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If teachers are to continue developing their classroom practice, we need them to take risks. Very little research has considered teachers’ attitudes to voluntary risk-taking; which activities are considered risky; or what barriers might prevent risk-taking. Understanding what enables or inhibits risk-taking informs those supporting teacher training and development, and the desire to find answers to such questions may motivate the growing number of teachers undertaking doctoral research.

Studying while teaching presents several challenges including finding time in an overcrowded working week; collecting data without compromising teaching commitments; developing a reflexive approach; and managing the dual roles of practitioner and researcher. However, teacher-researchers have a deep understanding of the context and structures of their profession lending easier access to, and greater credibility with, research participants. Furthermore, the skills and practices developed in their classrooms are invaluable when designing and carrying out doctoral research – something I can attest to having recently completed a PhD while working full-time in secondary education.

I have 25 years’ experience teaching science, mostly in leadership roles, but always maintaining a strong involvement in teacher development. Using literature to inform my own small-scale projects coupled with a desire to see more research focused on teachers’ perspectives prompted me to take the plunge and enrol on a doctoral programme. Here I reflect on how my studies benefited from my classroom experience, focusing on how I designed and conducted interviews, while responding to Covid-19 restrictions.

Designing the research methods

Interviews were chosen as a qualitative method to explore beyond what teachers do in their classrooms to understand how and why they chose different approaches in lessons. The interview design needed to incorporate a comparison of teachers’ intuitive reactions to different teaching approaches with their considered, analytical responses. As a result, Slovic and Peter’s (2006) dual-thinking description of risk-taking was used to expose insights into teacher attitudes. I also needed to obtain meaningful, rich data when interactions with teachers during the pandemic were necessarily online or socially distanced, risking stilted, awkward conversations.

Inspired by Colucci’s (2007) paper on activity-oriented questions, I decided to repurpose card sort activities for an interview setting. I’ve used these in lessons to elicit prior knowledge, identify misconceptions, or check understanding as they provide both a structure for classroom discussion and an artefact that can be shared with others – two features that suited my purpose. I designed a rapid-sort activity to ensure intuitive responses using stickers so participants could indicate their decisions and provide a record of their answers. This was followed by open-ended questions which allowed for deeper reflection.

To meet Covid-19 requirements, activity packs were sent out 72 hours in advance with strict instructions not to sneak a peek. Interviews began with a ceremonial unsealing of envelopes and delighted declarations as cards and stickers were removed – indeed, my participants showed the same level of enthusiasm as my pupils, with the tasks eliciting an immediate commentary supplying rich data for my research. The stickered cards provided a focus for discussion, furnished participants with artefacts to refer to when articulating responses, and, importantly, kept the conversation flowing.

Reflecting on the outcomes

The card sorts provided data early on in my research that contradicted existing literature describing teachers as risk-averse, and exposed disparities between teachers’ spoken opinions and what happens in their classrooms, revealing insights into perceptions of risk. Using aspects of constructivist grounded theory, (Charmaz, 2014) I adjusted questions for subsequent interviews providing more evidence that teachers valued risk-taking as part of their developing practice.

‘The card sorts provided data early on in my research that contradicted existing literature describing teachers as risk-averse, and exposed disparities between teachers’ spoken opinions and what happens in their classrooms.’

Concluding thoughts

I initially viewed my research and teaching roles as separate, but now realise the time management, creativity and reflective practice developed in the classroom were crucial to my research, just as the new interests and skills gained in my studies improved my teaching. Teachers have a wealth of experience to offer, so how do we attract more to doctoral research? How do we help them navigate their way through higher education? How do we ensure their work is disseminated to wider audiences?

My final words are for any teachers considering studying for a PhD – it was hard work, but I loved every minute!

References

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.) Sage Publishing.

Colucci, E. (2007). Focus groups can be fun: The use of activity-oriented questions in focus group discussions. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10), 1422–1433.

Slovic, P., & Peters, E. (2006). Risk perception and affect. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(6), 322–325.