AN INTERACTIVE METHOD FOR ANALYZING RECORDED CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS

This paper introduces an interactive method for education research, in which classroom interactions are recorded by a researcher and analyzed by the participants themselves with the help of this researcher. The method makes use of Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis, which are broken down to a “light” version of these methods the principles of which can be explained to and used by participants in a relatively short period of time. These principles are then used by the participants to analyze their own recorded interactions. The advantage of this method is that it is participant-oriented, stays close to the reseach subjects’ experience, and allows for many intermediate interactive steps which yield practical results for the participating educational professionals. The use of this method will be illustrated by a research in which I used it at the General Practitioners' training of the University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This research examines a part of the curriculum in which GPs in training share experiences from practice with each other. These sessions are recorded, and the teachers themselves are involved in the analysis of these interactions. Possible applications include intervision, teacher training, and curriculum design.