Starting Analysis: What I am learning from my data

exploring theme from my data collection

I started collecting my data for my dissertation in February and finished the process by April. I have been using Substack to record my thoughts during this process. This way, I have a record of my thinking through data collection, analysis, and later, writing. My goal is to have the first draft of my findings chapter complete before the end of the summer.

I have taken a first pass at coding the collected data and initially identified 10 themes. I was able to bring some ideas together with some AI help, and now I have six themes. Looking at the six, I realize that only five themes can lead to analysis and, eventually, synthesis. Outlining what I am learning in each of the five themes is too much for one article, so I will just examine one here: historical thinking and teaching. In future posts, I will examine these other four themes:

● Learning through a community of practice

● Reflective practice and metacognition

● University - field alignment

● Video annotated feedback

Historical thinking and teaching

Learning to teach using historical thinking concepts is a challenge for teacher candidates. How do you take abstract concepts like cause and consequence and turn them into activities and lessons that will engage high school or elementary students? No one expected the teacher candidates to come out with fully formed lessons incorporating historical thinking. Instead, there was an ongoing conversation about what a historical cause might be and how it could be represented to a class of students. Several of the teacher educators in our community of practice have a strong background in teaching historical thinking. One is an author who has written about the use of historical evidence in teaching; another is the former coordinator of a history teachers’ association; and another has experience mentoring history students in high school Canadian history classes. Nowhere in the data do these experts say that the teacher candidates are not doing historical thinking “right”. I have seen comments like this, but only from academics debating the finer points of what it means to do historical thinking. Rather, the teacher educators talk about what they are seeing, starting from where the teacher candidates are. For example, one teacher educator commented specifically on how the evidence presented in class could lead to a discussion on cause and consequence:

I would suggest starting by inviting students to examine the powerful image of the streetcar and invite them to make observations and guesses as to what might have caused this event. Then you could outline the causes in groups (social, economic, political factors?) This would frame the lesson more powerfully around the concept of cause and consequence

The best way to introduce a complicated teaching technique to students is to start from where they are and see how they are trying to incorporate concepts into their lessons. In all the conversations between teacher candidates and educators, it is evident that a climate of respect and common purpose exists within the community. This is the critical element in the process - a relationship between the learner and expert practitioner develops providing exemplars of practice along with the feedback necessary to advance the learner’s level of expertise. When feedback is delivered in the company of other educators, a community of practice develops. Additionally, when teacher candidates receive input from experienced educators the information lands with significant impact; they tend to value the feedback of others over their own (Rich & Hannafin, 2008; Sydnor, 2016; Zaffini, 2018).

One teacher candidate notes the significance of this relationship:

as candidates, we often don’t know what we don’t know. So when our instructors have the knowledge/skill to anticipate what we might be oblivious to, or notice that we might be overlooking something, that is such a huge help. And like you say, there are so many different people and personalities present, it is important for instructors to recognize how someone else’s personality and experience might benefit from specific insight they have.

I will spend much more time sifting through the data and coding associated with these themes. The analysis phase is iterative and I need time to let the evidence percolate through me. These recorded thoughts and musings act as my researcher journal, capturing my thinking right now. I will continue refining these themes, revisiting the data, and recording my thinking here on Substack.