When I read Journey to Praxis: Supporting Youth Activism (Clemons, 2023), I couldn’t help but notice how the article itself could be described as a research pizza. The Research Pizza Menu gives us a playful but accurate way to think about how an author structures their study from the crust that holds it all together to the toppings that make it unique. 

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🍞 Crust: Type of Research

Every pizza needs a base. Clemons builds hers on a qualitative crust, specifically using multiple case studies with a cross-case analysis. This choice sets the foundation for a deep dive into real-world contexts rather than broad generalizations.

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🍅 Sauce: Ideology / Underlying Beliefs

The sauce is a mix of critical theory and Social Justice Youth Development (SJYD). Clemons emphasizes Paulo Freire’s idea of praxis (reflection + action) and Ginwright & Cammarota’s framework that sees youth not as passive objects but as active agents who can challenge systems. This “sauce” soaks through the whole article, giving it its social justice taste.

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🧀 + 🍄 + 🌶️ Toppings: Methods and Tools

What makes this pizza interesting are the toppings. Clemons layers in:

• Semi-structured interviews with nine youth workers

• Observations of programming and community events

• Artifacts like organizational materials and websites

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🔪 Utensils: How It’s Cut and Served (Analysis)

Clemons triangulates data across interviews, observations, and artifacts. She also shares slices back with participants through member-checking.

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📦 Box: How It’s Delivered

Finally, this study arrives neatly packaged as a peer-reviewed research article in the Journal of Youth Development (2023).

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 Last week, I spent time thinking about my biggest questions in my professional life — what’s working, what’s not working, and what I want to figure out. One of my burning questions was:

“How can I better support students who seem disengaged and unmotivated during class?”

After watching the short videos on Positivist, Constructivist, and Critical research ideologies, I can see that the way I approach this question could change a lot depending on the paradigm I use.

If I took a Positivist approach
I would treat “engagement” as something I can measure maybe looking at attendance, participation rates, assignment completion, and even grades. I might design a survey or collect data over a few weeks to see patterns. I’d look for which strategies (group work, incentives, choice of materials) statistically increase engagement. This approach might give me clear numbers and generalizable evidence that one strategy works “best.”

If I took a Constructivist approach…
I would focus on students’ personal experiences and making meaning I’d talk with students, hold small group interviews, and ask them what makes them tune in or tune out. I might also observe class interactions closely and write detailed notes to capture patterns. The goal wouldn’t be to find one “correct” answer but to understand how different students experience engagement differently and why.

If I took a Critical approach…
I’d look deeper at the structures shaping engagement. Are school policies, curriculum choices, or disciplinary practices making some students feel left out or unheard? Are there issues of bias, inequity, or cultural disconnects that affect motivation? This approach might push me to think about systemic changes like more culturally relevant curriculum or different ways of assessing student learning so that all students have a fair chance to engage.

Right now, I think I lean toward a constructivist-critical perspective. I value hearing students’ voices and understanding their lived experiences, but I also want to think about the bigger structural factors that might be causing disengagement. Still, I can see the value in positivist data to check whether any changes I make actually improve engagement over time.

I also see value in positivist approaches in certain settings (where measurement and causality are clear and useful), but I feel uneasy when that becomes the only lens.

Prompt: How can I better support students who seem disengaged and unmotivated during class?” under each paradigm 

 Hubbard & Power, from The Art of Classroom Inquiry

 This article is about doing less research and zeroing in on your own classroom and your own teachings. They want teachers and youth to also be knowledge creators not just knowledge consumers. 

I started thinking about what I am most curious about in my professional life. Some of these questions come from things that are working well, some from things that feel challenging, and some from things I just wonder about. 

1. How do I balance meeting curriculum requirements with fostering creativity and student voice? ( I am newly working a charter school and it's a 360 from working with Boston Public Schools)

2. What kinds of classroom routines build the strongest sense of community? 

3. Are these routines beneficial or detrimental to the students?

4. How do young people define “success” for themselves, and how does that compare to how schools define success? ( Aligning these are crucial) 

5.  How can technology be used to empower students rather than distract them? ( In terms of AI) 

6. How do trauma and outside-of-school stressors impact classroom behavior and learning? ( Coming from and working in a low income neighborhood) 

7. What is the impact of representation (books, posters, role models) on student identity development? ( I try to be a role model for young black girls) 

8. How do students respond differently when I give them choices versus when I make all the decisions? ( Giving choice in class ie. read independently or in pairs)

9. How do family expectations shape how students show up in school or programs?

10. How do power dynamics between adults and youth shape student confidence and participation?

11. How can we create healthy power dynamics but still have the teacher student relationship/

12. How can I better support students who are bilingual or learning English?

13. What kinds of feedback do students actually find helpful and motivating?

14. When is it a good time to allow students to discuss?

15. What makes students feel safe enough to share personal thoughts or vulnerabilities in class?

16. Should Ethics be apart of curriculum 

17. How can I make sure quieter students have space to contribute without feeling pressured?

18. What strategies actually work for engaging students who seem completely disengaged?

19. How can I help students see mistakes as a natural and valuable part of learning?

20. How do my own biases (spoken or unspoken) shape the way I respond to students? ( currently reading a book about this with my students)