Postholm, 2010

Mapping out the research design in 

Postholm, M. B. (2010). Self-regulated pupils in teaching: teachers' experiences. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 16(4), 491 - 505.

The purpose of this article is to show how teachers introduce and include cognitive learning strategies as part of their teaching and, furthermore, to describe how pupils experience the use of strategies in their learning processes, as seen from the teachers’ perspective…

The school taking part in the research and development (R&D) project is situated in a suburban area and has pupils from the first to tenth grades.”

Postholm, 2010: 491

The collection of data

“I was interested in finding out what was taking place during the teaching processes, the ‘what’ and wanted to obtain an understanding of how this ‘what’ was experienced by the teachers.”

I used a phenomenological approach…to collect information about the teachers’ experiences. To answer the research question, I observed the teachers during their teaching of nine lessons each semester for three semesters…I also observed and reflected together with the teachers during reflection dialogues in the subject team meetings after each observed teaching lesson.

Moreover, I had six group interviews with the teachers in class team meetings and 12 meeting with all the teachers…”

The research question guided the observations that focused on how the teachers facilitated strategy use.

The observations helped me to form themes and questions for the interviews with the teachers…

I attended three assemblies in which all the teachers in the school exchanged experiences from the development work.

I made notes on my classroom observations and on the meetings and tape-recorded interviews and the plenary presentations.

Postholm, 2010: 495-496

Data analysis:

“the production and use of transcripts are ‘research activities’ because they involve close, repeated listening to recordings that often reveal previously unnoticed features of the conversation. Therefore, I produced and analysed the transcripts myself.

The notes and transcriptions were analysed according to the constant comparative method [from GT]

When I structured the data material during the analysis process, I arrived at the following four main categories based on the teachers’ perspectives:

(1) the introduction of strategies,

(2) learning strategies and adapted teaching,

(3) various tasks and strategies; and

(4) learning.

Member checking …was used to ensure the quality of the research project. This means that all the teachers …have read the text both for accuracy and to check the ethical dimension."

Postholm, 2010: 496

Index of topics