In the Research Conversations podcast series, researchers and teachers come together in conversation to collectively explore different aspects of engaging with literacy research. They draw on their diverse priorities, interests and concerns as they reflect on what their encounters with research are and reimagine what they could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can listen to the episode or read the transcript below to consider<\/a> their different perspectives when it comes to engaging with research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this episode, teacher Vikki Varley and researcher Sin\u00e9ad Harmey talk about the value of teachers conducting their own research in their classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such projects can not only have a positive impact on their students but also provide learning opportunities for the teachers themselves. These research projects give teachers time to dwell and reflect on their own thinking and practice. They end up contributing to their professional and personal development. This episode also explores the different ways in which both teachers and researchers can tune into each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to the episode here<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Vikki Varley (VV):<\/strong> Hello, so my name is Vikki Varley. I\u2019m a year 2 teacher and English leader in a four-form-entry school in Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sin\u00e9ad Harmey (SH):<\/strong> I\u2019m Sin\u00e9ad Harmey<\/a>. I\u2019m an associate professor in literacy education. I\u2019m based in \u2013 this is a mouthful \u2013 the International Literacy Centre in the Department of Learning and Leadership in the Institute of Education, which is part of UCL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [intro music]<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> I was a primary school teacher for many years and a primary literacy lead after that before I went into research. One of the things that I was really interested in, Vikki, was hearing about your MA research. Want to tell us about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> I recently did my dissertation at Oxford Brookes University and we\u2019d been doing a lot about Reading for Pleasure in schools with the Open University<\/a> and using their research to inform a whole-school approach to reading for pleasure, knowing how important it is sort of as a tool for social justice. So I went on from there and I thought I\u2019d look in my own classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got some children who were able to read but were choosing not to read in the classroom. So each day we have a daily independent reading time. And I really wanted to engage more children into volitional reading. Having read around Reading for Pleasure and different approaches, I decided that I would use a mini library. So I made the children personalised boxes of books. We had conversations about what their interests were and then I chose books for them, laid these books out on the table and they chose ones to put in their basket. And they kept that basket for six weeks. And I sort of observed them before they had the boxes and then after the boxes to see what impact that made and to see whether it did engage them more or not. Which it did! [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was really successful. The mean reading time after the introduction of the boxes was more than it was previously. But the whole experience, I learned so much from. And I can\u2019t say definitely whether it was the boxes at all that made the difference. That\u2019s what\u2019s really interesting about the research as well because so many other variables changed. Because of all the reading and reflecting that I\u2019d done, I sort of developed as a reader teacher. The book stock that we had in the classroom changed as well because I listened to what the children wanted. So all of these different factors were involved. I\u2019ve actually used the boxes again this year because they were quite successful just with selected children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> One of the things I was gonna ask you is how has it impacted your practice? So that\u2019s one of the ways is that you\u2019ve kept going with the boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> Yeah, I\u2019ve kept going. I did it with six focus children. And then this year, as I\u2019ve observed my class, some of the children, it wasn\u2019t that they weren\u2019t reading, it was that they had such a narrow field; they would just pick up the same book. So we used it as a way of increasing the variety of books. But I think all the reading around it I did, I learned more about how I was teaching and what I was doing and reflecting on sort of the whole way I approached it. So there\u2019s things I didn\u2019t realise before that had changed how I\u2019ve interacted with the children by reading the research. There\u2019s a really good piece of research about how some children do want to read, but they\u2019re poor choosers and you need to support them. Some children just can\u2019t access the whole class offer and say they need a more personalised approach. So all of those things that I read and realised, \u201cOh! Oh yes, of course!\u201d [laughs], I could then incorporate into the project. So it sort of developed as I went on and I\u2019ve developed it this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> That\u2019s kinda like how we read as adults, isn\u2019t it? You know, personal recommendations from friends or somebody has a book that they\u2019d liked and then they\u2019ll recommend it. Whereas if you were to go in to a whole library, it can be really overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely overwhelming. We use the informal book talk to introduce the books to the children. So it familiarised with them, but they still had the autonomy because I wasn\u2019t saying, \u201cyou can only read these books, you must read these books.\u201d It was, \u201cyou can put those into your box if you like, but you can also still have access to the other things.