ABSTRACT
In a small-scale classroom enquiry you gather information (data), perhaps from several sources and in a variety of ways. In order to use this information constructively, you need to organise and present it so that you and others can interpret it. In this process you analyse your information, which means that you look for incidents, trends, patterns and themes. In this chapter, Min Wilkie describes four key activities which support this kind of analysis: naming, grouping, finding relationships and displaying. We have included this chapter because it provides practical examples of how to make an effective analysis of the kinds of information gathered ‘in action’ in classrooms, and because it uses research terminology (such as ‘sample’, ‘validity’, ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’) in an accessible way. Min describes enquiries carried out by teaching assistants into children’s learning in mathematics, literacy and ICT, and also into children’s behaviour for learning. Her chapter encourages all those involved in small-scale enquiry to view their information from the perspective of others, and to communicate what is most important about findings.
