowledge and the idea of empowering ourselves by solving situations and building knowledge around our context.
Regards,
Belén.
Thanks for sharing your worthwhile ideas, Belén! Indeed, CONTEXT is a key word both in your post and the analysed materials. Keep going!
ReplyDelete