III FINALS NOTES

Lesson 1, Action Research.

According to Burns in 2010, AR involves a self-reflective, systematic and critical
approach to enquiry by participants who are at the same time members of the
research community.

 This means the researchers (who are also part of the group or community
they are studying) look closely at their own practices, analyze them
carefully, and make changes based on their findings. In short, Action
Research is a hands-on approach where people study and improve their own
situation in a structured way.
 The aim is to identify problematic situations or issues considered by
participants to be worthy of investigation in order to bring about critically
informed changes in practice.
 Action research is underpinned by democratic principles in that the
ownership of change is invested in those who conduct the research.

Processes in action research -DAOR

According to (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988)

• Develop a plan of critically informed action to improve

what is already happening

• Act to implement the plan

 • Observe the effects of the critically informed action in the context in which
it occurs

• Reflect on these effects as the basis for further planning, subsequent

critically informed action and so on, through a succession of stages.

Characteristics of action research FDDTE

• Focus on a particular social situation

• Collaborative/dialogue with others to identify the issues and to collect and

analyse data

• Deliberate intervention into the operation of the status quo

• Testing of knowledge and theory by feeding back into changes in practice

• Evaluation of changes through further cycles of action and reflection

Action research and Critical Theory

Central concepts are:

 The empowerment of participants in the social situation

 Confrontation of inequalities/in the system
 Transformation of the social situation
 Movement towards “a better world”
 Self-conscious criticism through awareness of ideological and
epistemological assumptions that shape the social situation
  Enhanced awareness of participants own subjective, intersubjective and
normative frames of reference

Action research and ‘real’ research

Questions for establishing the reliability and validity of a study (IEIE)

According to Nunan (1992)

TYPE KEY QUESTION

INTERNAL Would an independent researcher, on
RELIABILIT reanalyzing the data, come to the
Y same conclusion?
EXTERNAL Would an independent researcher, on
RELIABILIT replicating the study, come to the
Y same conclusion?
INTERNAL Is the research design such that we can
VALIDITY confidently claim that the outcomes are
a result of the experimental treatment?
EXTERNAL Is the research design such that we can
VALIDITY generalize beyond the subjects under
investigation to a wider population?
 Classrooms are too complex for us to control all the variables in the manner
prescribed by experimental research. AR proposes an alternative purpose for
research – to try and understand and deal with immediate practical problems
facing teachers and learners (Allwright and Bailey, 1991).

 In experimental research, scientists try to control all factors (variables)

to get precise results. But classrooms are too complex for that
because every student, teacher, and situation are different.
 Action Research (AR) offers a different approach. Instead of trying to
control everything like a lab experiment, it focuses on understanding
and solving real problems that teachers and students face in daily
learning.
 In short, AR helps teachers find practical solutions to immediate
classroom challenges rather than aiming for perfectly controlled
experiments.

Examples of action research: English langauge teaching

British Council, Spain

• Plan

– Problem: Limited variety in techniques for oral corrective feedback

– Preliminary investigation: video record classes + peer observation

– Hypothesize and identify issues for target (+ questionnaire)

– Plan intervention: vary error correction techniques (avoid problem

techniques)
 • Act

– Carry out intervention over an agreed period of time (2 weeks)

– Intervention is critically informed

• Observe

– Video record classes + peer observation: was intervention successful?

– Document context, actions and options, note change and impact (+

questionnaire)

• Reflect

– Report: Write assignment on experience for MSc in TESOL

– Report: Give a session at INSETT day

Ten Steps for a successful AR journey

1. Find colleagues interested in AR to work with.

2. Maintain a reflective and enquiring attitude to your teaching.

3. See classroom challenges and ‘problems’ as positive opportunities

for change for you and your students.

4. Be confident in your ability to find good outcomes for classroom

challenges.

5. Look for opportunities and take risks to change your teaching strategies.

6. Follow your interests and passions about teaching.

7. Keep reviewing and refining your personal practical knowledge.

 8. Be a strong voice for teacher inquiry and professional development in your
organization.

9. Share your thoughts with others.

10.Don’t be discouraged – keep going!

III NOTES L2
Narrative Research is a form of qualitative research that is used when a
researcher wants to share the stories of individuals.

 A literary form of qualitative research, narrative research is all about

collecting and telling a story or stories (in detail).
 Researchers write narratives about experiences of individuals, describe life
experiences, and discuss the meaning of the experience with the individual.
 A narrative research design is focused on studying an individual person.
 The researcher becomes the interpreter of the individual's stories.
 When someone is willing to tell their story, it follows a chronology, and the
researcher wants to write it. The researcher seeks out information through
interviews, family stories, journals, field notes, letters, autobiography,
conversations, photos and other artifacts.
NARRATIVE RESEARCH-ORIGIN

In 1990, Clandinin and Connelly first overview of narrative research in

education.

