developing a reflective practitioner through the connection between educational research and...

Developing a Reflective Practitioner through the Connection between Educational Researchand Reflective PracticesAuthor(s): Dawn Del Carlo, Holly Hinkhouse and Leah IsbellSource: Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Feb., 2010), pp. 58-68Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20627747 .

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J Sei Educ Teehnol (2010) 19:58-68 DOI 10.1007/sl 0956-009-9178-y

Developing a Reflective Practitioner Through the Connection Between Educational Research and Reflective Practices

Dawn Del Carlo Holly Hinkhouse

Leah Isbell

Published online: 19 June 2009 ? Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Abstract This paper outlines the connection between

qualitative research methods in education and teacher

reflective practices as they relate to Valli's (Reflective tea

cher education: cases and critiques. State University of New

York Press, Albany, 1992; Peabody J Educ 72(1): 67-88,

1997) model of reflection. Using the authors' own experi ences in performing and guiding educational research, and

existing research in the field of teacher education pertaining to reflective practitioners, explicit connections are made

between the two paradigms. These connections illustrate the

importance of integrating authentic research experiences into the teacher education curriculum outside the context of

methods courses, much like models established in the

sciences.

Keywords Reflection Teacher education

Qualitative research methods

Introduction

Teacher education programs across the country emphasize

training their prospective teachers to be reflective practi tioners (Bryan and Tippins 2005; Gr?nau et al. 2000;

Wallace and Oliver 2003; Yerrick et al. 2005). Regardless, teaching the art of reflection still remains a complicated endeavor with multiple approaches. This paper explores the

similarities between reflective practices in teaching and

those used in performing independent qualitative educa

tional research outside the framework of action research?

which is used almost exclusively in teacher education pro

grams. A parallel will be drawn between existing models of

reflection and qualitative research methods, followed by

specific supporting anecdotal examples from the experi ences of the authors as a faculty mentor and undergraduate

teaching majors performing research. Understanding how an existing model of reflection in practice is connected to

the processes of doing education research can provide a

basis for improving science teacher education overall.

Models of Reflection

Several different models of reflection exist and an extensive

review and description of each is outside the scope of this

paper. For our purposes we will use Valli's (1992, 1997) model of how knowledge informs practice in pre-service teacher education. She claims there are six ways in which a

teacher's knowledge guides teaching practices: behavioral,

technical, reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, delib

erative, personalistic, and critical. Only the last five categories

actually involve reflective practices, and only behavioral and

technical approaches are most commonly taught in teacher

education programs. Each type will be described here.

Behavioral

This is the only approach to teacher education which does

not actually require any form of reflection by the pre

D. Del Carlo (El) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0423, USA

e-mail: [email protected]

H. Hinkhouse

Riverside High School, 501 Oakland Avenue, Oakland, IA 51560, USA

L. Isbell

Gilbert High School, 103 Mathews Drive, Gilbert, IA 50105, USA

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J Sei Educ Technol (2010) 19:58-68 59

service teacher. The primary concern is with skill acqui sition and the assessment of pre-service teachers by outside

experts?namely teacher education faculty and cooperating teachers?with regard to the successful demonstration of

said skills. Feedback from assessors details specific behaviors pre-service teachers pay attention to such as time

on task, wait time, or detailed disciplinary actions for

problem students. The skill knowledge is generated exter

nally from research on teaching, and a "good" pre-service teacher performs those skills fluidly.

Technical Reflection

Similar to the behavioral approach, technical reflection is

also concerned with the skill acquisition of predetermined

"good practices," but is instead assessed by the pre-service teacher's reflection on their own performance. These are

typically the focus of pre-service teachers' journal entries as they work to determine how well they lived up to what

the research on teaching says they must do to be considered

"good" teachers (Valli 1992, 1993). It is clear that the behavioral and technical aspects of

teacher education are inseparable?pre-service teachers

will strive to perform well when given the motivation of

external assessors, and will subsequently have to reflect on

how to best exhibit those desired behaviors. Both are very

prescriptive approaches to teacher education and rely on

the voice of outside experts?whether they are researchers

in education, teacher educators or school administrators? to dictate and determine desired practices. However, it is

important to note that technical reflection can occur with out the behavioral motivators. This sense of internal

motivation is what separates the behavioristic approach from one that starts to become reflective.

