The figure above outlines the eight steps associated with classroom-based research. Those eight steps are:
- Reason & Context: What do you want to understand better, and what does this look like in your own teaching practice? See our page on determining your research scope.
- Analysis of Teaching Activities:
- Determine the aspects of students’ learning you want to affect.
- Describe the teaching activities you will use to affect their learning.
- Describe factors that influence the outcomes.
- Researchable Teaching Question: Formulate a question that can be investigated.
- Research Method: Develop a plan for systematic data collection
- Consider ethical issues from research with students.
- Make a list of data to collect.
- Describe when and where to collect data.
- Plan of Approach: Describe your research plan as specific as possible.
- Data collection: Implement your research plan.
- Data Analysis & Interpretation: Organize and analyze the data, then interpret the results.
- Reflection (and Dissemination): Reflect on what you’ve learned and any insights gained and challenges faced. Share those insights with others (formally or informally).
If you’re interested in more detail about each step above, we highly recommend this reader-friendly roadmap, developed by Utrecht University by Femke Kirschner, Lindy Wijsman, and Irma Meijerman.
If you’d like more help developing your classroom-based research ideas, contact the T+LL Research & Evaluation team. We are here to support you!