Irv Seidman

I am lucky enough to be at the New England Education Research Organization's conference. Irv Seidman, a scholar from UMass, who has written on phenomenological interviewing in research gave the keynote. I am struck by the connections between his method (which I used as a grad student years ago) and what middle school educators know:

Subjective understanding (can't get to this by observation) is essential-- The meaning students make of the experience matters!

Transitive nature of human experience-- We must step back and reflect on what we experience.

Lived experience-- When we a reflect we step back recreate the details of our experiences.

Meaning in context-- You cannot know the meaning of an experience without knowing the context.

Through this method of researching, we are honoring the individual and their perspective. Middle school educators honor the individuals we teach as well.

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