Reflection-in-Action and Reflection-on-Action

These terms were originally created by Sch?n (1983) and

epitomize his interpretation of the ideal practitioner outside the limits of technical reflection. Reflection-on-action is

most obvious and easily documented since it is the

thinking and reflecting that occurs after a lesson, class, or

event. Reflection-in-action refers to the same reflective

process, but instead of occurring after the fact, happens concurrently with the lesson, class, or event. These types of reflections dictate the immediate actions that ensue

while the lesson is taking place, whereas reflection-on action tends to change the plan of action for the next time the lesson is executed.

Both of these reflection types can certainly involve technical aspects of teaching, however, they are also value laden and stem from experiential and contextualized

knowledge, "each teacher's values, beliefs, classroom

context, and students provide the source of knowledge for

reflective action" (Valli 1997, p. 76). Because every tea

cher's experiences are different, unlike the behavioral

approach and technical reflection, there are no set, external

rules to follow and the teacher's voice is considered to be

the expert.

Deliberative Reflection

Deliberative reflection involves the consolidation of sev

eral sources of information from a variety of perceived

experts as the teacher makes decisions about practice. Several different voices are heard and considered in the

decision making process including those of researchers,

administrators, colleagues, and parents, as well as the

teacher's own set of values, personal experiences and

beliefs. Consequently, the best course of action is not

always clear and the quality of the decision and resulting action is judged by "teachers' abilities to weigh these

competing claims and to give good reason for the decisions

they make" (Valli 1997, p. 77).

Personalistic Reflection

Unlike the previous types of reflection, personalistic reflection turns the focus of the refection from primarily how the teacher's actions affect the students to the personal

growth of the teacher. This requires teachers to link their

personal identity to their professional career and examine

how being a teacher fulfills their personal life goals. Through the examination of their own identities, teachers are necessarily required to reflect on the personal lives of

the students in their classes and how, as teachers, they influence those lives. The resulting actions of personalistic reflections are not focused on academic performance or

information dissemination, but instead on the realities of their students' lives: home situations, cultural and ethnic

backgrounds, social struggles, and personal goals. Valli points out that with this type of reflection comes

the awareness that the background of many teachers and their educational background is Eurocentric even though the population of their students is likely more diverse.

Consequently, personalistic reflections encourage teachers to become more familiar and aware of their students' diverse backgrounds and also how to teach to those

backgrounds.

Critical Reflection

The main focus of critical reflections involve the social and

political facets of education as an institution, and "is the

only form of reflection that explicitly views the school and school knowledge as political constructions" (Valli

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60 J Sei Educ Technol (2010) 19:58-68

Table 1 Types of reflection (Valli 1997, p. 75)

Type Content of reflection Criteria for quality reflection

Technical General instruction and management behaviors based on

research on teaching

In- and on-action One's own personal teaching performance

Deliberative Range of teaching concerns including students, curriculum, instructional strategies, rules, and organization of the

classroom

Personalistic One's own personal growth and relationships with students

Critical Social, moral and political dimensions of schooling

Matching one's own performance to external guidelines

Basing decisions on one's own unique situation

Weighing competing viewpoints and research findings

Listening to and trusting one's own inner voice and the voices of others

Judging the goals and purposes of schooling in light of ethical criteria such as social justice and equality of

opportunity

1997, p. 78). Critical reflection is grounded in the tenets of

political philosophers such as Habermas (1973) and Van Manen (1977) and unlike personalistic reflection, goes

beyond simply understanding the views and background of others. This type of reflection examines social injustices

against disadvantaged groups within the institution of education such as social class, race, and sex. The action

resulting from critical reflection is focused on the resolu tion of these injustices.

Valli (1997) uses the example of questioning skills to

illustrate critical reflection. The skill or technique of

questioning students to engage students and promote

higher-order thinking skills is commonly taught in teacher

education programs. However, critical reflection is

required to determine the social and ethical consequences for particular groups of students with regard to how those

questions are asked. For example, boys on the whole may be asked more challenging questions?particularly in sci ence?or provided more positive feedback than girls. Critical reflection not only recognizes this behavior in a

teacher, but actively seeks to even the field. Each of the above categories of reflection have their

strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of technical reflection and reflection-in and on-action lie in their focus on the content of instructional quality, however, that also

leads to a limited view of education. Conversely, person alistic and critical reflection tend to discount the technical

aspects of instruction and instead focus on personal, social, and political aspects of teaching. Deliberative reflection balances both the technical and relational aspects of

teaching, but lacks specific criteria as the basis for teaching decisions because there is no singular expert voice.

"Good" decisions can easily be justified in the minds of

teachers with "excuses rather than reasons" (Valli 1997, p.

81). Consequently, Valli suggests that a true reflective

practitioner uses a balance of all five types of reflection

(Table 1).

