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Required Reading for Action Research ELT 652
Required Reading for Action Research ELT 652
Course Books:
Course Books:
Research Tutorials
Research Tutorials
You are required to work through one of these research tutorials. You can select the most appropriate. Examine these both as a model for online tutorials and for the content. (More information under activities)
Choose one of the following Readings on the topic of Research Methods:
These are books about research methods. They vary in focus and difficulty. (This links go through our amazon associate account so you don't need to use the buy book link.) I expect you to do some reading about research method. Each of you will bring what you learn to the group so that we can benefit from your reading. You can chose to use the web instead of a book.
RESEARCH BOOK (Chose one or use the internet to search and read about methods)
RESEARCH BOOK (Chose one or use the internet to search and read about methods)
1)Judith Bell Doing your research project-- is for "first time researchers in education and social science" which covers most of you. It is a research method book that will help you think about how to collect evidence. It is not a book about action research although it describes action research as one of possible forms of research you could take. It does help to demystify research methods. It is aimed at people with little to no research experience. I recommend this book to most of you.
Bell, J. (2010) Doing your Research project (open up study skills). Oxford, Open University Press.
2) This second book is also a general introduction to research with less of a focus on schools. It is a good investment if you plan to continue with you EdD or PhD.
Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2010) How to research (9780335238675) Maidenhead ; New York: Open University Press.
The amazon page for each of these has more information to help you pick the text that fits your circumstances the best. '
3) This final choice if for the philosophers in the group. If words like phenomenology, hermeneutics, and semiotics don't scare you this book has some interesting description of how you go from verbal texts to research and describes a number of qualitative methods. There is a glossary in the back to help you keep up with the philosophical terms that might be new to you. While it does focus on pedagogy--your teaching practice--it is not overly school based. It helps to think about how journals, for example, can be used as data.
Max van Manen, (1990) Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for and Action Sensitve Pedagogy. New York: State University of New York Press. 197p
(I am happy to lend my copy to the first person who is interested.)
And, finally if you have a research method book that deals with both qualitative and quantitative research methods that you are partial to, you use that instead of any of these. If you are disciplined, you can also use the web.
Recommended Reading:
Recommended Reading:
The following books may help you think about change in your local context.
1) Using Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation, New Directions for Evaluation,
by Hallie Preskill (Editor), Anne T. Coghlan (Editor)
The first is a different take on action research and is called appreciative inquiry. Rather than problem based it is a strategy for working with groups to evaluate what is working rather than what is not. It might suggest some strategies for how to enter into a dialogue with groups that are threatened by evaluation. Even if your action research is moving ahead without trouble, appreciative inquiry might give you some language to talk about the change and the evaluation process. While this approach complains that "problem" based research is negative, I personally prefer to not see problem as negative. I think that all of us should be locating problems (opportunities for innovation) to solve as a constant way of being in the world.
2) Isaacs, (1999) Dialogue and the Art of thinking together.
Read this one if you want to rethink the way you talk to and with people. If your action research is going to require lots of community dialogue you might enjoy this book.
3) Norris, Barnett, Basom Yerkes, (2002) Developing Educational Leaders: A working model: The learning in action. If you are working in the school setting or with educators, this will help you think about how to develop a learning community approach to leadership.
4) Schank, R.(1990) Tell me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence.
This book will help you think about the role that story telling plays in thinking together and building knowledge. Some of you who are focussed on building knowledge might find it helpful. Shank has a new book Teaching minds and maybe Jonathon will add it to the resource library in Sakai.
5) Larson, M, (1997). Making Conversation: Collaborating with Colleagues for Change. Boynton/Cook.
This book is for educators and can help you think about how to talk about what is important in education. Larson raises a set of difficult questions at the heart of the English classroom-- who gets to decide what is taught in school, how do we keep students engaged and how can we assess them in a fair way.Through letters, he explores doubts about his own work as a teacher, his successes and failures in the classroom, his questions about the educational system, and his ideas on how to handle some of the more perplexing dilemmas today's teachers face. A dialogue ensues in which colleagues and students reply with ideas of their own.
6) Dixon, Nancy M. (1998) Dialog at work. Center for Creative Leadership.
Managing people involves language, and dialogue is much more effective that monologue for the purpose of meaningful communication. This book summarizes social science research on the subject, to explore effective strategies in communicating.
7 Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators
by George Collison, Bonnie Erlbaum, Sarah Haavind, Robert Tinker
This book is a great practical resource for university faculty and administrators who are implementing blended learning at their institutions. The wide range of examples and clear guidelines make it a a good resource in the course redesign process.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
And finally for those working in online settings...here are online resources to help you
Academic Impressions Workshop Material
Roles of Successful Blended and Online Instructors
Collaborative Learning Technologies
Seven Principles of Good Teaching Practice in Higher Education
National Survey of Student Engagement
CLASSE: Classroom Survey of Student Engagement
National Centre for Academic Transformation
Educational Action Research is a fully-refereed international journal concerned with exploring the unity between educational research and practice. Increasing interest in action research in recent years has been accompanied by the development of a number of different approaches: for example, to promote reflective practice; professional development; empowerment; understanding of tacit professional knowledge; curriculum development; institutional change; and development of democratic management and administration. Proponents of all these share the common aim of ending the dislocation of research from practice, an aim which links them with those involved in participatory research and action inquiry.
This journal publishes accounts of a range of action research and related studies, in education and across the professions, with the aim of making their outcomes widely available and exemplifying the variety of possible styles of reporting. It aims to establish and maintain a review of the literature of action research. It also provides a forum for dialogue on the methodological and epistemological issues, enabling different approaches to be subjected to critical reflection and analysis. The impetus for Educational Action Research comes from CARN, the Collaborative Action Research Network, and it is hoped by means of the journal to extend and strengthen this international network.
Reading Resources
Action Research
Center for Collaborative Action Research- this is our site at Pepperdine
AERA Special Interest Group in Action Research (you can join this community)
Action Research - Living Educational Theory -Jack Whitehead
Jean McNiff's site with links to tools
The Participatory Action Research Network Cornell University Center including an international journal.
The Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) Some of it private but some public resources.
Action Research Resources at University of Maryland: Information, examples, and ideas for teachers.
Other useful resources for information about your topic
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2010). Web 2.0: How-to for Educators. (Technology for the classroom)
The George Lucas Education Foundation (Telling the stories of the future of technology through innovations of today)
The National Staff Development Council (Resources for staff development)
Center for Creative Leadership (Resources on leadership and a community connection opportunity)
The Buros Institute (Center for testing and assessment resources)
REL-Midwest (Midwest Regional center support for Research on Education and Learning)
McREL (Mid Continent Regional Center support for education and learning)
NWREL (Northwest regional center on Research in Education and Learning)
CASENET (Teaching with Cases...great for those of you working on online designs)
Constructivist Project Design (great set of projects for ideas)
The Future of Networking Technologies for Learning (a bit dated but fun to look at-- links to the complete documents seem to be missing)
Active Learning & Active Research, Clark University
Google Sites
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