Thinking about master’s level research methods pedagogy

One day workshop, School of Education, University of Leicester3rd July 2015

Thinking through our

pedagogy

Reflecting on researching

RM pedagogies

Thinking through our

research

Advocating a slow process

Reflecting on issues and

approaches

Possible issues

Some Initial Reflections

• Should we teach research methods separately?

• How can we ensure that research methods feeds into wider discussions within a course?

(1) There is very little discussion of what the learning objectives of an introductory research methods course should be.

(2) There was very little discussion of what students actually learn in a research methods course, except for some anecdotal evidence that project-based learning ‘allows students to develop an understanding of the process of doing research’ (e.g. Winn 1995, para. 33);

(3) There was no discussion of how we assess students in a research methods course beyond indications that final projects were used in these courses (these projects were discussed in terms of alleviating students’ negative characteristics, not in terms of the assessment of any specific learning objectives)

(4) Incorporating whether a student is more on the ‘consumer’ side of the spectrum or more on the ‘producer’ side– do they have different attitudes toward research?

Earley 2014 Gaps in the Research

• Masters – a single entity?

• Research traditions: disciplinary/interdisciplinary

• Starting points

• Progression through levels of HE

• Pedagogies under-researched

• Research methods – a distinct language?

• Assumptions about ‘academic culture(s)’

• The issue of ‘numbers’

Think about and share:

• What your research methods provision is at present?

• What are the frustrations?

• What are the positives?

• What are you trying to achieve?

Reflecting on Research Methods Pedagogy

Having shared your ideas, imagine, dream:

• What would the curriculum look like?

• What would learning and pedagogy look like if your approach was perfect?

• What would you be doing?

• What would the students be doing?

• Where would learning take place?

Beginning to Consider Change

Given the discussions you have already started to have, summarise in any way you choose:

What needs to change/emerge in the pedagogy of your chosen area??

Exploring research methods pedagogy

Our context:

• Masters in International Education

• 20-25 students per year international cohort

• Diverse linguistic ability

• Diverse undergraduate experience

• Diverse professional experience

Course Structure

Some starting points

What are we trying to achieve?

Research methods or research literacy?

Conceptual Foundations

Building Knowledge

Date Duration Focus Online

8th October 1 day What is research? • Development of pre-readings• Narrated introductions and

reflections• Student-directed glossaries

15th October 1 day Introduction to critical reading

5th November 1 day Ontologies, Epistemologies and paradigms

18thNovember 1 day Methodologies and ethics

19th November 1 day Introduction to critical writing

3rd December 1 day Methodologies and ethics

13th-15th January 3 days Research design and tools workshop

19th/20th February

2 days Data analysis

13th March 1 day Networked thinking & reporting research

20th March 1 day Discussing the dissertation

Exploring ApplicationDate Duration Focus

8th October 1 day What is research?

15th October 1 day Introduction to critical reading

5th November 1 day Ontologies, Epistemologies and paradigms

18thNovember 1 day Methodologies and ethics

19th November 1 day Introduction to critical writing

3rd December 1 day Methodologies and ethics

13th-15th January 3 days Research design and tools workshop

19th/20th February 2 days Data analysis

13th March 1 day Networked thinking & reporting research

20th March 1 day Discussing the dissertation

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Dissertation

Issues and Emerging Themes

• Approaches Group work – focused and meaningful (non-assessed)

Students value opportunity to discuss and share

Concept mappingOpportunity to synthesise and ‘understand’

Pre-reading (and focused tasks)Opportunity to bring ‘knowledge’ to the sessionOpportunity to learn vocabulary – less WM used

Online narrated video work (replaying)Opportunity to bring ‘knowledge’ to the sessionOpportunity to learn vocabulary – less WM used

Team teachingdeveloping ideas togetherdebate/model uncertainty and multiple approaches

Flexible/responsive approach. changed and amended approaches/content as the module unfolded, ‘emergent curriculum’

• Pedagogic development

Critical writingthree days over the course of the year (one input, two voluntary)writing as social and peer supported practicemoving from reading to writing

Discursive and varied approachesconversational/exploratory dialogue‘slow’ approach explicit discussion of the ‘scientific method’ and alternatives

Use of ‘opening up’ papersframeworkedmodelling/exemplars of methodological approaches

• Language Conceptual and linguistic richness – language is les of an issue than concepts An issue for ALL students, developing use of a conceptual language But for some still a major issue at the end of the module (assignments)

• Assignments Individual rather than group Formative assessment – ‘mini conference’ with presentations and posters Final assignment – piloting and initial thinking towards dissertation (diagnostic & formative)Move towards independence

• Dissertation Time management (GANTT chart) Organising your supervisor Structures and approaches

Future Changes/Foci for Exploration

• Understanding the ‘’’bottom end’’’ ??? How do we make sure no-one fails? What are the factors which are responsible?

• The role of reading and writing Reading lists? Research methods electronic ‘core booklet’ Scaffolding reading and writing for understanding Closer collaboration with English Language Teaching Unit How does criticality emerge? Social writing?

