Coping with the absurd: a first-time educational researcher's reflection
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Updated: Nov 2, 2026

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations
Published on: September 16, 2015
1University of Sheffield, Division of Education, UK.
Abstract:
Learning research through doing it often left me feeling confused, but I also experienced a well defined sense of 'well that's exactly what I thought all along', as I sought to clarify my uncertainties by turning to the literature. This feeling is, according to Schön & Bamberger, a type of historical revisionism where the student attributes insight to the moment when it occurs. They suggest that when the insight occurs, the 'moves on the way, tend to disappear' (1991, p207). This paper attempts to set down these moves and concludes with an exhortation to keep educational research rooted in the experience and interest of the student.
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