A Practical Study Of Chemistry Classroom Observation Based On Ethnography

As a common education research method,classroom observation is widely used in the field of microscopic education research,and it has gained more and more attention from education researchers and front-line educators.Following the advances made in science and technology,classroom observation researches showed a strong quantitative atmosphere.Until the 1970 s,ethnographic qualitative research methods began to be introduced into the classroom observational studies.Educational Ethnography is a kind of research paradigm,combining teaching theory with ethnography,which belongs to microcosmic ethnographic research.In western countries,Educational Ethnography has already matured as a technological system with strong operationalization,while in China it is still in its infancy.Educational Ethnography,based on the methods by describing education phenomenon,incidents and behaviors in a dynamic,detailed and contextualized extent,is not a course or a research area but a method for probing into educational belief,values,behavioral model and job characteristics of both teachers and students in the specific context of education culture,a valuable methodology system could be applied to explore unique traits,principles,standards and theoretical principles."High school chemistry curriculum standards(experiment)" proposed a new concept of chemistry teaching,from an emphasis on teaching of teachers to advocating learning of students,which is the teaching concept aiming to improve the scientific literacy of students.The purpose of this study is to attract people's ethnographic interest and to demonstrate the implementary possibility of chemistry classroom student-centered classroom model,combining the research's teaching practice school's student-centered classroom reform and using ethnographic research methods to observe teaches and student-centered activities and to interview teachers and students informally.Through studying of classroom observation's theoretical achievements based on ethnographic perspective and student-centered classroom concept in-depth,and combining the chemical characteristics of teaching with the characteristics of the objects of study,I conducted a field survey in X middle school for six month.I collected data through a participatory classroom observation and inform interviews manner.I took notes with a notebook initially and obtained the empirical data of the student-centered chemistry's pros and implementary conditions by voice recorder and video camera finally.By sorting and filtering data,I showed four representative cases and attempted to analyze and explore the practicality of student-centered teaching chemistry classroom implementary in the current education system.Practice Study found that: researchers divided classroom into several observation points comparing the classroom observation's study quantitative way,and ethnographic research methods look the whole class teaching overall,and give more attention to detail in the classroom and the humanities.It is can be concluded from classroom records:it is feasible and effective for student-centered classroom under the current educational system.The teachers return classrooms to the students which gives students more autonomy,enhance the students' intrinsic motivation and the overall quality,and improve the effectiveness of the classroom.But at the same time,student-centered classroom teaching chemistry also need to have long-term cooperation of equality between teachers and students,teachers need to spend more energy to prepare class,and students need to make full preparation to lay the foundation before class.