My Research Question

RESEARCH 1 and PRACTICE 1 Reflective Entry 4

April 05, 2020.

Formulating my Research Question

Figure 1

Asking the right question will promote critical thinking in a research writing (Figure 1). For this research I focused on entry 1, entry 2 and entry 3 and concluded that I will utilise the “three bears” problem; too broad, too narrow or just right to come up with a research question:

                     

If I use Google Hangouts for

Reading lessons, how will it Engage my

Year 4 Maori Learners Digitally in a Lockdown Situation?

Due to lockdown our school has been using Google Hangouts for connecting with all of our learners online via Manaiakalani site. Chat histories and files are saved online, and they can be synced between different devices. “For educators, Google Hangouts is a great tool to engage students in collaboration outside of the classroom” (Google Hangouts – Online Tools for Teaching & Learning, 2020). 

Online attendance hasn’t been that encouraging despite sending learners and whanau reminders on multiple platforms. So I came up with my research topic as “Engaging Learners Digitally in a Lockdown Situation”. 

As time went by it became easier to formulate my research question with the help of one of my breakout groups in one of our MindLab sessions. I formulated a more specific research question - “If I use Google Hangouts for Reading, how will it engage my Year 4 Maori Learners Digitally in a Lockdown Situation” (Figure 2). 

Figure 2 - Google Hangout for remote learning

This is because from my Year 4 class out of 5 Maori learners, only 2 would attend the sessions but even they were not consistent. Engaging them virtually was a challenge. In addition to that our school and Community of Learning cluster’s performance in reading was below the national average. Various reading strategies were tried with various modifications and although limited success was achieved, there still was a need for acceleration in reading at my school to reduce the distance below the national curve. I teach at a digital school so utilising TPACK and SAMR model to enhance teaching and learning via hangouts mainly focusing on reading shouldn’t be too difficult. Lynch (2018) indicates that technology used as a tool for reading instruction can supplement the skills being taught, engage students more, and allows them to take charge of their own learning.

With no idea of when everything is going to normalise because of this (now alert level 3) lockdown but as an educator I still have to cater for all my learners, especially my Maori learners by utilising most of the 21st Century Skills available whether it be in or out of the classroom.

In this research my priority learners are going to be Māori learners which requires incorporating the Kaupapa Māori theory into my research topic. The goals of the research topic will be set in collaboration with the learners and their whanau giving them autonomy in how to achieve them. This will be based on the Kaupapa Māori principle of “Tino Rangatiratanga  which asserts and reinforces the goal of Kaupapa Māori initiatives: allowing Māori to control their own culture, aspirations and destiny.” (Rangahau, n.d.). The processes for reaching the goals and measuring the success will be mutually agreed between all participants giving my learners agency over what they do.

The principle of Tino Rangatiratanga closely relates to the Kaupapa Māori principle of Whānau. “It acknowledges the relationships that Māori have to one another and to the world around them. Whānau, and the process of whakawhanaungatanga are key elements of Māori society and culture” (Rangahau, n.d.). Involving the whānau of my learners in the decision making process of trying out the multimodal strategy in reading will give them ownership of this research.

The Kaupapa Māori principle of Ako Māori will be prime in preparing this research as it is related to teaching and learning. “This principle acknowledges teaching and learning practices that are inherent and unique to Māori, as well as practices that may not be traditionally derived but are preferred by Māori” (Rangahau, n.d.).  Although the strategy of multimodal reading is not traditionally derived, I see ways that it can be aligned to learning through all the senses and believe that it would be accepted by my learners whānau and hopefully preferred by them too.

I will look into this research through my own lens and try gaining some valuable insight and I wish that it's going to benefit other educators who are stuck in the same situation as me. Any kind of situation should not stop teaching and learning … Education.govt.nz writes that as our world keeps changing we need our young people to be confident, creative, connected and actively involved life-long learners. We need an education system that supports the development of values, knowledge and competencies, and sets them up to do well in the world (2020). 

References:

Google Hangouts – Online Tools for Teaching & Learning. (2020). Retrieved 9 May 2020, from https://blogs.umass.edu/onlinetools/community-centered-tools/google-hangouts-community-centered-tool/

Education.govt.nz (2020). Practical information about education for parents and carers https://parents.education.govt.nz/secondary-school/learning-at-school/learning-using-digital-technologies/

Lynch, M. (2018). Do digital tools improve reading outcomes? Retrieved from: https://www.thetechedvocate.org/do-digital-tools-improve-reading-outcomes/

Rangahau, (n.d.) Principles of Kaupapa Māori. Retrieved from http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/27/