• Greater use of structured follow-up tasks For deepening/extending understanding – possible starting point for

personalisation

• Extending the blended learning environment

• Quantitative methods Demystifying Understanding and using others’ data Developing application

• Wider, more inclusive dialogue and debate

• Development of ‘micro-lesson study’ for task design and understanding

• Podcasts for terminology and concepts

• Academic Paper ‘Anatomies’ More in-depth consideration of language, writing approaches, structures and

academic arguments

• Developing progression frameworks from masters to doctoral study

Researching Research Methods Pedagogy?

From this morning

• What are the main areas you feel you might want to develop (if any)?

• What are the questions you’d want to ask about practice and curriculum?

• How might you investigate these?

Searching for a research approach

Working towards a methodology of glimpses

Complexity - A Different Perspective

‘A complex (adaptive) system can be simply described as a system comprised of a large number of entities that display a high level of interactivity. The nature of this interactivity is mostly non-linear, containing manifest feedback loops.’

Richardson et al (2007, 26)

• Assumption that classroom environments are a form of complex adaptive system

• Non-linear system where simple ‘cause-and-effect’ interactions don’t exist. They are instead multiple and non-proportional.

• Difficult to define ‘boundaries’ to the system. What should we research?

‘…if a model of a complex system were to be constructed that captured all the possible behaviours exhibited (both current and subsequent) by the system being represented, then that model must be at least as complex of the system of interest. The reason for this is that there will always be something outside of the boundary (i.e., the boundary inferred by the model) that would affect the system’s behaviour in some way at some time.’

Richardson et al (2007, 27),

• As soon as we try to create an observation framework, or focus on certain aspects of the classroom environment, we collapse the incompressibility of the system

• Leads to potential bias and a ‘partial’ view

‘this much is certain: the quest for comprehensiveness… is not realisable. If we assume that it is realisable, the critical idea underlying the quest will be perverted into its opposite, i.e., into a false pretension to superior knowledge and understanding.’

Ulrich (1993)

The Issue of Incompressibility

• Richardson et al (2007) suggest that if complexity thinking is used as an epistemology then any analysis of complex adaptive systems requires consideration from a number of perspectives.

• Therefore, by using a number of methods for analysis, triangulation and ‘thick description’ can serve as a very useful platform for building understanding.

But…

Problems with generalisabilityComplex adaptive systems are a mixture of:

• Non-local knowledge - that which has value over a broad range of different contexts and gives us the foundation for generalisable statements.

• Local knowledge - that which is highly contextualised and cannot be generalised to create universal statements concerning the system and its elements.

• Difficult to delimit where the boundary between these is located.

Baseline•Student

questionnaire on prior learning

•Student interviews

Summative•Student

questionnaire on module experience•Student interviews

LS4

LS3

LS2

LS1

Formative•Student

questionnaire on experiences

•Student interviews•Focus group

Assessment analysis

Dissertationanalysis

Conc

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(Very) Initial Insights

• Shift towards more conceptual understanding

• More able to articulate what they didn’t understand

• Really important approaches/helped understanding Pre-session guided reading and tasks Group discussion Mini-lectures Defining terminology (some struggled with more ‘abstract terminology

throughout) Concept maps Narrated powerpoints

• Areas of difficulty/need for more work Data analysis, particularly coding, statistics Philosophical underpinning Understanding research design Reading more research articles

• From our perspective Consideration of culture The need to embed research methods across a course in a coherent,

supporting way Complexity of learning as a process Curriculum and pedagogy as emergent/contingent Need to draw on language teaching insights to teach research methods

o English for academic purposes

Reflecting and moving on So why are we teaching research methods?

Is there a separate research methods pedagogy?

What are the main insights for you (if any)?

What might be ways of understanding research methods pedagogy more critically? Deeply?

In responding to the blog at the start of the day, what 3 key points would you want to convey?

How will you take some of these ideas forward (if interested)?

Earley, M.A. (2014) A synthesis of the literature on research methods education, Teaching in Higher Education, 19:3, 242-253

Kiley, M. & Wisker, G. (2010) ‘Learning to be a researcher: The concepts and crossings.’ In Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning, J.H.F. Meyer, R. Land and C. Baillie (eds), Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 399-414.

References

Richardson, K.A.; Cilliers, P. & Lissack, M. (2007) ‘Complexity Science: A ‘Gray’ Science for the ‘Stuff in Between’ in Thinking Complexity: Complexity and Philosophy volume 1, Cilliers, P. (ed.). Mansfield, USA: ISCE Publishing, 25-35.

Ulrich, W. (1993) ‘Some difficulties of ecological thinking, considered from a critical systems perspective: A plea for critical holism.’ Systems Practice, 6(6), 583-611.

Other referencesGarner, M.; Wagner, C. & Kawulich, B. (2009) Teaching Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Hurworth, R.E. (2008) Teaching Qualitative Research. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Payne, G. (2011) Teaching Quantitative Methods: Getting the Basics Right. London: Sage.

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