Teacher as Researcher

The evolution of reflection in teaching and teacher edu cation can be traced back to Dewey (1933) who used the idea of the scientific method to scaffold how people think and learn. He claimed that similar to scientific inquiry, the

processes of teaching and learning are grounded in ele ments of quantification and observation to constantly scrutinize what we know and do. Therefore, learning to

teach and learning to inquire become inseparable, ulti

mately leading to the idea of "teacher-as-researcher"

(Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993). Teacher-as-researcher is often used synonymously with

action research. Although differences exist between these two paradigms regarding the type and level of resulting action, they are similar in that teachers perform research on

themselves, their students, classrooms, administration,

parents and community for the sole purpose to improve teaching, learning, and the institution. The language used in this type of research is different from that used in aca

demia, although the actual methods are similar. Conse

quently, the two are often falsely perceived as separate institutions (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1990). For the pur poses of this paper, the term "action research" will be used as one example of several possible models of academic

research, such that "teacher-as-researcher" is not neces

sarily confined to only using the action research model.

Several people document the incorporation of action

research into teacher education, but all examples integrate the research experience within teaching methods classes or

the student teaching experience (e.g. Clift et al. 1990; Everett et al. 2008; Liston and Zeichner 1990; Ross 1987; Rudduck 1992; van Zee 1998; and others). Similar to

"semester projects" in science class, it can be argued that these are not "authentic" research experiences because

they involve working in classes and situations that are not

the students own. This lack of "authenticity" does not

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reduce the usefulness of instituting change in teaching

practices?just like (unauthentic) semester projects in sci

ence class are any less useful at training future scientists?

and in many of the cases listed above, authors report

positive development in pre-service teachers. However, there are clear institutional constraints that arise with his

model.

Clift et al. (1990) discuss specific research techniques in

pre-service classes and then students integrate action

research in their student teaching experience. However,

they found that the actual research project and implemen tation varies widely from placement to placement. Inte

gration of research into the student teaching experience is also prevented by long standing institutionalized con

straints imposed by "expert" teachers (Cochran-Smith

1994). Student teachers are placed in a cooperating tea

cher's classroom?who ultimately has ownership over the

class?and methods classes often use "peer" teaching activities to simulate an elementary or secondary classroom

environment. Neither model allows the student to take

ownership of an authentic classroom experience, and with

growing constraints on state mandated requirements for the content of methods classes, some teacher educators argue there simply is not room in the curriculum to include

projects of this nature within the class. Our own institution

integrates an assessment/action research component into the 16-week student teaching semester, but because each

placement is only 8-weeks long, there is little opportunity to implement any changes.

Liston and Zeichner (1990) argue that reflection and action research involve the same "cycles of plan, act,

observe, and reflect" (p. 241). Consequently, for true

reflective teaching to occur, action research must be modeled to pre-service teachers. However, this modeling occurs by teacher educators performing action research on

the classes in which the pre-service teachers are enrolled. There is no evidence to suggest that the pre-service teachers themselves are the researchers, and are instead

relegated to the role of observant study participants. Existing models of teaching reflection through action

research, have certainly proved to be effective, however, are clearly not perfect. Problems mainly lie within the fact that pre-service teachers are placed in either simulated situations or classrooms over which they have minimal

ownership. Action research performed by in-service

teachers, who are ultimately held responsible for their own classrooms, constitutes not only the reflective prac tices previously modeled but an authentic context in which they can be applied. Consequently, it is difficult to determine the value behind trying to educate pre-service teachers on the truly reflective nature of research when

they lack the opportunity to institute significant changes from their findings. It is argued here, that because of these

constraints there is also value in performing research?

especially qualitative research?outside the context of a

specific classroom and the framework of action research, but still within an education milieu, thus, expanding the

opportunities for pre-service teachers to learn reflective

practices.

Qualitative Research Methods in Education

Qualitative methods formally originated within the field of

sociology and as compared to quantitative empirical methods, have only been used purposefully as research methods within the past century. There was a slight decline in interest in the mid-twentieth century, but was followed

by a powerful reemergence in the 1960s that has continued to grow. Qualitative research is centered about several

guiding principles (Taylor and Bogdan 1998):

1. "Qualitative researchers are concerned with the mean

ings people attach to things in their lives... 2. Qualitative research is inductive... 3. In qualitative methodology, the researcher looks at

settings and people holistically; people, setting, or

groups are not reduced to variables, but are viewed as a

whole...

