Drawing Conclusions and Implications

"Findings are the end result of your analysis, an interpretive task that allows you to see and know what you think to be true based on your study." (MacLean & Mohr, 1999, p. 69).

Research results are conclusions that show how original assumptions have been challenged or revised into new theories which are then proposed at the completion of the study. Findings appear at the end of a teacher research report. Many teacher-researchers state findings in list form (numbered or bulleted) and elaborate on those findings in some way.

Implications for Practice

The meanings you construct from your data help give you ideas about how to teach in a particular way. The statements you make about how you might teach are the implications for future teaching

Is Teacher Research Valid and Reliable?

That is a question that has been asked many times by both traditional educational researchers and teacher-researchers. Validity in research is the degree to which a study is honest and true to its intent, its context, and its reporting. It is the result of your integrity as a teacher and as a researcher. It poses the question, "Does your data say what you say it says?" All of the research strategies you have been using- observing, writing, interviewing, documenting, analyzing-are ways to ensure validity." (p. 117).

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Each school is different and the conditions are never the same from one class to the next. Teacher research derives its reliability from providing enough information to be able to make reasonable "comparisons" to other situations and contexts. Teacher researchers do not try to recreate the context of a study, but rather consider asking questions such as these (p.120-121):

• How does the context affect the findings in the study?
• What different variables are in the context?
• If the multicultural mix of students was substituted for a more homogeneous one how would that affect the findings?

MacLean and Mohr outline a number of steps teacher-researchers can take to achieve validity in research. Chief among them are:

• Make revisions of your research questions to ensure a focus on your current teaching and students and their learning.
• Do frequent, consistent writing of your own observations to discover what you think and to record what happens over a period of time.
• Collect a broad database of information to provide grounding for the interpretations that emerge from the data.
• Have other teacher-researchers examine and challenge your work.
• Read literature from theoretical and methodological frameworks to seek different theories and methods that challenge and deepen your own.

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See also:

MacLean, Marion S. & Mohr, Marian M. (1999). "Teacher-Researchers at Work." Berkeley, CA: National Writing Project, p 116-124.

Power, Brenda Miller Power (1996). Taking Note: Improving Your Observational Notetaking. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.