Interpretivism: The Ed Tech Coaches’ Playbook

*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina

In our discussion of research paradigms, interpretivism operates on the foundation that sociology needs to be approached differently than the positivist objective stance taken by natural science branches.  Crotty (1998) shares that the interpretivism epistemology is one that, “looks for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the social life-world.”  The role of an educational coach depends on one’s ability to operate within this context as our students’ [educators, administrators, and support positions] programming requires an understanding of symbolic interactionism.  A primary indicator of sustainable educational coaching is the individual’s ability to understand who they are working with, their interests, their motives, and their starting point (Juarez & Goyette, 2020).  In our quest to deepen participant understanding, coaches employ interactionist research techniques to find appropriate entry points for learning with the end goal to be student independence.

Symbolic interactionism holds three primary assumptions that hold true in the educational coaching relationship (Blumer, 1969, p. 2).  The first of which states that participants interact with things based on the meaning those items have for them.  The meaning that object holds, the second assumption, is crafted from the interactions the participant has with those around them.  Lastly, the perspective the participant aligns with when engaging with the object evolves based on the interactions they experience.  With these assumptions in mind, effective coaches need to evaluate not only their participant, but those around them.  What is their perspective towards educational technology such as the Office 365 software suite?  How is the program utilized within their building?  What language is used when introducing or interacting with the program?  From there, coaches can establish their participants baseline and prepare appropriate experiences that are purposefully designed so that their perspective evolves in a way that allows them to see the value the program in question can bring to their practice.  This shift in perception is then able to cause a shift in the meaning the participant assigns to the program and thus, changes the way in which they interact with the program.

The experiences an educational coach designs for their students pulls from interactionist research techniques such as dramaturgical methods, game theory, and negotiated-order theory.  A dramaturgical approach to coaching draws parallels between social life and theatre to identify rituals, directives, and determine meaning (Crotty, 1998).  An example of this can be seen in the parodies of social media that see participants learning about the culture of Instagram by walking down the street with a plate of food shouting, “Do you like my supper!?”  The concept of game theory branches off the performative nature of drama and adds in components of play to assist in understanding more complex routines and interactions (Crotty, 1998).  An example of this includes the card game, Hack, which requires participants to develop a strategic cybersecurity plan while learning about networking, patch cables, and firewalls through a Dungeons & Dragons-style game play.  The most common educational coaching approach in the past 18 months pulls heavily from negotiated-order theory.  This perspective accounts for continually evolving societal norms, work routines, responsibilities, and environments.  In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the approach remains a primary tool for all educators. 

Given the evolving nature of education and the array of experiences of students, an interpretivist approach allows educational coaches to account for the subject nature of their participants.  Moving past statistics and objective conclusions, interpretivism personalizes the educational experience.  Through an understanding of the symbolic interactionism assumptions and the use of interactionist research techniques, an effective coach can bridge the gap between professional development and successful implementation of strategies into the classroom.

References

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. SAGE.

Juarez, A. & Goyette, K. (2020). The complete edtech coach: An organic approach to supporting digital learning. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.