4. Qualitative researchers are concerned with how people think and act in their everyday lives...

5. For the qualitative researcher, all perspectives are

worthy of study...

6. Qualitative researchers emphasize the meaningfulness of their research...

7. For the qualitative researcher, there is something to be learned in all settings and groups...

8. Qualitative research is a craft" (Taylor and Bogdan 1998, p. 7-10).

While it is conceivable that quantitative methodologies could address these principles, qualitative methods are

specifically centered on them and consequently, the results of qualitative studies reflect these ideas. This is not to say that quantitative methods are not useful; both methods have their strengths (e.g. generalizability of quantitative results). Truly, the most robust research utilizes a mixed-methods

approach, however, depending on the study population, this is not always an option.

Despite the clear advantages of using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, for the purposes of this

paper, the focus will be narrowed to qualitative research. There are a number of specific research approaches to

qualitative inquiry; however, all involve several steps including planning, observing, questioning, coding/ana lyzing, and making assertions.

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Planning

There are three key pieces to the planning of any respect able qualitative research study:

1. Guiding research questions?the set of questions the

researcher seeks to answer by performing the study, 2. Theoretical framework or perspective?a philosophi

cal or social theory or tradition which establishes the

assumptions used in the study about human behavior

and interaction, 3. Methodology?the specific data collection techniques

and procedures to be used in the study.

All three are interrelated and must be planned in

advance of beginning data collection. Most researchers

start with the research questions in that they have an idea of

what they want to research, although they may not have the

exact phrasing of the questions. Similar to research in

general?even in the sciences?these questions evolve

from personal experiences and previous research and typ

ically instigate an extensive literature review to examine

what has already been done in that topic. The theoretical perspective is also common to all forms

of research, however, unlike most widely accepted scien

tific theories, settings, groups, and people are not reduced

to single variables and are often not predictable. Conse

quently, the assumptions about how they behave and

interact as a whole must be explicitly stated and justified. A

wide variety of theories exist?including symbolic inter

action, critical theory, or ethnomethodology?and typically have roots in philosophy, sociology, anthropology, or

psychology. This invariably causes changes in the exact

wording and sometimes the entire focus of the research

questions. These perspectives also formulate the lens

through which the researcher analyzes the data collected, and obviously effects the specific methodology used in the

study.

Data collection methods specific to qualitative inquiry vary widely and include but are not limited to field

observations, individual and group interviews, artifact

collection, and open ended questionnaires. Often multiple

techniques are used in a single study?called triangulation, or more recently, crystallization (Denzin and Lincoln

2008)?which strengthens the quality of information col

lected. Additionally, the specific technique used within

each method differs. For example, when performing field

observations, a researcher must chose the role the observer

plays in making the observations. This can range from the

uninvolved "outside" observer to a fully participant observer. Likewise, interviews can be conducted using a

strict script of questions, or more free-form similar to a

relaxed conversation. The methods chosen are based on

both the research questions and the theoretical perspective.

Consequently, changes in any one part of a qualitative research plan, results in possible changes in the other two.

Unlike much of the research performed in the physical and life sciences, the nature of educational research

requires the involvement of human participants. Excepting studies formulated simply for pedagogical improvement, all educational research projects must be reviewed and

receive approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) before data collection commences. The application and

review process requires detailed explanations of the goals, methods and procedures to be used in the study as well as

descriptions of how the participants' identities and well

being will be protected. Consequently, before collecting one piece of qualitative data, the research questions, the

oretical perspective, and methodology must all be explic

itly stated and cohesive, and IRB approval, which also

requires detailed description of the study, must be obtained.

Observing and Questioning

Regardless of the specific methodologies used, the collec

tion of data requires skills in observation and questioning.

Collecting field notes requires an awareness of how the

presence of the researcher potentially affects the observed

behaviors. Included in this is also a conscious decision

regarding how involved the researcher is in the population under study. The level of participant observation lies along a spectrum from a hidden, outside observer to a fully

integrated member of the studied community, often refer

red to as "going native". Observers in educational research

typically lie between these extremes where the observer's

presence is known by the study participants, but yet is still

removed from the population and perceived as an "out

sider." Because of this interaction with the participants, researchers must focus on making and recording descrip tive observations and quotations rather than judgments. For

example, looking at the two statements below: ,

The classroom is approximately 25 ft by 25 ft and

contains ten tables which seat two students apiece. The

teacher mostly stays at the front of the room because

she claims, "it is difficult to move between the tables."

The classroom is small and cramped. There are ten

tables squeezed into the room with two students each

table. Because the tables are so close together, the

teacher stays at the front of the room.

