Running head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Nora H. El-Bilawi
Six ESOL Teachers’ Perspectives on the Role of Culture in Relation to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Dr. Earle Reybold
George Mason University
fall 2009
ABSTRACT: The essential discussions of this paper is the topic of ESOL teachers’ perspective on the importance of integrating students’ funds of knowledge with respecting their cultural backgrounds when implementing Gardner’s (1993) multiple intelligences (MI) together with the brain-based instruction’s theories as means for learning differentiation. Interviews with six ESOL teachers will take place in an attempt to find information on whether students’ cultures are influential in learning preferences. The results will depend on the data collection and analysis; these data should enable me to highlight teachers’ perspectives on (MI) and brain-based instruction and the role of culture and religion in language teaching and learning.
Introduction
Statement of the problem
The central phenomenon and problem in this research paper aroused through my personal experience as a teacher when noticing that some mainstream teachers did not integrate English language learners (ELL) and their rich cultural backgrounds and funds of knowledge into classroom instructions. Students were forced to follow the same intelligences and learning styles of what those teachers are used to and learned to implement; however, they did not recognize that learning preferences and intelligences may be shaped by the nature or environment where these students come from, i.e. their cultural and religious backgrounds of their homes.
As a result of these teachers’ practices of ignoring what may ELL students carry as far as different intelligences and learning styles, I noticed through my teaching experience that ELL students showed learning despair, fear, and feeling of unfamiliarity of the learning environment and that’s by either not participating in lessons’ activities or by showing a disruptive behavior. According to brain research, a student’s brain shuts down from learning anything new when this feeling of despair and cultural diaspora occur.
Therefore, I believe that some teachers practiced teaching using the multiple intelligences theory with no emphasis or sensitivity regards towards identifying a relation between their intelligences or learning preferences and their funds of knowledge: Cultural norms and religion.
Statement of the purpose
To be true to the theory of multiple intelligences (MI), which is based on celebrating differences; teachers need to be encourage to look at students’ background differences and enable them to utilize these difference to induce cultural implications of students’ intelligences in classroom activities as well as in curriculum design.
Another purpose in studying teacher’s perspective on MI is to shed the light on some possible prejudices or biasses that ESOL teachers might fall into when trying to deal with learning differentiation especially using MI as a mean for differentiation.
Research questions
This study is looking to ethnographically and analytically research certain questions:
What are ESOL teachers’ perspectives on multiple intelligences and brain-based instruction on English language learning?
What is the role of cultural background of teachers on their teaching preferences?
Researcher identity
There are several reasons why I have chosen this topic for my research; from a professional stand, my interest started to focus on the concept of the differentiated teaching and curriculum design geared towards the wide range of diverse students in any classroom. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is the best resource to provide a planning tool for curriculum differentiation.
As a researcher, I found that the theory lacked the most important part that I had passion for that is the cultural and religious influence and role in shaping such intelligences. The reason behind this unique linkage was based on the previously narrated situations the raised my researcher intuition.
From a personal stand, I believe that people are much more similar than dissimilar underneath it all but that our experiences and contextual understandings of our surroundings/society are what makes it feel as though we are so essentially and necessarily different. I think what I mean to say is that the instincts and motivations which drive us as people are very much the same. It is the ways in which we follow these instincts that defines us as “different.” Bringing these sets of beliefs to the educational arena, I assume the solution to bridge this disconnect would be in integrating theories like the funds of knowledge, critical race theory, and multiple intelligences into our educational system including curriculum design and teacher preparation programs. Studying the interconnectivity between nature and a person’s brain biology with relation to nurture, race, culture, and religion, is essential.
I believe in this research topic because of ll the above mentioned reasons. I have a great passion to find rich analysis for my questions for a greater educational cause.
Conceptual Framework
The study will research the benefits of implementing multiple intelligences theory (Gardner, 1993), the impact of culture on students preferred multiple intelligences and learning styles (Armstrong, 2000), and the impact of integrating culture with multiple intelligences on students’ learning (Luis Moll, Cathy Amanti, and Norma Gonzalez; 2005).
