Teaching and Research philosophies are fluid and forever changing as we continue to learn.
Research Philosophy
To research is to want to learn more about something and taking the steps to be successful. I have always been curious about what is out there, what is over there, how does it work, what will make it work more efficiently, or can it get better. One of my favorite quips is “we don’t know what we don’t know until we find something we didn’t know”. This covers my philosophy for research perfectly. We must continue to find new things to learn. For me this includes understanding the best way to learn. I believe that a day without something new learned is a day your brain is shrinking and as I began to study articles and books from the field of neuroscience, I know it is true!
My research interests at this time focus on instructional design techniques and the results from new Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) testing that is being published. My new understandings in this area are making me want to address how it affects our digital learners. There is so much to this field but for my research interest, I want to focus on today’s learners. The students that are digital learners, I do know that it is not all the children, are showing in their fMRIs that cognition occurring differently from students not using technology.
With the research emerging on cognition, the pedagogical techniques used in the classroom should change. Are we teaching in a way that is the most beneficial for all students? Are we giving all students the benefits necessary to compete in a digital economy in the future? Are we assessing teachers in a way to encourage teaching in innovative ways? These questions lead me to begin researching science, technology, engineering and mathematics integration, or STEM.
I have used an integrated approach to teaching in an elementary school setting and I have seen a technologically advanced high school using multidisciplinary units with remarkable success with the children at their school. The students and teachers were working together across disciplines to develop deeper conceptual understandings of history and science. I could personally see that this approach was very successful based on student scores, state test scores and mostly on the student’s desire to participate. My question was why was this so successful?
As a young child, my mother said I always wanted to see what else was there before I could make a decision to what I wanted. I still think that today. Is there something better? Are we teaching the best way for students to learn? I believe through research in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, educational pedagogy, and educational computing that we can create an environment where students have the greatest opportunity to learn and develop. My research philosophy is to continue to read and learn and share what I’ve learned through publications with others. Hopefully, through my efforts, a change will start somewhere; to bring teachers closer to finding the best possible learning environment opportunity for all our future children.
Joy Royal, Ph.D. 