 Trends influencing the development of narrative research

 Increased emphasis on teacher reflection, emphasis placed on teacher
knowledge, an attempt to bring teachers voices to the forefront.

NARRATIVE RESEARCH-CONCEPT
In narrative research, researchers describe the lives of individuals, collect and tell
stories about people’s lives, and write narratives of individual experiences.

 As a distinct form of qualitative research, a narrative typically focuses on

studying a single person, gathering data through the collection of
stories, reporting individual experiences, and discussing the meaning of
those experiences for the individual.

NARRATIVE RESEARCH -DEFINITIONS

Researchers describe the lives of individuals, collect and tell stories about people's
lives & write narratives of individual experiences (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990)
Narrative research design is focused on studying an individual person. The
researcher becomes the interpreter of the individual's stories, as opposed to a
community (Creswell, 2012)

WHEN TO USE NARRATIVE DESIGNS?

 When individuals are willing to tell their stories
 Want to report personal experiences in a particular setting
 Want a close bond with participants
 When participants want to process their stories
 When you have a chronology of events
 When you want to write in a literary way and develop the micro picture

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF NARRATIVE RESEARCH

Individual Experiences

Understanding an individual's history or past experiences will help explain the

impact on their present and future experiences.

Chronology of the Experiences

A time sequence or chronology of events helps readers understand and follow the
research.
Collecting Individual Stories

Stories can be acquired throughout various means including interviews, informal

observations, conversations, journals, etters, or memory boxes. All are
examples of field texts.

Context or Setting
Described in detail, the place where the story physically occurs.

Collaborating with Participants

Occurring throughout the research process, the participant and the researcher work
together to lessen the gap between the narrative told and the narrative reported.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

•A number of data collection methods can be used, as the researcher and the
research subjects work together in this collaborative dialogic relationship.

Data can be in the form of field notes; journal records; interview transcripts; one's
own and other's observations; storytelling; letter writing; autobiographical writing;
documents such as school and class plans, newsletters, and other texts, such as
rules and principles; and pictures.

audio and video recordings are also useful data in narrative research.
THE 8 STEPS IN CONDUCTING NARRATIVE
RESEARCH

1. Identify a phenomenon to explore that addresses an

Educational Problem-
 Identifying an issue or concern provides the purpose for a study and
enables the researcher to understand personal or social experiences of
an individual(s)

2. Purposefully select an Individual from whom you can learn

about the phenomenon-
 Many narrative studies examine only one individual but several
individuals may be studied as well.

3. Select an individual(s) who can provide an understanding of

the issue.
 Carefully select this person(s) based on their experiences.

4. Collect the Story from That Individual –

 Besides the participant verbally sharing their story through
conversations or interviews, field texts also provide information
about the participant. Examples include: journal or diary entries,
letters sent by the individual, photographs, memory boxes, and stories
acquired through friends or family members.
5. Re-story or retell the individual's story-
 This step involves examining the raw data, identifying key
elements, organizing and sequencing these elements, and then
retelling a story that describes the individual's experiences. Re-
story helps the reader to understand the story by sequencing it in a
logical order. Stories commonly include the following elements:
setting, characters, problems, actions, and resolution.

6. Collaborate with the participant/storyteller-

 Throughout the narrative story collection process, the researcher
works with the storyteller to ensure the participant's experiences are
accurately portrayed.

7. Write a story about the participant's experiences-

 Usually, the biggest step in narrative research; the participant's life
experiences are written into a story by the researcher.
Highlighting specific themes that emerged throughout the story
and involving a section about the importance of narrative research can
be helpful to readers.

8. Validate the report's accuracy-

 An accurate report is essential to preserving the story. Conferring
with individuals and searching for disconfirming evidence will protect
the story's credibility.
POTENTIAL ISSUES IN NARRATIVE RESEARCH
 Story authentic? (Faking the data possible)
 Is the story real? (Participants may not be able to tell the real
story)
 Who owns the story? (Does the researcher have permission to share
it?)
 Is participants voice lost?
 Does the researcher gain at the expense of the participant?

SUMMARY
As a distinct form of other research, narrative research typically focuses on
studying a single, person, gathering data through the collection of stories, reporting
individual experiences, and discussing the meaning of those experiences for the
individual. A literary form of qualitative research, narrative research is all about
collecting and telling a story or stories (in detail). A narrative research design is
focused on studying an individual person. The researcher becomes the interpreter
of the individual's stories.