Methodology
Design
According the Maxwell (2005), the design of this research is based on an interactive model design; the design is interconnected to the various experiences, researches and personal assumptions, goals, purposes, theories, and research questions. In other words, the above mentioned purposes of the study determined the framework of the study and literature review which consequently framed the research questions (Glesne, 2006).
My research’s goals and purposes seem to be directed toward a case study design. Case studies typically explore bounded systems in order to gain understanding of people, situations, events or programs and to explore the meaning for those involved (Merriam, 1998). However, according to Glesne (2006) studying participants’ perceptions (teachers’ perception on MI and cultural influences) is not a solid construct to be described as a case study.
Reflecting back on the design I might change or add components to validate some of my findings; for example, I would observe teachers in their classrooms after interviewing them to eliminate any assumptions or personal interpretations of data from my part. According to Maxwell (2005), it is essential for qualitative research design to be subject for changes and adjustments and it should not be a fixed process.
Methods
Data will be collected through conducting semi-structured interviews with six ESOL elementary teachers. The purpose for choosing the semi-structured interviews is to generate as much information as possible on my participants’ experiences and perspectives (Glesne, 2006); in other words, to generate teachers’ perspective on MI and brain-based instruction together with their level of integrating their students’ cultural backgrounds in classroom activities. The main reason for choosing a qualitative design in this study is the ethnographic nature of the research’s questions and purposes; this design will provide flexibility of research and design since I am in a stage of observing and gathering information on specific provoked question aroused from my field of experience (Merriam, 1998).
In creating Interview questionnaire (Appendix A), I followed my research questions in order to make sure that I am directing valid questions to my participants in relation to the main researched target topic and questions (Maxwell, 2005). The challenging part in this process was the fact that I had to develop the interview questions myself since the topic is tackling a new and unique angel of covering multiple intelligences in ESOL classrooms. Inspite of the challenging nature of designing the interview questions, I made sure to follow Glesne’s guidelines of interview designs; avoided leading questions, yes-no questions (sometimes used phrases like explain or why when such questions were used).
Participants’ selection
Teachers. The participants are six elementary ESOL teachers; they are mostly bilingual and/or ethnically diverse teachers, teachers who have lived and taught in a different country for more than three years, and teachers who have been teaching ESOL for five years or more. The reason behind my choice is the nature of the research topic where it is asking about teachers’ perspectives on MI and cultural influences and role in shaping students learning preferences. I was hoping that such teachers’ demographics would enable me to collect a more diverse and broad perspective (Merriam, 1998). In this study, I used convenient sampling (Glesne, 2006) for the sake of time constrains; however, if I could re-do this study in a pilot research I would choose middle school ESOL teachers rather than elementary. Middle school teachers deal with ESOL students who have stronger cultural background roots and maturer funds of knowledge since they have just recently entered the country, that would be easier for teachers to identify and relate to even more than elementary ESOL teachers.
Since I knew those teachers before, as they were co-teachers, it was easy for me to email them and ask them if they would be welling to participate in my research study. I then emailed back, those who approved to participate, with the consent forms. Before conducting each interview, I asked teachers if they had any questions with regard to the consent, then asked them to sign it.
Four teachers out of the six believed that cultural backgrounds of the students have a direct relation to their learning preferences hence their intelligences.
Setting
The chosen school is a title one school (students there are identified to be at risk with low socio-economical backgrounds). This choice is based on the need for a rich diverse environment. The teachers at such schools usually driven towards differentiating instructions for those students who belong to different instructional levels.
Data sources and collection
I will use semi-structured interviews that is flexible to allow new questions to be brought up during the interview as a result of what the interviewee says. The interviewer in a semi-structured interview generally has a framework of themes to be explored (Merriam, 1998). The interviews will be open-ended questions that last for half an hour per participant; the interview will consist of a list of questions of fairly specific topics to be covered, and the interviewee has a great deal of leeway in how to reply. Questions may not follow on exactly in the way outlined on the schedule. Questions that are not included in the guide may be asked as they pick up on things said by interviewers (Glesne, 2006).
