Teacher Action ResearchWorkshop 2:

Framing the Study

EARCOS Teachers’ Conference 28-31 March 2012

Donna Kalmbach Phillips, Ph.D.Pacific University, OR USA

This interactive workshop is designed to guide participants through the first stages of developing an action research project:

problelmatizing practice, finding a topic, developing a critical question, choosing a study design, and connecting critical literature to an

action research study. Participants will work towards designing a draft

action research proposal.

Teacher Action Research: Process Workshops

Framing the Study

Discover an Area of Focus

Develop a critical Question

Research Design

Literature Review

Trustworthy Action Research

DesignData Analysis, Interpretation

Research Design

Triangulation

Criteria for Trustworthiness

Data Analysis Fundamentals

Ongoing Analysis:Cycle & Strategies

Final Data Interpretation

Going Public

………………………………………………………Critical Questions……………………………………………………………

Researcher Dispositions

Finding a Topic

Problematizing Practice – Cluster 1

Problematizing Practice – Refining Cluster

Problematize the Cluster: Critical Colleague Interview

•Share your cluster with a critical colleague.•Describe an experience that might best illustrate the focus behind your cluster.•Critical Colleague listens hard for the following:

• Assumptions• Beliefs, biases• What might be missing or may be overlooked.

(What other problem sources, possibilities may exist?)

• Synthesize what you hear as the “real” focus or question.

Developing a Critical Question Important to you Within your sphere of influence

Contains a good idea Authentic

Focused Compelling

Supports a mission/belief/value Benefits students

Informs your work Is your work – not outside your work; will be meaningful to you and your students

Evolution of a Critical QuestionHow can high school chemistry students learn to study more effectively?

The question is too broad.How would you define study skills?What does effective look like?Why do you want students to study more effectively? For what purpose?

Will teaching my HS chemistry students study skills enrich their understanding of the content area?

Getting closer…Study skills is a broad area that has different meanings for different people. Define “study skills.” Why these skills? What is within your sphere of influence?

How might the use of graphic organizers, quick draw chalkboards & review games increase my HS chemistry students’ content vocabulary?

Question is more focused. Specific study skills are identified. Purpose is clear. Possibility for meaningful results.

How will this question guide the study?

Give it a try:Draft a possible critical question based upon one of your clusters.

Sharpening the Critical Question

What attributes of an online small group learning environment engages students most effectively?

What factors contribute to engaged online small group learning? What

characteristics must be present to foster engaged small group learning in an online discussion course?

What factors work together to create an environment where individuals engage in online discussion in critical and informative ways?

What factors work together to create an environment where individuals engage in an online course to foster meaningful discussion and learning?

What factors work together to create an environment where individuals in an online course engage in active and meaningful discussion?

What makes EDUC 632 click or not click?

Sharpening the Critical Question

1. Write your current CQ in the middle of the page or workspace.

2. Identify 1-2 words or terms in the CQ that seem ill-defined, vague, too broad, or otherwise problematic. Circle.

3. Start with one of the words/terms. Draw a line away form the word/term. Brainstorm about the word/term. Clarify, question. Narrow or broaden. Rewrite. A CQ should act as scaffold, not a fortress.

4. Continue to work through the question.

Research Design & the Critical QuestionIntegrated Action Self-Study Ethnography Curriculum Analysis

To specifically “try out” a teaching method, practice or approach in order to address a concern or to improve student learning: an intervention

To deliberately focus on self as the teacher (role, talk, actions) in order to address a concern or to improve student learning.

To better understand an issue, dilemma, situation – a study of culture and/or dynamics.

To analyze curriculum, based upon the literature in the area, to ascertain strengths, weaknesses that can be addressed during implementation.

What factors work together to create an environment where individuals in

an online course engage in active and meaningful discussion?

How does my online talk, individual and group responses, and emails influence an online discussion course?

Will the inclusion of online live small group chats serve to further

engage and sustain an online course?

What text qualities most

encourage small group online discussions?

?