Clearly the two statements, while conveying similar

information do it differently. The first statement qualifies as

observational, while the second statement contains judg mental statements made by the researcher. As an observer's

role in the study becomes more participant in nature, it

becomes more difficult to make purely observational

statements.

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Questioning skills are imperative to conducting obser

vations, constructing surveys, and conducting interviews.

Regardless of whether the questions are planned and

scripted or asked "on the fly" they cannot be coercive and

need to elicit descriptive answers. Consequently, dichoto mous questions that only result in an answer of "yes" or

"no" do not typically offer opportunity for description. Likewise, dichotomous questions can also quickly become

leading questions. For example:

Were you doing a formative evaluation?

Were you trying to find out if the people changed from

being in the wilderness? (Patton 1990, p. 299)

In both questions, the participant answers easily with a

yes or no without further explanation and in essence has

already been told what the interviewer is looking to find.

Open-ended alternative questions allow for more descrip tion on the side of the participant rather than the researcher.

The same questions asked above rephrased as open-ended

questions would be:

What was the purpose of the evaluation? What were you trying to find out in doing the

evaluation? (Patton 1990, p. 299)

There are also presupposition questions, such as "What was the most important thing you learned in this class?" These types of questions presuppose the participant has

something to say. There is the option to respond with, "I

didn't learn anything," which is descriptive on its own, but

the original question prompts thought before answering unlike the dichotomous alternative, "Did you learn any

thing in this class?"

Analysis and Conclusions

The analysis of qualitative data takes on many forms

although one of the most common in exploratory research is probably inductive analysis. As the data are transcribed, read, and re-read, common themes and patterns within the content of the data evolve. These themes and patterns, called codes, are then assigned to the specific segments of text which illustrate those codes. Fortunately, computer software has evolved such that this process is greatly simplified as compared to 20 years ago. After initial

assignment of text to codes, they are re-analyzed and re

assigned if necessary. This step is particularly important for

projects involving more than one researcher. Active dis cussion between researchers is necessary to refine the definition of each code and consequently increase the

reliability of the categorization. The second round of

analysis often results in the re-categorization of many text

segments and can change the feel of the results.

Lastly, the codes formed in the analysis of the data are

examined through the lens of the theoretical framework

and assertions are formed to answer the original research

questions. Assertions go beyond a simple restatement of

the data and seek to "make meaning" of the codes (Miles and Huberman 1994, p. 245). There is typically no clear cut

singular answer and varying angles must be compared and

considered (Patton 2002). Not surprisingly, the quality of the research question limits the quality of the resulting assertion.

Connections Between Reflection and Research

While there are certainly several models for explicitly teaching both the act of reflection and qualitative research, it is the purpose of this paper to illustrate how elements of

reflection can be taught through the act of performing qualitative research outside the context of a specific classroom. In addition to highlighting the explicit com

parisons between the models, anecdotes and recollections are provided from the authors' experiences as secondary teaching majors (the students described in the next section) and their faculty research advisor who conducted two dif ferent qualitative research projects over the course of a summer. The implications of which lay a solid foundation for future research on the impact on teacher beliefs and

practice after they conduct educational research.

The Students

Brenda was a senior chemistry teaching major scheduled to

student teach during the fall semester immediately fol

lowing her research experience. She also double majored in

Spanish teaching and had participated in the chemistry department's summer research program the previous year in a "traditional" wet lab. Suzy was between her junior and senior years as a chemistry teaching major with an addi tional endorsement in physical science. This was Suzy's first experience with any type of research. Both students were strong academically and highly motivated individu als. A few weeks before the summer started, Suzy and Brenda were supplied with selected readings on qualitative research methods and information about the specific pro jects on the agenda that summer.

The Research

Brenda and Suzy participated in a 10-week summer research program housed in a Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Similar to their "traditional" chemistry major colleagues, they received a $3,000 stipend, and two credits of undergraduate research, although unlike their

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fellow chemistry majors, the credits were not required for their degree. At the conclusion of the 10-weeks, Brenda and Suzy each presented the research completed, thus far, at the college wide poster symposia. The following aca

demic year Brenda gave an oral presentation of her com

pleted work at a state conference, and likewise, Suzy presented at a national conference.

