Collaborative construct analysis as means to engage teachers into reflective practice while conducting researchAnn-Louise Davidson Ph.D.ann-louise@education.concordia.ca

Context

Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning

and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate

technological processes and resources.

CorporateEducation Non profit

Instructional programs

Non instructional interventions

Problem

Less than 10% training transfer (Stolovitch and Keeps, 2004)Slow rate of technology adoption in schools.Issues with accessible technologies (price, compatibility, physical, etc).Learning problems remain the same despite many technological developments.

Students often feel that school is disconnected from their real life.Employees often don’t know how to apply what they learned in training.

Action Experience

Research Thinking

Training Instructional interventions Non instructional interventions

Plan Inquiry

Evaluate

Research done by and with the

participants as co-researchers,

not on the subjects

rticipatory

MAN[SI]PA[TE]obile

dvocacy

ovelty

[Social - Informational - Technological - Epistemological]

e

Approaches to emancipate

Adopt a participatory perspective

Conduct collaborative action-research

Address large scale problems in education

Use simple language

Interact with local knowledge structures

Make sense of complexity

Generate new knowledge by engaging research participants as stakeholders

Work for the common good

Theoretical framework

Solutions can no longer be proposed by experts and theory alone. Researchers need skillful means to make sense of complex situations (Chevalier & Buckles, 2008).Worlds and people are what we meet, but the meeting is shaped by our own terms of reference (Heron, 1996).Things become what our consciousness makes of them through the active participation of our mind (Skonowski, 1994).The interview is only as good as the interviewing technique (Seidman, 1998).

The psychology of personal construct George Kelly -1955

Concerns about the fact that the observer contributes more than the patient.Fundamental postulate:

A person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the way in which he/she anticipates events.

Our construct system makes our world more predictable (Kelly, 1955) and if we want to change the world, we have to change how people anticipate their experiences.

Kelly’s methodology: repertory grid

Looking down at the data...

Elements

Constructs1 5Ratings

K12

Schools

CEGEP

)

)

D C NSDR DKDBS N B KK ADEN D BK RRDU DV O NAKD R ?D ?N 6

TSN R C 5 B BTK SD C GDKO RSTCD SRTSN SN RSTCD SR O NAKD RNKU F

TSN R N D N N D O NAKD RNKU F1 RBTRR N R BK RR V SG STSN GDKO BN BDOST K PTDRS N R"

STCD S SD R C RBTRR BN BDOST K PTDRS N R0G KKD F F O NAKD ?D ?N 6

TSN R O NU CD EDDCA B SN D CT F BK RR5 SD TOS SGD C RBTRR N C F UD RGN S DWOK S N R

TSN F NTSR CD BK RR

8AK F S N 8 UNKT SDD A R R.U K AKD SN KK RSTCD SR 1DOD CR N SGD RSTCD S R RBGDCTKD

ST K SD BS N 2KDBS N B SD BS N5 R CD BK RR 8TSR CD BK RR

4 NTO BS U S 5 C U CT K BS U SD BGD E B K S S F D BGD O NU C F

TSN R RSTCD SR SD BS N D BGD FT C BDNAKD RNKU F 2WOK B S BN BDOST K SG F

DED R SN SGD EN S N STSN R O NU CD SN O NE DED R SN STSN R BN T B S N V SG RSTCD SR

' ' ' - -

) )) )) ) )' ' ' ( (

- ' ' ' ' ' ' ( ) - '( ' ' ' ' ) ) ( ( (- - - ) ( )

3NBTR D 0NKKDFDCD RS C SGD DUNKTS N NE ODC FNF B K OO N BGDR V SG SGD ?DAVN O NIDBS

8 UNKT SDD A R RTSN NTSR CD BK RR

9 4 C D 1NKKD DCD RS C SGD DUNKTS N NE ODC N B K OO N BGDR V SG SGD DAVN O NIDBS

9D BD S D U BD D BG BN ON D S. " '. -"% . "- . ," . " . "

D C NSDR DKDBS N B KK ADEN D BK RR

'. -"%

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5 R CD BK RR4 NTO BS U S

STCD S SD R C RBTRR BN BDOST K PTDRS N RTSN R N D N N D O NAKD RNKUTSN SN RSTCD SR O NAKD RNKU

8AK S NU K AKD SN KK RSTCD SR

5 SD TOS SGD C RBTRR N C UD RGN S DWOK S N R

D BGD E B K S S

D BGD O NU C

8TSR CD BK RR

3KDBS N B SD BS N:DU DV O NAKD R D0 N 6TSN R C 5 B BTK SD C GDKO RSTCD SR

:DED R SN SGD EN S N STSN R O NU CD SN O NED BGD T C BD

2 RBTRR N R BK RR V SG STSN GDKO

2DOD CR N SGD RSTCD S R RBGDCTKD

TSN R O NU CD EDDCA B SN D CT BK RR3WOK B S BN BDOST K SG

1G KKD O NAKD D0 N 6TSN R RSTCD SR SD BS N

:DED R SN STSN R BN T B S N V SG RSTCD SR

ST K SD BS N

9 NAKD RNKU

5 C U CT K BS U S

Student centered

Teacher centered

Student centered

Professional autonomy

University

Présentation des résultats des analyses de construits

Discussion

Used individually, the personal construct analysis allowed my participants to be reflective practitioners and to engage in new approaches to teaching and try new pedagogical activities and new softwares. Used in groups, the collaborative construct analysis allowed participants to negotiate meaning, to explain their practices to others and to be mutually influenced by each others’ practices. When used on a repeated basis, teachers and faculty members noticed that their practices evolved.

Conclusion

Using “the floor” to reflect and discuss experiences provides another perspective on the researchDeveloping methods to allow participants to participate in all steps of the research is essential to conduct effective collaborative action research

These steps include: formulating research questionsgenerating the dataanalyzing the datainterpreting the dataevaluating the course of actionreflecting on future plans for action

Thank you!

ann-louise@education.concordia.ca