Action Research BIMM PGCert Week 2: Professional Research and Feedback Joelle Adams

Catching Up How was your teaching this week? Did you have any challenges? How did/might you overcome them? Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Following Up Presentations Other questions arising from last week?

Learning Outcomes By the end of the session, the successful participant should be able to: Critically describe action research and related concepts such as ethnography and living theory Outline ideas for their research project and locate these ideas within the fields of professional research Give and receive effective feedback on M-level writing Critically discuss the value of reflective writing assignments on a PGCert programme

Professional Research: Elements of Action Research ‘essentially an on-the-spot procedure designed to deal with a concrete problem located in an immediate situation. This means that ideally, the step-by-step process is constantly monitored over varying periods of time and by a variety of mechanisms…so that the ensuing feedback may be translated into modifications, adjustments, directional changes, redefinitions, as necessary, so as to bring about lasting benefit to the ongoing process itself rather than to some future occasion…’ (Cohen and Manion 1994: 192 in Bell, J 1999:8)

Let’s look more closely… ‘essentially an on-the-spot procedure designed to deal with a concrete problem located in an immediate situation. This means that ideally, the step-by-step process is constantly monitored over varying periods of time and by a variety of mechanisms …so that the ensuing feedback may be translated into modifications, adjustments, directional changes, redefinitions, as necessary, so as to bring about lasting benefit to the ongoing process itself rather than to some future occasion…’ (Cohen and Manion 1994: 192 in Bell, J 1999:8)

Action research is Sometimes called practitioner-based research Researchers doing research on themselves, as opposed to on others Open ended A social act to improve your practice

So What? How is action research different from other types of research you may be more familiar with?

Ethnography Any guesses? Trying to see things the way those involved see them Evolved from anthropology Looking from the inside?

Ethnography cont’d How? Participant observation, integration into contexts, interviews Problems with ethnography: Time Representativeness Generalising Validity Benefits: Enabling others with similar issues to recognise issues and possible solutions How does ethnography relate to action research?

Living Our Values – the work of Jack Whitehead Educators as socially responsible Trying to live our values in the educational contexts in which we teach The ‘I’ as self-contradictory Life-affirming energy

What are your educational values?

Time to work together… Find a partner. Discuss: Your initial ideas for the research project How you will collect data/measure effect Possible ethical considerations Is it really an action research project? Can it be considered ‘ethnographic’? (It doesn’t have to!) How does it relate to your educational values?

The Importance of Being Critical 1. Read the article Macfarlane, B. and Gourlay, L. ‘The reflection game: enacting the penitent self’. Teaching in Higher Education, 14 (4): Consider these questions: 1. How much do you feel like a reality show contestant when you write reflectively? Do you feel pressure to ‘conform’? 2. How important is it for us to be ‘critical’? 3. What can we take away from this article as learners? 4. What can we take away from this article as teachers?

Example of ‘critical’ M-level writing Uings 2009 A suitable analogy for this process would be someone who was following a pattern for a patchwork quilt. They may encounter a patch that has a complex stitch they are not yet familiar with. They must go away and perfect the new stitch before they can resume and complete the production of the quilt.

Another example A few of you have argued that ‘surface learning’ is sometimes the more appropriate course of action

Reminder: M-Level Writing We are looking for ‘engagement’ with literature, not just proof that the writer has read some books Drawing on the literature to inform practice Awareness of context Scholarly structure Professional presentation

Feedback from last term Find a partner Exchange work Use the marking scheme to provide each other with feedback, but talk through each element rather than just writing it down. DO NOT give numerical values – COMMENTS ONLY please!

Reflection What have you learned this evening? How will you apply this learning to completing your research project? Have you learned anything tonight that you can ‘action’ in your teaching?

Finishing Up For next week: begin to think about ethical considerations for your research project Sign up for presentations