Brenda and Suzy were assigned two research projects to work on over the course of the summer. They typically worked together on both projects, managing their time

around what needed to be done. The first was only in its

planning stages and focused on the population of science

teaching alumni from the institution. While research shows that most new teachers do not implement inquiry based

methods (Adams and Krockover 1997; Black 2004; Brickhouse and Bodner 1992; Eick and Reed 2002;

Loughran 1994; Volkmann and Anderson 1998), teaching these methods is a key component to our teacher education

program. This project sought to determine what methods our science teaching graduates used in their first few years of teaching and why. Suzy and Brenda were charged with

planning and setting up this particular project. This included

reviewing current literature, choosing a theoretical per

spective, developing research questions, selecting appro

priate research methods and initiating the IRB process. The second project involved the examination of the

department's 10-week undergraduate summer research

program in chemistry (SRPC)?the same program sup

porting Brenda and Suzy. The program was well established

and provided authentic research experiences for chemistry students. However, what constitutes "authentic" had not

been determined by the participating students. Conse

quently, the qualitative research project sought to under

stand the essence of the SPRC from the students'

perspective. Suzy and Brenda were introduced to this pro

ject after the design and methodology had already been determined. They participated in the IRB approval process, data collection?pre- and post-experience questionnaires,

weekly open-ended journaling questions, and three semi

structured interviews?and analysis and presentation of results. Consequently, between the two projects, Suzy and

Brenda were exposed to every part of the process of qual itative research, even if it was divided between two projects.

Connection to Technical Reflection

Each of Valli's five types of reflection is evidenced by

Suzy and Brenda during their own research experience. Technical reflection, in which the outside expert's voice is

dominant, is seen in the background materials Suzy and

Brenda were provided prior to starting research. The SRPC

project in particular, was well scripted for them in terms of

the background literature, questions asked, and methods

used. They were provided information on qualitative research methods such as interviewing and questioning, and were expected to read about these "best practices" so as to implement them when it came time.

Likewise, in developing the methodology for the alumni

study, Suzy and Brenda were provided information on how to develop research questions, choose a theoretical frame work and develop research methods. During this time, Suzy and Brenda's research mentor was constantly used as

another source of expert knowledge as they formulated their ideas about how to approach and conduct each pro

ject. While it is obvious that thought and reflection goes into each of these processes, as the students started their

projects, they often deferred to the readings and expressed a desire to "get it right."

Connection to Reflection-in and on-Action

Reflection-in and on-action evolved during the data col lection process, particularly with the use of semi-structured interviews. Each interview was initiated with a list of

questions to ask, however, these only served as guidelines to the topics covered. Detailed descriptions of the partici

pants' research experiences were elicited with follow-up questions asked on the spot. The formulation of these fol

low-up questions required constant reflection-in-action

taking into consideration the participants' current answer, what information was sought in light of the research

questions, and formulating an open-ended or presupposi tion style rather than dichotomous question. Several dis cussions about this process took place after the first round of interviews and Suzy and Brenda both mentioned how

difficult it was to keep track of everything at once. As the summer progressed and they became more familiar with the process, this was less of an issue illustrating that they also became more comfortable making on-the-spot deci sions about their questions.

Similarly, after the interview was complete, the tran

scription process allowed for reflection-on-action. Brenda

specifically described how transcribing made her acutely aware of her questioning skills. More than once she was

found shaking her head at the computer as she transcribed

her first interviews, criticizing her repeated use of dichot omous and leading questions. Similar to a teacher who

video records the teaching of a lesson for later review, recorded interviews offer a word for word account of the

line of questioning as well as the answers resulting from

those questions. As with the contextualized aspect of

reflection-in and on-action, each interviewer had unique decisions to make as the interview evolved taking into

consideration previous answers, the unique situation of the

participant as well as the technical mechanics of good

questioning practices.

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Answers to the weekly journal questions also spurred reflection-on-action when participants supplied answers

that were brief and not congruent with the intent of the

question. This forced Suzy and Brenda, students well

trained in the vernacular of teacher education, to realize

that they had a different idea of what constitutes a "jour nal" compared to their purely science major participants. After the first set of journal answers was collected, Brenda

reported, "I don't think we'll be able to use their answers"

simply because the participants did not produce paragraphs of reflective comments as is expected in most teacher

education classes when "journals" are assigned. Similarly, when participants were asked in interviews about the

influence of "culture" on science, Suzy and Brenda,

through their teacher education lens, intended "culture" to mean ethnic and racial culture. However, science majors, who typically are not specifically instructed on different races and ethnicities within their content courses, supplied answers parallel to a "pop" culture interpretation.

