18 april 08hea north west pgwt1 pedagogical action research for postgraduate teachers: what it is...

18 April 08 HEA North West PGwT 1

Pedagogical action research for postgraduate teachers: what it is and what it can do for you

Lin NortonProfessor of Pedagogical Research

Dean of Learning and Teaching


Brief Biography:stating my allegiance to

• Chartered psychologist• Associate Fellow of the BPS• Psychology lecturer for 20+ years in social psychology

and counselling psychology• Specialist coordinator for HEA Psychology Subject

network• Former Editor of Psychology Teaching Review• Currently writing (nearly finished!!) a book on action

research in universities; a practical guide


Outline

Brief presentation: In the context of building a career in university

teaching of psychology, how pedagogical action research can:

• enhance our reflective practice through scholarship • contribute to our continuing professional

development and • improve our students’ learning experience

Workshop: developing teaching/learning/assessment ‘problems’ into pedagogical action research projects


Influence of the HEA

Strategic plan 2005-2010 aims and objectives:

“To lead the development of research and evaluation to improve the quality of the student learning experience”

(objective 5)


Pedagogical action research: How can I convince the psychologists?

The two most commonly voiced objections are:

1. Action research is not ‘proper’ research as seen in the positivist, scientific tradition.

2. Action research is untheorised descriptions of practice


Action research history

Two distinct traditions:

1. British tradition links research to improvement of practice (education orientated)

2. USA tradition links research to bringing about social change


The teacher-researcher movement

Becoming critical: knowing through action. Seminal book (Carr & Kemmis, 1987):– Critique of educational research in its failure to relate

to practice– Their alternative based on concept of a critical social

science by Jurgen Habermas (1970’s). Habermas concerned with processes involved in developing knowledge, and challenges empirical analytical enquiry.

– critical educational science which could impact on practice through what C& K called emancipatory action research.


A definition of action research by psychologists

“ The primary aim of action research is to solve a problem within the process of the research. In the context of teaching your subject, it contributes both to pedagogical knowledge and to the subsequent modification of your teaching practice and your students’ learning…

…It is a cyclical process of planning, action, and investigating the state of affairs after action has occurred”

Lindsay, Breen & Jenkins (2002)


A generic definition of pedagogical action research

“…the fundamental purpose of pedagogical action research is to systematically investigate one’s own teaching/learning facilitation practice, with the dual aim of improving that practice and contributing to theoretical knowledge in order to benefit student learning”.

(Norton, in press)


7 characteristics of action research(Kember, 2000)

1. Social practice

‘ University departments are hives of intrigue and conspiracy. Trying to reach an understanding of issues concerned with teaching and learning, therefore, implies getting to grips with a whole range of human issues such as the attitude of students, the politics within departments and the ethos and environment of the institution’

(Kember, 2000, p.25)


Characteristics continued..2. Aimed towards improvement (Essential)

3.Cyclical (not necessarily simple spirals of reflection, acting, planning observing but progressive refinements)

4.Systematic enquiry (does not mean ’soft option’)

5. Reflective (outward not inward)

6. Participative (guards against making mistaken assumptions about one’s own practice)

7. Practitioner determined (driven from your own need to know)


Responding to the criticism that AR is not ‘proper’ research (1)

1. ‘…all social research is persuasive, purposive, positional and political and these are the very reasons why it is conducted’ (Clough and Nutbrown ,2002).

2. Lack of generalisability comes from a research principle where the method of data collection is quantitive.

3. In AR,each research project is necessarily unique as it has been designed for a specific set of circumstances with methodology tailored to suit those circumstances. While it is not possible to generalise from the findings of such small-scale research, its strength lies in its ‘relatability’ to similar situations (Bartlett & Burton,2005) .


