HEA Creative Research Methods

Workshop 2Thursday 17th

Overview of the session

• Responding to the article• Posing our research question• Thinking about ethics• Telling stories• Responding to stories• Reflecting on the experience of telling and

listening – beginning analysis• Writing our paper…..

Responding to the articleWhat key issues about identity and learning/education does the article raise for you?

What do you see as the weaknesses/strengths of the arguments made?

What sorts of evidence are drawn upon?

How is the evidence used to develop the argument?

What interests you about the argument? What frustrates you?

What questions about identity does the article raise for you as a student/learner?

What questions about identity does the article raise for you as a teacher?

Responding to Nutbrown’s challenge….

“I believe that in knowing ourselves as adults who work with young children, that we can better know and empathise with the children we teach and with our students at University level as they reflect on their work with young children” (Nutbrown, 2011:241)

“research in this field needs to push out from the safe(er) boundaries of established methodologies and seek out the small stuff of childhood” (Ibid, 241)

So what bought you in to EY education? Or as a research question perhaps…What influences practitioner to choose a career in early years education?

Key objects (symbolic equivalents) that help me to tell my story about becoming an early year’s practitioner…

You? Tell us your stories…. Nutbrown

Ethics…

Our responsibilities to You• Your participation is anonymous • You can withdraw from any of the discussion at

any point or ask for your presentation not to be recorded

• Where recordings are transcribed they will be made available to you if you wish to see them

• All data will only be used in relation to this project and its outcomes (which will include publications & presentations)

• As you will contribute to the presentations/papers that will emerge from the project you will have a stake in the project outcomes…

• Modeling an auto-ethnographic project – you pose a question..you produce data…you analyse data…you begin to formulate findings….

Your responsibilities to others• Your ‘characters’ should remain

anonymous too• Your stories contain stories about

others – take seriously your ethical responsibilities to them

• Notwithstanding the promise of anonymity give thought to what you disclose and don’t share anything that you feel uncomfortable about, or anything highly sensitive or has a safeguarding implication (choose another forum – Helen can advise)

And on to our article…..