In both reflection-in and on-action, the "expert" voice is

that of the reflector and involves viewing technical skills

through the lens of personal experience and the unique situation. Through the process of questioning, whether it was during the interview or through the preplanned journal

questions, Suzy and Brenda used their "expert" knowledge about questioning, to not only assess the content of par

ticipants' answers, but also clarify any misunderstanding within the question, a skill critical to good teaching. After

completion of the summer, Suzy and Brenda specifically mentioned how performing research helped build "better

listening skills and question asking skills."

Connection to of Deliberative Reflection

Qualitative research arguably involves deliberative reflec tion at every stage of the process. However, it is critical when planning a study and then again when analyzing the data. Planning a qualitative study requires decisions about research questions, theoretical framework, and specific data collection methods all of which are connected to one another. Consequently, the decision making process

requires collecting existing information from outside

experts as well as utilizing the researcher's personal voice and experience. Suzy and Brenda read about several dif ferent theoretical frameworks?a daunting task as anyone who has done it knows?and integrated that expert voice into the questions they wanted to answer about the teaching practices our alumni utilized. Because they were both cur rent students in the teacher education program, they used their knowledge of how they were being trained as teachers to also shape their questions and framework. Existing lit erature for similar studies was located and considered in the

process as well. Throughout this process, no one voice?

theirs, their faculty advisor, authors of previous studies and

theories?was dominant. All were considered and weighed

competitively as part of the planning process. Once inductive analysis of the data begins, deliberative

reflection enters again. Specific codes or categories evolve

from the data but originate from "trends" that are seen in

the data. These trends are perceived by researchers for a

variety of reasons such as multiple occurrences in the data

but also their own experiences and personal beliefs. Con

sequently, the open dialogue that occurs between

researchers to check for reliability and the reassignment of codes takes into consideration multiple viewpoints about how each code is defined. Suzy and Brenda were both very conscientious students and worked hard to establish their

initial coding scheme expecting the three of us to come

together and simply state how we had defined each of our

codes. Our discussion started there, but also covered things like wanting to avoid positive/negative codes?such as

"likes research" and "doesn't like research" which were

not informative to our research questions?and taking codes that were too general and splitting them into smaller, more specific categories. After about 30 min of this fairly standard process, Suzy looks up from the table with a

pained expression and softly says, "so we did this all

wrong?" Not expecting to have to re-visit everything she had painstakingly established, Suzy clearly thought coding was a one-time process. However, code refining is critical to the validity of inductive analysis and is actually where deliberative reflection is predominant.

Connection to Personalistic Reflection

Any level of participant observation requires personal interaction between researchers and participants. Since

Suzy and Brenda were chemistry teaching majors, they knew each of the participants in the SRPC study, and found themselves used as sounding boards and advisors for

complaints both during and outside the context of the

study. One participant in particular struggled with personal conflicts between herself and her lab mates and shared this with Brenda during her interviews. Brenda was placed in a

unique position not only because her advice was sought, but also because her other interview participants were the same individuals with whom the first participant conflicted.

Brenda, Suzy and their faculty advisor had multiple dis cussions on how to handle this situation without compro

mising the study, all of which required personalistic reflection. Brenda wanted to help the participant who

struggled and could use her own life and experience with the other participants to offer advice. For example, the conflict primarily arose within the work environment which the female participant felt was aggressive. Male students in the lab shouted at one another, called each other

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names, and competitively boasted about their daily

accomplishments in the lab?actions which many women

feel uncomfortable around. However, when interviewed, the male participants in the lab talked about how

"chummy" their lab was and how well everyone got along. This required Brenda to understand a distinctly different, in this case male, point of view?a critical component to

personalistic reflection. Brenda took this perspective, along with her own personal feelings and experiences as a woman in a male dominated major, and decided to advise the female participant to make an effort to open commu

nication between herself and her male lab mates. In dis cussions leading up to this decision, Brenda expressed surprise at her own insight into the "male" perspective. Her own experiences were similar to her female partici

pant's, and this personal view through another's lens caused her to not only think about how to help her par

ticipant, but also how to help herself.

Connection to Critical Reflection

Valli's final level of reflection is most apparent in qualitative methods when submitting the project for IRB approval and

then again at the end when making assertions and deter

mining their possible implications. Application forms for

IRB approval ask specific questions about methods used in

the study and how investigators plan to protect the identity and well-being of their participants. This requires both

understanding of how the actions of the researchers will

affect their participants and how to change those methods to

avoid putting participants at risk. Researchers have to rep resent the best interests of their participants, rather than

themselves, and in doing so, must consider broad moral and

ethical social goals. Neither Suzy nor Brenda immediately saw how a survey of alumni put any of the participants at

risk. However, there were several conversations pertaining to how to locate these teachers without violating their pri vacy. For example, the alumni office was only willing to

share the name, hometown, and graduation year of students who graduated with science teaching majors.

