Before I begin any of the first video and reading activities I decided to reflect on what I think educational research is (or should be) before I hear all the expert opinions. I'm interested in seeing if my instincts are right or not and what differences there are between what a layperson expects and what the experts say.
My first thought is of course that educational research is research about education but obviously we can be much more specific than that. I assume that this kind of research will not be interested in how humans learn, which I suppose is more of interest to psychologists, but rather in how we try to influence learning in our roles as teachers, lecturers etc. Obviously, there is also informal education which happens outwith the confines of a set curriculum and this is surely the subject of such research too.
I think what we are really going to be interested in as educational researchers is:
What methods can we use to teach or learn?
How can we measure the success of these methods?
How can we best support different learning styles?
How can we deal with educational difficulties caused by social or economic issues such as children who are not native speakers?
How can we motivate students to learn for themselves and find the joy in learning?
I'm sure there are lots more central questions in educational research but those are the ones that spring to my mind now. Once I have watched the videos and read the articles I will come back and see how close I am to the expert opinions on educational research.
Neil
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