\u201d And then when they enjoyed one, they\u2019d come and tell me about it and we\u2019d get more in the series. So that reduced the problem of choosing because I tried to put series in for the early chapter books. But they also developed social reading hubs as well, so other children were drawn into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> And there was these brilliant informal conversations going on about books they were enjoying. I looked into as well about attitudes to reading and confidence, self-efficacy, reader identities and sort of reflected on how those things were important in motivation to read. And there was one child who at the beginning he pretended to read, he didn\u2019t like reading really. He didn\u2019t think he was very good at reading and he was working below the expected standard. And by the end, he was working at the expected standard for reading. He said he loved reading. He\u2019d started reading at home. I got his parents and they made a book box for him at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he was modelling my behaviour. So as we talked about the books and swapped books, he was then getting other children to come along and doing the same. It was fascinating<\/em> to watch. As a teacher, you don\u2019t \u2013 maybe unless you\u2019re in the early years \u2013 get an opportunity to watch children and watch what they\u2019re doing. So when you stand back and \u2026 I think that\u2019s one of the good things about research. It gives you time<\/em> to really look at what\u2019s going on in your classroom. It makes it really exciting, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> It\u2019s a real privilege, isn\u2019t it? To just slow down and watch and see what\u2019s happening. Do you think actually doing that research on independent reading has impacted any other area where you teach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> We\u2019re doing as a whole school the Open University Reading Schools programme<\/a>. So I\u2019ve been able to sort of share what I\u2019ve learned with other staff. And it\u2019s made me feel more confident about being able to share research from the Open University with other staff because I\u2019ve spent more time looking at and digesting it. I\u2019m really excited about looking at writing now. We\u2019ve looked at reading so much and perhaps that same observation, maybe it will come when I start to look at their writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> So my research is about writing and observing young writers. And I think it kind of really came from my classroom teaching. Because I did work with young classes in Ireland so that would have been I guess Reception – Year 1. And then I started working one-to-one with children and then I realised \u2013 when I slowed down a bit \u2013 that actually being able to watch children, my writing teaching became more effective. When you were saying about slowing down to watch it and observe, it resonated with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> I suppose it\u2019d be really interesting to know if teachers were interested in getting more involved in research, how would teachers go about doing that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> That\u2019s an interesting question because I think from my perspective as a researcher, I\u2019m always looking to engage with teachers and I\u2019m kind of like, \u201chow do I do that?\u201d because I think teachers are usually so busy to start with. And then it\u2019s about kind of finding a match in terms of what\u2019s interesting. I think I\u2019ve often found that organisations like the UKLA, the UK Literacy Association<\/a> are really good places to meet people at similar interests and continue I guess on research journeys if that makes sense. When did you finish your master\u2019s?<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> September, yeah. So I often find it interesting like the summer after, for example, you\u2019ve finished your master\u2019s research, going to these conferences and there\u2019s researchers there who are like so eager to find out about these projects that are happening in schools or that have happened as part of master\u2019s research. That\u2019s a really fantastic way to engage with researchers because I think equally we\u2019d be there in those spaces as well trying to engage. Spaces like this. You\u2019re part of that Open University project, you\u2019re probably engaging with other teachers as well and creating networks in a way to keep going on that journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> I\u2019m a member of the UKLA, so I\u2019ve got a really helpful space like you say. And I found that once you know somebody \u2013 [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> Yeah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> They\u2019ll put you in contact with someone else. I\u2019m hoping to do a research project with a researcher at Sheffield University around translanguaging as well. That\u2019s through UKLA and they\u2019re a fantastic organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> It\u2019s those like informal spaces where you make connections. I think conference is always a good space. There\u2019s early childhood conferences, UKLA and then those special interest groups<\/a>. If I was to put the question back to you in a way, what would you think that researchers would need to do to make connections with you? Like what will be helpful for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s usually the senior leaders of the school but the middle leaders are good people to approach because they\u2019re the ones with sort of subject-specific interests. Yeah it\u2019s tricky, it sounds like you want to get involved with teachers and probably we want to get in with researchers. And it\u2019s just \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n SH:<\/strong> Yeah. I don\u2019t have an answer to this. It\u2019s about finding channels where you both tune into each other like platforms where there\u2019s common ground. Because I think very often as a researchers, we publish papers, for example. So that\u2019s like how we produce our research and you publish a paper and then it goes behind a pay wall. And you can only access it if you\u2019re \u2026 like you when you were doing your MA, there were certain articles that you could only access when you had the library subscription. And I think more I\u2019m beginning to learn about, like maybe that\u2019s not the best way for me to communicate my research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VV:<\/strong> Yeah, I think there\u2019s two things there, I suppose. I\u2019ve definitely felt like, \u201coh my goodness, I\u2019ve lost my library access now.\u201d [laughter] But I suppose as well, like sometimes research papers can be off-putting in that they might be difficult to understand. Sometimes I have looked and I thought, \u201cgosh, I don\u2019t understand the title<\/em>.\u201d [laughter] I don\u2019t know, so maybe publishing somewhere like perhaps a one-page summary in I suppose more layman\u2019s terms so that it\u2019s like really easy to digest and get the key points across with a link to the full paper if we wanted to. Maybe things like there\u2019s the UKLA, isn\u2019t there \u2013 4-11 that\u2019s written by mostly teachers<\/a> that\u2019s sort of really easy to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cTime to really look\u201d: Slowing down and observing with research in the classroom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n