Responding to the criticism that AR is not ‘proper’ research (2)

In action research:

‘The intention is to produce a body of evidence that would convince a reasonable person to make a judgment that the project or approach had been effective. In practice this position differs little from the level of proof normally presented in positivist research. Particularly in human or social sciences, the claim that hypotheses are irrefutably proved by experiment is often illusory…’

(Kember,2000:41)


Responding to the criticism that AR is untheorised descriptions of practice

The concept of transformational action research (Titchen & Manley 2006):– critiquing practice to problematise the status quo and

predominant ideologies, and to create new critical practice about the particular issue that is being investigated. This includes:

• the way we teach our subject, • the tradition and influence of the subject, • the effects of the department (academic tribes and territories)

– PAR contributes to the creation of pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman 1986, Kreber, 2002)


Pedagogical action research as an

intensity spectrum (Kember 2006)

Reflection Action research Action research

on L & T on L&T which contributes to

theory

Conference Refereed Journal

paper conference paper paper


The scholarship of teaching: what’s the problem?

• Bass (1990) makes the telling point that one of the differences in between scholarship and discipline based research is the way we think about the problem:

In research the problem is at the heart of the enquiry process and we’re proud of it

In teaching, the problem is something we don’t usually want to have and we’re ashamed of it


Changing the ‘status’ of the problem

• In pedagogical action research, this is precisely what happens….

• The problem: Psychology students don’t use enough journals in their essays

• The research hypothesis: A multi-layered intervention (librarians’ input, revised formative assessment, exemplars ) will increase the use of journals in an essay

(Norton, Norton & Thomas, 2004)


Pedagogical Action Research: a simple step by step process

ITDEM

Identifying a problem/paradox/ issue/difficulty

Thinking of ways to tackle the problem

Doing it

Evaluating it

Modifying future teaching.

Norton (2001)


An example of PAR I and T

Identifying the issue: Psychology students don’t understand the feedback on essays

Thinking of ways to tackle it:

1. Give more feedback- spoken as well as written

2. Research study looking at the effects of three different types of written tutor feedback in motivating students to improve their next essay


PAR example:D and E

Doing it:Students asked to complete a simple questionnaire commenting on the feedback on a recent marked essay in terms of:

usefulness, motivational impact and effect on their self esteem

Evaluating it:Greatest influence on self esteem and motivation were grade, not comments BUT tutor praise and positive comments were motivating whatever type of feedback was given (Norton, 2001)


PAR example:M

Modifying practice:

1. Adapted feedback to include positive comments (reflective element)

2. Used an Essay Feedback Checklist to more effectively target tutors’ advice

3. Carried out a further research study comparing 1st and 3rd years’ reactions to the EFC (the 2nd cycle)

(Norton et al ,2002)


PAR example: The second cycle

Identifying the issue: Does the EFC work?

Thinking of ways to tackle it: Questionnaire study: Ask students for comments

Doing it: Research study involving 1st and 3rd year Psychology students

Evaluating it: Comparison of 2 different methods of using EFC

Modifying future practice- an issue with evidence was revealed which led to subsequent cycles on journal use…


Pedagogical action research: what it can do for you

Researching pedagogical problems, using a traditional research model (e.g. lit review, aims, methodology, analysis, interpretation; psychologists are good at this!):

1. has an additional benefit of telling you about your own teaching/and or your students’ learning: Reflective practice

2. Engaging in the pedagogical literature, aligning yourself to communities of subject practitioner/researchers encourages conference attendance, greater engagement with the Higher Education Academy Psychology subject network , PLAT conference and journal CPD

3. By applying your findings to modify some element of your teaching: Improving student learning


Workshop: Turning the ‘problem’ into a research project

In small groups choose a specificlearning, teaching or assessment problem in psychology1. Devise a research question2. Devise a methodology3. Suggest how and where the findings could be

disseminated (conferences, journals)4. Suggest how the findings might be used to either

modify your teaching and/or influence policy at departmental/institutional level

5. Report back

18 april 08hea north west pgwt1 pedagogical action research for postgraduate teachers: what it is...

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