IN-PERSON Prague Research & Teaching Conference

Abstract

This exploration of the way research and teaching are intertwined focuses on a year 3 democratic classroom in which the teacher researcher (first author) implemented social practices to support student participation and decision making on action. These social practices included a daily social circle where students identified and expressed their emotions, a weekly class meeting where identified issues were discussed, solutions suggested and then tested, and collaborative groups formed using sociometric surveys and with a leader and vice leader selected by group members. Several theoretical perspectives and practical approaches to learning and development, including Vygotsky’s concepts of zone of proximal development and social situation of development, and Gibbs’ democratic framework and Tribes, informed the development of the practices. The social practices and the way these supported different students were examined over a year-long ethnographic study. Data sources were video recordings of class activities, interviews with students and their parents, and written reflections by students, teacher researcher and researcher (second author). Case studies of students including Mary, Gemma, Trent, Martin and Tina reveal how the practices transformed each student’s participation and learning about themselves and each other. They also showed the importance of considering the unity of the student and their environment, as well as the unity of the social-emotional and cognitive. The findings encouraged the teacher researcher and researcher to search for further concepts, such as perezhivanie, to better understand and support student development, showing how researching teaching and learning can be used to transform not only teaching and student learning, but also educational research.