OER4Schools/Programme review and action research: Difference between revisions

}}

{{OER4SchoolsWSInfo

|intention={{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/intention intro}}  

* becoming Reflective educators

|ict={{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/ICT intro}}

* you will ...

It would be very helpful if you can jot down quickly your thoughts on a paper. Spend about five minutes taking turn to share your responses with another participant. Listen and write down what your colleague has said and ask questions to clarify if you are not sure what he/she is saying. In the last ten minutes, each participant could quickly share what their partner has told them to the bigger group.

{{: OER4Schools/toc }}   

Duration: (15 mins)

These should be ''individual reflections;'' although you’ve worked closely with colleagues and have jointly planned some activities, you have trialled them in your own classroom and it is your individual responses that we are interested in here please.

Have a discussion with a partner about what you each feel is the “most significant change” you have made in your own practice through involvement in the OER4schools programme (all 6 units). Tell your partner a '''story about how this change came about,''' detailing what was the stimulus for it, why you decided to make a change, what you and your learners did, and what kinds of change you observed. What is the '''evidence for the change''' that you could present if, for example, you were talking to the principal of another school and wanted to convince them that the programme led to some changes in your practice?

"You who do not think deeply about the future do not appreciate the results and outcomes of your current actions. You who do not reflect critically on the past are not readying yourself for improvement. You who do not think of what you are doing in the present cannot see what to do next." (Adapted from Schmuck, 2006)

{{activity|tpr| on what you are doing now|10 }}  Have a go at thinking about what are you doing now. Are you really thinking of the the present or are you thinking of what you need to do next after this workshop or what has happened prior to coming here? What is the implication for your students? Are they usually ‘present’ in your class? How do you know or not know if they are?  Spend a few moments thinking about these questions before sharing your ideas with another participant.

{{ednote|text= Walk around the groups of pairs and try and get a sense of how many of the participants are thinking of the present. More than half the group? Less than half the group? Is it similar or different to a typical classroom situation? Could you have correctly predicted the participants responses by their non-verbal reactions?  Reflecting well on students’ learning in the present requires to be sensitive and insightful about the nonverbal reactions of the students. Going back to the LfL principle of ‘focusing on learning’, it will be just as important to study the nonverbal reactions of the students during your class (e.g. facial expression, ‘awake-ness’, looking around) as it is to listen to their verbal reaction.

In the course of this programme, we have encouraged you to be self-reflective by asking many questions. We do understand that some of these questions take time to respond or it may be years before a ‘belief’ on teaching and learning can develop.

{{activity|tpr| on self-awareness as a teacher|10 }}  You can develop a keener self-awareness by answering the questions above. Some of them may require a lengthy contemplation and we encourage you to write in your own personal journal – or record using a dictaphone – your thoughts later.  

# Why did you choose to be a teacher [your past]?

# What is it about teaching that you really enjoy now [your present]?

Although reflections on the past, present and future are very important skills for a reflective educator, these may not be adequate to solve problems or meet certain challenges in the classrooms. Each of us has a limited capacity to change a practice or to find new practices that will work for ourselves. Your reflections can be significantly enhanced by systematic collection and analysis of data from your students, and working together with the rest of your colleagues. By using a suitable '''research method''', you can move beyond just focusing on yourself, to engage your students and colleagues in deliberation on how to improve their teaching and learning experiences in the classroom. '''Action research''' and '''lesson study''' are two methods that can help you to develop professionally: to improve elements of your practice or to address wider issues beyond an individual’s classroom. You were briefly introduced to lesson study in session 1.5 when you analysed the following video through a Leadership for Learning lens. You will learn about action research in this session.  

* What techniques did the teachers used to capture details about the lesson as it progressed?  Can you think of any other ways you could capture details of the ''study lesson''?

In their book Change in Schools (1987), Hall and Hord wrote about the concerns of teachers who face the challenge of trying out new practices in their classroom. They found that when asked to change their practices, they are concerned first about themselves (‘Can I carry out the new practice?’), later they become concerned with others (‘Will my students react well? What will their parents say?) and finally they become concerned with the results (‘Will the new practice really lead to better teaching and learning experiences?’).  

| style="border:0.035cm solid #000000;padding:0.176cm;"| What are others’ nonverbal and verbal reactions to my new practice?

| style="border:0.035cm solid #000000;padding:0.176cm;"| What long-lasting contribtions can I make to improve the community, country and the world?*

 

{{activity|tpr| on the questions|10 }}  Find another partner for this activity. Think about these questions that Hall and Hord have proposed. Do you agree they are relevant to you and if so, at what stage do you think you are now? What would be the implications for your other colleagues in the school? What are you teaching beliefs and goals now that you could be a different teacher (or the same!) from before you have gone through this OER4Schools programme? Share your thoughts with your partner.