Ethnography

Self-Study Curriculum Analysis

Integrated Action

Research Design & the Critical Question:Revise CQ according to design-type

Integrated Action Self-Study Ethnography Curriculum Analysis

To specifically “try out” a teaching method, practice or approach in order to address a concern or to improve student learning: an intervention

To deliberately focus on self as the teacher (role, talk, actions) in order to address a concern or to improve student learning.

To better understand an issue, dilemma, situation – a study of culture and/or dynamics.

To analyze curriculum, based upon the literature in the area, to ascertain strengths, weaknesses that can be addressed during implementation.

What gets to the heart of what you want to study?

Paradigm (beliefs):It influences CQ, theory & research consulted, research design & data

analysis & interpretation

(Make your paradigm transparent!)

Teacher Talk in the Teacher-Student Writing Conference

Paradigm Critical Question Research Design Focus

Research Design

Humanistic(fixed identities)

How does teacher talk influence student writing success?

Teacher’s talk Specific kind of talk to remedy deficient student writing.

Postmodern(constructed identities)

How is dialogue in the teacher-student writing conference socially constructed?

Teacher’s talkStudent’s talkPower DiscoursesSocial factors

Identify discourses; clarify how power works; adapt talk to construct students as writers

Post-Material-Feminist(entangled identities)

How is the teacher-student writing conference a construct of discourse & the material?

Teacher’s talkStudent’s talkPower DiscoursesSocial factorsSchedule, class arrangement, writing tools, etc.

Identify entanglements. Consider any intervention as it reacts with discourse & matter.

Literature (distant colleagues), the CQ & the Research Design

Literature:TheoryResearch

Refines CQ

Informs Research Design

Guides Data Analysis/Interpretation

(Par

adig

m, B

elie

fs, T

each

er E

xper

ienc

e)

Context

Drafting an AR DirectionWorking draft Critical Question

Research Design &How This Reflects My Beliefs

Theory/Research I Need to Read

What factors work together to create an environment where individuals in an online course engage in active and meaningful discussion?

Ethnography: Study will analyze entanglement of attitudes towards technology; discourse; texts as intervention; technology as active agents; teacher input, all as intra-action.

Clusters of research to read:Online learning research – specifically, “discussion”Some research on social networking applied to educationTheory: post materialism

Drafting an AR DirectionWorking draft Critical Question

Research Design &How This Reflects My Beliefs

Theory/Research I Need to Read

Where we are in the AR Process

AR Data Interpretation

Revisit, review: reread ongoing data analysis & memos

Create mind maps,charts, and/or timelines;

generate categories

Expand your interpretation

Apply layers ofinterpretation

Return to the questions

Draft synthesisStatements

Interpretation Scaffold

Telling the Story

Prewriting AudienceKey Points“Thick Description”“Results”LingeringQuestions

Going PublicWeb pageBlogConferencesPractitioners’JournalsNewspaper &Letters

Critical Questions

Critical Questions

Discover an area of focus

Literature review

AR Design

What I willdo in my AR

Project?

What data will I collect?

How will Icollect the data?

How will I organize

the data?

AR Plan &Timeline

Becoming a Teacher Action

Researcher

Clarify Critical

Questions

Collect Data Set

ObservationsArtifacts

Interviews

Researcher’s Journal

On-Going AnalysisOrganize and readthe dataThink about the dataChart, free write,cluster process the data in theresearcher’s journalUse AR question as guide

Write AR memoDraft synthesis statements

Questions

AR Data Analysis

PracticingAR

Teacher Action Research: Process Workshops

Framing the Study

Discover an Area of Focus

Develop a critical Question

Research Design

Literature Review

Trustworthy Action Research

DesignData Analysis, Interpretation

Research Design

Triangulation

Criteria for Trustworthiness

Data Analysis Fundamentals

Ongoing Analysis:Cycle & Strategies

Final Data Interpretation

Going Public

………………………………………………………Critical Questions……………………………………………………………

Researcher Dispositions