A Self-Study on the Use of Imagination in the Primary School Teaching

Abstract

As a primary school teacher (the first author) in this study, I intended to understand, evaluate, and improve my teaching practices regarding “imagination”. I used the “self-study” methodology to make sense of my experiences and explore new ideas, actions, or understandings for my teaching. I conducted my research with 27 third-grade students attending a public primary school in Ağrı in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 school year. I used multiple data collection techniques (i.e., participant observations, reflective diaries, feedback from my students, critical friend and colleagues, and photographs of my teaching activities) to detail the study data and increase its trustworthiness. I organized my findings under three main themes: (1) My professional understanding and future goals. Under this theme, I explained my professional insight and future aspirations. I introduced myself as a teacher constantly questioning her practices, caring about enriching her teaching with different activities, and focusing on opportunities rather than obstacles in her work environment. I also emphasized my aim to design educational materials that will make student learning more meaningful and enjoyable in the future. (2) Activities that reflect my imagination. Under this theme, I provided detailed information about the activities I designed aligned with my imagination and implemented in my classroom to contribute more to students’ learning. (3) Comments of my students, critical friend, and colleagues. Under this theme, I shared my students’, critical friend’s, and colleagues’ comments about the activities I implemented in the classroom. I emphasized that the feedback provided was generally positive and guided my teaching. This study contributes to the literature by exemplifying how I designed the teaching activities using my imagination as a primary school teacher and improved the teaching-learning process by taking it out of the ordinary.