Research in the classroom

I'm applying to finish my MA.


I started it during my PGCE and now I feel I've finally found where I want to specialise. The course is research based and I feel it's the only route for me.

The reason I'm doing this is twofold:
1) There are some students I teach where I feel I'm failing them. Not because I'm awful teacher, but because I feel I'm not fully meeting their needs and, despite seeking advice from more experienced staff, no one can help me.
2) I'm beginning to truly understand the need for research in the classroom.

(And 3) I miss academia - being a teacher doesn't seem to count!)

I've just read a series of articles and essays discussing the importance and use of research in the classroom and they just make sense. The gist of things (or at least what I've taken from it) is that research is essential to continual professional development. Much CPD offered through schools is often as-and-when it's available, fragmented and the delivery lacks the grounded in informed research. I feel that some of the greatest CPD I can give myself is the opportunity to conduct my own research, which I can then use to inform my practice to meet the needs of more of the students I teach.

Being able to conduct research identified through evaluative thought of my own practice means that I'll be (hopefully) enthused to commit the time and energy needed to complete an MA alongside a full-time teaching career. I'm personally invested and involved in every aspect of this project. I've chosen to do this and I can see the direct personal benefits.

Equally, the theoretical research I'll need to conduct, I also hope to be able to use elsewhere in my practice. My PGCE training was tailored to combine both pedagogical and practical training and we were encouraged to let one inform the other. This was valuable in allowing me to understand why I was delivering a particular task, and also how best to adapt it (the task or delivery) to meet the needs of the class. The pedagogical training underpinned my planning, teaching and evaluation. I feel I've lost since finishing the PGCE. Granted, a lot of this is due to time and I acknowledge that's going to be an issue once I commence the MA. Indeed, it is only through the university designing such a flexible course in terms of delivery and assessment that I can seriously contemplate hopping back on the academic wagon.

The plan for my MA is research based but also collaborative. Now, I need to do a lot of permission asking and connection building, but I'm very excited by this prospect. I've been involved in establishing the TeachMeet as a semi-regular form of CPD in this area, and I've relished making the connections with other schools and departments and learning from them. I hope to be able to make new connections with other schools through the research and enquiry needed for this MA.I then want to nurture these relationships to create a network I can draw from and upon in the future to improve other aspects of practice...Ultimately I want to create a web of collaboration and sharing.

With this in mind, I want to do this not only for the personal benefits (the improved practice, the sense of achievement etc), but also to share my research with the schools and staff I'll need to conduct my research. I want to be able to create a base of information which others can take and develop in a way which suits them and their needs.

I feel, personally, that research is integral to CPD in this profession in order to create and develop effective teachers. Should schools/the education system allow the time for teachers to be exposed to/conduct their own research in order to inform their own practice; to disseminate their reading/findings to other colleagues within and between schools? It would require a radical overhaul of the system. Or, should research opportunities be only for those who are actively willing to get involved with it in addition to the already incessant demands of this job? It's a tough one. I know which one I'm choosing. I know what I'd prefer.