There are many roles that classroom teachers can assume to support school and student success.  The international teacher leadership project, a case of international action research,  explored the idea of teacher leadership and educational reform with the following as a central concept:

Could you see yourself in a particular teacher leadership role? You may realise you have different strength of ‘leadership’ which may not reside in one role. This is the role(s) that we would like you to consider as you embark on your action research at the end of these workshops.  

{{ednote|text=  Initiate a brief discussion after allowing participants a few moments to read the first two quotes.  Allow participants some time to formulate their responses. The subject of teacher leadership is huge and we are really only offering a glimpse here.  Nonetheless, it can be a useful exercise just to think about the possibilities.  If time allows, ask the participants what they perceive the barriers to becoming a teacher leader to be and make a note of these for further consideration.

= Very brief introduction to action research (AR) =

 

 

{{activity|wcd| on action research|10 }}

As an extension of the individual reflection activity, we are now proposing a valuable research method that can help a group of teachers come together to reflect and suggest possible improvement of their practice. This research method is call '''Action Research'''. Take about 5 minutes to read the text below and discuss briefly as a group the questions below.

''''Why do AR?''''  Many problems and solutions in classroom teaching are complex in nature and there is no 'quick fix'. AR researchers suugest that the reflection and solutions coming from the teachers themselves are very valuable. Doing AR well in a school creates a research culture whereby teachers actively reflect and intervene on a problem, its causes and suggest possible solutions.

''''What are the steps of AR?'''' There are different types of action research. Here we are introducing a '''participatory AR model''' that is suitable for improving practice in a collaborative way within a group of teachers. This begins with the group of teachers reflecting and discussing on the past, present and future possibilities of a particular teaching practice. The steps and illustrative example for each step are as follow:

* E.g.  ''A group of teachers came together to discuss on their observations that their grade three students cannot master the multiplication skills, despite their best attempts at explaining to them the concept. They reflected on their teaching method which was essentially writing down the multiplication table on the board. No other teaching resources or materials were used.''

* E.g. ''Teachers searched on the internet for articles on why students have problems learning multiplications and found out that students at year three needs to play with concrete materials in learning multiplication before they can think about the symbolic meaning of symbolic representations like the ‘multiplication table’. They brought small plastic containers and paper clips. They decided that they will get students to explain a multiplication operation, such as 3 x 4 through placing paper clips into the containers. They would like the students to think of the x in a multiplication problem as meaning "groups of." So 3 x 4 is "3 groups of 4." ''

* E.g. ''Teachers decided that some students need to spend more time with the concrete objects on their own. They decided in the next few lessons they would split the class into those students who needed more help from them and those who could carry on with written mutliplcation work on their own. They designed more hands-on activities for the slower-learner group.''

{{ednote|text=  There are actually many different models of AR and it is impossible to go through the details in 10 minutes.  Try to encourage the participants to think about the possibilities and the constraints of AR and also to think about what else they might like to know or find out about action research. }}

=Final ACTIVITY: Preparing a presentation =

* it should not describe theory only, but instead give '''concrete lesson examples of theory applied to practice.'''

* play to your strengths of your various group members and deliver a presentation that will provide a flavour of what the OER4Schools programme has been like for the next cohort of teachers or to any other observers

* the presentation should be no more than '''5 minutes long''' - so you need to choose wisely what you like to include!

* it should be a short sequence that is presented by a number of speakers (no more than 3), each speaking for no more than 1-2 minutes (time it in advance to ensure you do not overrun!)

* it is a whole group presentation so all members of the group should be involved in its preparation, even if they are not speaking on the day

* be prepared to answer questions from audience at the end of the presentation

* Maddock,M.,Peacock,A., Hart,S., and Drummond,M.-J.,(2012). Creating Learning Without Limits, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

* Schmuck, R.A., (2006). Practical Action Research for Change.California: Corwin Press