Research Paper: Heffernan/Lewison

TITLE:  Rewriting Writers Workshop: Creating Safe Spaces for Disruptive Stories

AUTHOR: Lee Heffernan/ Mitizi Lewison

SOURCE: Research in the Teaching of English Vol. 42

RESEARCH QUESTION(S):  What are we trying to find out?

What did we find out? 1) How does having children write about bullying help them solve their differences?

ANSWER TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1) By the end of the study, children became more civil towards one another and shared how they hoped that their books would make the school as a whole, a better place.

RESEARCH DESIGN:  What type of research (case study, survey, quantitative methods, etc.)   Survey of 19 students plus one teacher

KEY RELATED STUDIES:  What’s been done sort of like this? What theoretical work does the author draw upon?

UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS:  That having children write about bullying experiences can help with many of the problems they face.

SUBJECTS (including how selected): Who are we getting the data from?

3^rd Graders: 12 boys, 7 girls and teacher. Five students, all boys, required special ed services. Two were Asian and the rest were of European ancestry. They were in a Midwestern community.

METHOD OF RESEARCH (including key variables):  What exactly do we do to get the data? Each issue that the students face are grouped into categories. Child-authored books written during the 1999-2000 school year by Lee’s 3^rd grade class were examined. Field notes, student notebook entries, and student interviews.

RESULTS: What’s the main (condensed) drift of the data?

Bullying actions, reactions, role of the adult characters,and protagonist agency

CONCLUSIONS:  What conclusions can we draw from the data?

Physical violence is more prevalent in boys. Girls portrayed verbal abuse 57% of the bullying incidents.

IMPLICATIONS:  What should we research now, and how should we change our teaching now, based on these findings?

We should see how this study works in an urban setting, and also get more involved both as educators and parents about bullying.

STRENGTHS OF THE STUDY:

Consistent involvement of the children and the open forum used to analyze how the power structure of the 3^rd grade class hierarchy is viewed.

CRITIQUE OR LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: 

Only studied one class

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY:

Could this study be conducted in all grade levels K-12? Would the same issues the children faced be any different in an urban setting?