Four Paradigms

Try to write out one research question or topic for each of the 4 paradigms. Label your questionsusing the Sipe and Constable categories of: positivist, interpretivist, critical theory and deconstructivist.

I teach grade 2/3 French Immersion (except I’m on maternity leave right now) which means that I teach every subject in French and students are suppose to speak French to me and each other all day. Primary in B.C. means grades 1 to 3. Students are between the ages of 5 and 9.

My topics refer to teaching and learning French which could be further broken down into spelling, writing, oral language, reading etc. To simplify things a bit, I’m just referring to French, in general.

Positivist – Are primary French Immersion (F.I.) teachers in British Columbia using smartboards to encourage student centred learning of the French language?

Interpretivist – What do primary F.I. teachers think is the best way to use smartboards to teach French?

Critical Theory – How can school boards encourage primary F.I. teachers to use smartboards in a student centred way to teach French effectively?

Deconstructivist – What is the most effective way to teach French in the primary F.I. classroom?

or

How can teachers most effectively teach French in the primary F.I. classroom using smartboards and a student centred approach?

I cheated and gave two questions for the deconstructivist topic. I still a bit puzzled about this one. Deconstructivism seems to say there are no truths so initially I thought I’d leave out the assumption that smartboards and student centred learning are the best techniques for teaching French. Maybe I’m reading to much into it.