Transcribing the unsaid: finding silence in a self-study

Self-study is an emerging methodology in researching teacher education, and central to the practice of self-study researchers is reflection in and on teaching and learning. Studies are predominantly qualitative and methods include field notes, interviews, journal writing, surveys and observations. While excerpts of talk are used in reports of self-study, the use of transcription and transcripts is under-addressed in considerations of self-study methods. This paper considers how transcription informed a self-study. Reflection on the approach to transcription is used to argue that transcription and the development of transcripts is a valuable analytic tool. It can provide powerful insights into a researcher’s classroom practice through a process of structured inquiry that employs the transcription process.