Interviews. The interviewing process went smooth especially with the semi-structured method that I have used, which added a simultaneous nature to the process. Through the first couple of interviews, I was able to sense what could be the best way or flow of questionnaire. Hence, there was a sort of sequential organization to this semi-structured interviewing process. I believe that this allowed me to attain more information form my interviewees. According to Maxwell (2005), the more structured the interview the more compatibility across participants occur which consequently ensure the focus on participants rather than the phenomenon.
One of the problems was that these interviews were conducted during school hours; hence, some teachers were rushing through their interviews because of unintended delays. In other words, some teachers showed up late for interviews which pushed other interviewees’ appointment times behind schedule. In the future I will make sure to leave a good amount of time between scheduled appointments.
Moreover, having a second data collection resource is an essential method that I would implement in future studies. According to Maxwell (2005), data triangulation, that is a having three data collection resources, is the best way of insuring data validity and accuracy of data analysis.
Memos and reflections. During the interviews I kept a reflective log for each interviewee. I listened to the teachers’ responses and I reflected on these logs either during the interviews or right after the interview session. These logs were helpful especially when I started working on data analysis and findings (Appendix B)
Although I was writing my interpretations on these memos and logs, I tried to keep a balance between interpreting the actual experiences of those teachers and my assumptions on what they meant to say (Maxwell, 2005).
Procedures
I will start the research procedures by obtaining HSRB permissions. When accepted, I will seek permission in signing teachers’ consent forms (Appendix C). Once I get back the consent forms, I will start with scheduling interview times and locations (Appendix D). I will try to maintain participation confidentiality, conveying true research purposes with no deceptions, and discuss the process and reasons of the research.
The next step is to start with conducting the semi-structured interviews; a copy of the interview script will be given to participants. The interview will be tape-recorded and field-notes will be taken to describe further observational items about participants.
After finishing with collecting all interviews and observations needed, I will start with interview transcription and the analysis process of data which includes categorizing and coding.
Data analysis
Data analysis is the core of any research paper and that is why it is not easy to look at the transcribed interviews and be able to interpret and analyze the perspective of interviewees without following a certain data analysis strategy (Maxwell, 2005). Hence, I designed a certain system in my analysis to manage my interviews, which enabled me to get the most out of the data collected. The stages or steps that I followed in this research’s data analysis are: rereading-noticing- thinking, organizational categorization, and constant comparative analysis coding.
Reread, notice, collect, think. According to Maxwell (2005), I started with the initial step in analyzing data that is to reread the transcribed documents and memo logs in order to make a deeper connection with the written material. This deeper connection with the data sources elevated my analysis to the step where I was able to generate and notice data that might have a direct link to my questions. Some times and during some of the actual interviews I was not sure if they were leading me to anything specific, but afterwords and with the exercise of rereading the transcripts I was able to notice some of the interviewee’s repeated inferences, which I used later as part of the overarching themes in this research (view results section).
Organizational categories. Organizational categories came as my next step after rereading transcripts, noticing the data, and thinking and connecting ideas to generate data material (Maxwell, 2005). I felt since this was my first attempt in analyzing any qualitative research data that I needed a familiar etic categorization system to guide me through the data. My generated organizational categories in this early stage of the process were: Level of diversity, differentiation strategies, brain-compatibility perception, role of culture and background, and teachers’ innate experiences’ role. These categories were essential for my realization stage which lead me to the next third step.
Constant comparative analysis (CCA). In this third step I grew more comfortable with my data sources so I looked at them from an angel of the participants’ perspectives rather than focusing on the phenomenon; hence, I was able to move from the etic to the emic analysis. The goal of this research is more into describing these ESOL teachers’ perspectives on using MI and brain-based instruction and how culture may or may not have an influence in the instructional process and is not about generating a grounded theory. Therefore, I decided to use the CCA’s open and axial coding and not the selective coding. The open coding in this process was in creating chunks of participants’ direct quotes and rewriting some of their perspectives (Appendix B) to allow more data and themes to emerge (Glesne, 2006). As a visual learner I had to put theses categories and emerging themes into color coded data.
As for the axial coding, this is when I started to make connections and give more details to the data generated from the open and color coding. At the end of this process, I was able to identify this research’s core themes (view results’ section), which is the genuine result in any reliable qualitative research (Glesne, 2006).