Classroom Observations

After my period of volunteering in the school, I made three planned 50 minute observations with teacher approval for each of the three target classes for a total of nine classroom observations. By this point, I felt I had already gained the trust of the teachers. They knew me and felt I understood their situations and challenges by having spent time previously in their classes. The school data collection portion of the study was confined to a single semester. Nearly all of the activities were conducted in a classroom setting. However, the bounds of this case study included informal observations out of class such as individual help sessions, student-teacher discussions, and parent-teacher exchanges.

My role on these occasions was that of a non-participant observer (Cohen & Manion, 1989; Creswell, 1994). My presence was kept as passive as possible to preserve the natural setting for these observations, except when I was approached first by a student. During the class sessions I stayed by myself at a table at the back of the room. This vantage point kept me out of the students' sight, while giving me a good view of the teacher and students. Before and after classes I interacted cordially with the students, pursuing general conversation with them. I gathered observational data in the most unobtrusive manner possible in extensive researcher field notes. I was careful to keep writing during my data collection, so as not to alarm the teacher as if she suddenly did something when she caught me writing.

The focus of my observations was on the classroom verbal interactions, how the teacher allocated time and the ways children come to learn the processes involved in the classroom to become literate. I was cautious not to be disruptive or interfere with the teaching and learning occurring. My notes included interaction patterns among students and between the students and teacher, such as complying with or resisting teacher script for creating knowledge (Beals et al, 1994), the teacher's use of discussion prompts and the use of technology. I also noted the frequency of questions directed at boys versus girls in the class. Mehan's (1993) school research formed a basic framework to guide my school-based observations.