Re: [xmca] Action Research: Generalisable learning

Dear José-David,
I report findings as if the teacher of the study were a completely different individual, but me. I use third person only ("the teacher", "she did this or that"...) to completely disassociate my feelings from the research. I believe we tend to soften or simplify things when they're about ourselves and that's the richness of the action research, to give us the opportunity to look at ourselves as different subjects.
Hope you find it useful.
Regards,
Ana

jose david herazo <jherazo4@hotmail.com> escreveu: All the reflections about Action Research you have made have given me light
to improve my role as researcher. I have a question to ask,maybe one of you
could give me still more light! In my work as an amateur action researcher
I very often find it difficult to report action research findings, How do
you usually report them?

Thanks

José-David
>From: "Ana Paula B. R. Cortez"
>Reply-To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity"
>To: mcole@weber.ucsd.edu, "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity"
>
>Subject: Re: [xmca] Action Research: Generalisable learning
>Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 22:02:48 -0300 (ART)
>
>Very interesting, indeed! I personally find this kind of research
>fascinating, not only because there's an opportunity to look at the school
>environment being part of it, but also as "an outsider", from a different
>perspective. I tend to analyse collected data as if the person teaching
>those lessons were another one, but myself. It's a way of solving
>teaching-learning practice problems, reflecting upon approaches and
>methodologies and, above all, finding ways to transform realities. In my
>opinion, it's a great chance of coming up with alternatives to overcome
>social barriers (now quoting Kincheloe, 1993. A formação do professor como
>compromisso político - mapeando o pós-moderno. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas
>- sorry, I only have the reference in Portuguese).
> Besides, I include students in the analysis as well: I show them video
>taped classes for us to debate so that they also get to know a bit about
>the theory and they can criticize what they see (isn't that our intention
>to educate students to become critical citizens? So why not actively
>including them in the study?). In this way, the multiplicity of voices
>generating conflict and discussion enriches the analysis and expand the
>activity itself. I mean, in my case, teaching EFL in a Brazilian bilingual
>school, this is the ultimate opportunity to transform the language as a
>tool for a result into a tool and result (as defined by Newman and Holzman,
>1993. Vygotsky - Revolutionary Scientist).
> Ana
>
>Mike Cole escreveu:
> This is an ongoing discussion the the action research list that ought to
>be
>of interest to several of us.
>mike
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>From: Jack Whitehead
>Date: Aug 7, 2007 3:28 AM
>Subject: Re: [arlist-l] Generalisable learning
>To: Action research list
>
>
>
>
>[ Converted to plain text. -- B. ]
>
>
>
>On 6 Aug 2007, at 23:35, David Tripp (by way of Bob Dick) wrote:
>
>However, as the purpose of action research is improved practice,
>when- and where-ever improved practice is achieved and others get
>to know about it, they tend to try it too, and so the practice is
>generalised as it moves from "it happened once here" to "it
>happens, here, there and everywhere!" and that's so much more
>relevant and important in terms of the method than categorical
>generalisation of other kinds of research.
>
>I do like the idea that practice is generalised as it moves is the way
>David
>describes above. You can follow this kind of generalisation from Chapter 6
>Kevin Eames' narrative of his action research in one school from 1991:
>
>CHAPTER SIX - ACTION RESEARCH AS A FORM OF PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN A
>WHOLE-SCHOOL SETTING
>
>This chapter deals with another aspect of my practice as an action
>researcher, and moves beyond my own classroom to my work with colleagues at
>Wootton Bassett School. In contrast to the two preceding chapters, the
>focus
>has shifted back to my own practice, although at the time of writing, in
>the
>autumn of 1991, I had been seconded to work with the advisory service of
>Wiltshire LEA. The account I give here, therefore, is not concerned with
>the
>current advisory work in which I was involved, but with events which had
>taken place some time before.
>
>at:
>
>http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/KEVINPHD/kechap6.pdf
>
>into Jacqueline Delong's action research between 1996-2002 into her work as
>a Superintendent of Schools in Ontario, generating a culture of inquiry in
>support of teacher action research in a whole school board in her narrative
>of her"
>
>HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY PRACTICE AS A SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND CREATE MY
>OWN LIVING EDUCATIONAL THEORY?
>
>at
>
>
>http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/delong.shtml
>
>and into Moira Laidlaw's action research between 2000-2006 in China's
>Experimental Centre for Educational Action Research in Foreign Language's
>Teachers, hosted by Ningxia Teachers University, at:
>
>
>http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira.shtml
>
>When David describes ' the purpose of action research is improved
>practice',
>I'm not sure if knowledge-creation is included in what is meant by
>'improved
>practice'. I tend to make a distinction between the questions I ask in
>researching to improve my educational influences with my students in
>questions such as, 'How do I improve my practice?' and the educational
>knowledge I generate as I explain my educational influences in my own
>learning, in the learning of others and in the learning of the social
>formations in which I live and work. I stress the importance in action
>research of both improving my practice and of enhancing the educational
>knowledge-base through my contributions to educational theory. In my
>understandings of generalisability in action research I use the idea that
>practice is generalised as it moves in the way David describes, I also use
>an idea of generalisability when I see that ideas generated in one context
>by an action research are being acknowledged as !
>of use in the narrative of another action research who is working and
>researching in a different context.
>
>Love Jack.
>
>
>
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Received on Fri Aug 10 04:16 PDT 2007