The drawing of assertions in qualitative analysis is

probably one of the more difficult parts of conducting

qualitative research. The methods themselves generate an

incredible amount of data and after micro-analysis of the

individual codes and small pieces of text, assertions are only made when the researcher steps back and draws "big pic ture" conclusions. Unless the project utilizes a case study

methodology, the experiences of a single participant are

only relevant in the context of the experiences of other

participants and the program, culture, or institution to which

they belong. This contextualization is critical to making valid assertions and ultimately leads to specific implications of the study's findings. Ideally, implications seek to

improve the social situations and programs under study. By the time Suzy are Brenda were ready to start making some

assertions, Brenda had started student teaching so Suzy was on her own. Suzy expressed regret that Brenda was not there because she finally felt like the goals of the project were

coming together. They were both so absorbed in the minutiae of the data that by the end of the summer they had lost sight of the original broad goals of the project?to understand students' perceptions of performing scientific research. Suzy was now able to step back and look at the

project as a whole to form assertions which were then used to shape implications for improving the experience. Spe cifically, these improvements pertained to the organization of the program and interactions between participants of the

program, but were formed with the intent to benefit gener ations of future students who participate in research.

Conclusions

Like the SRPC program studied by Suzy and Brenda,

undergraduate research, separate from course requirements,

is often integrated into the educational experience for

students majoring in the sciences, and there is a recent

wealth of information in the literature pertaining to the benefits of "authentic" research experiences?i.e. those outside the context of a course project. Students who par

ticipate in undergraduate research feel more confident in

their scientific abilities, better understand how to conduct a

research project, and are more aware of the demands of

graduate school (Lopatto 2004; Russell et al. 2007). Stu dents and their faculty mentors claim undergraduate research improves a student's oral communication skills, critical thinking ("thinking and working like a scientist"), and feelings of socialization into the scientific profession (Hunter et al. 2007; Seymour et al. 2004). The feeling of

integration into the scientific community is a significant component of the experience and is a common finding among the major studies on research experiences. The

prominent conclusion drawn from this body of work is that

science students "define undergraduate research as a

powerful affective, behavioral, and personal-discovery

experience whose dimensions have profound significance for their emergent adult identity and sense of direction"

(Seymour et al. 2004, p. 530-531). This developing sense

of identity is critical for up and coming science majors and

is consequently extensively built into undergraduate pro

grams in the sciences. However, a similar culture is not

apparent in teacher education programs with regard to

establishing independent research projects performed out

side the context of a classroom.

Despite the fact that Suzy and Brenda did not learn

educational research techniques within the context of a

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classroom, their experience performing qualitative research

lead them to develop reflective skills neither knew they had. Valli's model of reflection fits well within the framework of qualitative research and offers another alternative to teaching reflection through practice. Tradi tional teacher education programs can offer explicit instruction on reflection or action research, but this often involves reflecting on a single lesson, taught in a cooper

ating teacher's classroom or in front of their own peers. Previous work readily established that action research, even when performed within the context of a cooperating teacher's classroom during a limited period of time, enhances pre-service teachers reflective practices. How

ever, without a realistic timeline and context nor ownership over that context, teacher educators cannot expect to fully develop reflective skills in their students. The experiences of the research mentor and pre-service teachers here, sug gest that reflective practices can be further modeled and refined through other mechanisms. Participation in an

authentic, qualitative research experience in education? outside the framework of action research?supplements course required action research experiences, which better

prepares pre-service teachers for the types of reflection

necessary in their own classrooms once they get there. This is not unlike the model for research experience used

in the sciences, where students perform small scale research

projects required for classes in addition to larger scale (and longer term) projects outside the context of a specific class, often resulting in formal presentations or publications. Science students, while often times required to participate in a research experience for their degree, are free to chose their research mentor, and consequently the topic of

research, as well as the direction in which they choose to take the project, increasing the level of ownership students feels over their projects (Hunter et al. 2007; Seymour et al.

2004). The experiences of Suzy, Brenda, and their research

mentor, suggest that this model should also be adopted in teacher education programs and studied further. This is

especially relevant in science education programs where the model of learning through research may already exist in the sciences. Similar to their science major colleagues deciding on their research topic, science teaching majors would have the option to choose educational research, mentored by research active faculty, further allowing our future science teachers become truly reflective practitioners.

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