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Activity 1: Road Map for Conducting Practitioner
Research*
Group Process:
1. Hand out the Road Map for Conducting Practitioner Research. Ask
participants to take out their copies of your project's timeline,
which they received in the previous session. (Sample
timeline from the 1999-2000 Virginia Adult Education Research
Network project)
2. Walk through the Road Map for Conducting Practitioner Research with
participants. Beginning with the headings that run along the left side
of the page (Learn About the Topic, Develop and Refine Your
Research Question, etc.) point out how each of the components in
the research process (on the map) relates to points on the project
timeline.
3. Take a few minutes to discuss some of the corresponding details
listed for each component along the right side of the handout. Point
out to participants that, although conducting research is a
step-by-step process, it is not always as neat or linear as it appears
depicted on the handout. Tell participants to expect to discover
certain steps in the research process overlap, occur simultaneously,
and repeat themselves. Research is not cut and dried; the process can
be messy and ambiguous at times.
4. Before moving on to the next activity, respond to participants'
questions of an immediate nature, assuring the group that you will be
available to address their individual concerns as Meeting One
continues.
5. Explain that now participants will take the plunge and begin
charting the official course of their individual research projects.
Bring everyone's focus back to the first step on the handout, Learn
About the Topic. (15 minutes)
______________________________________________________________________
* Based on handouts and ideas from Joan Cohen-Mitchell and the NCSALL
Practitioner Research Group on Learner Motivation, Retention and
Persistence, 1998, and Cassie Drennon, A Facilitation Guide for Local
Adult Literacy Programs, Department of Adult Education, University of
Georgia, 1998.
Top of page
Activity 2: Understanding the Issues*
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Purpose: |
To gain new understanding about participants' research
interests, the contributing factors and related issues.
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Time: |
3 hrs (1 hr to introduce and model the activity and
ample time for small group discussions, or 30 min per
researcher/issue, plus breaks)
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Materials: |
Understanding the Issues: Instructions for Critical
Friends handout
Pre-meeting participant
assignment, where participants have described their current
research interests. Participants have been instructed to bring four
copies of the exercise to the meeting. Facilitators have also done the
assignment to introduce/model the process for participants.
Facilitators need to bring enough copies of their work for the entire
group. |
Group Process:
Preparation for facilitators: Plan to collect participants'
writing assignments at the beginning of Meeting One and make the time
to read them - before this activity occurs - even if only a quick read
is possible. Reading the participants' descriptions of a "critical
incident" will help you decide how to divide participants into small
groups of "critical friends."
Frame the activity: Remind participants about their initial
research interests - what they wrote in their applications to
participate in the group. Tell participants that no matter what
problem they identified, or perspective they chose to write from, you
have assumed that their research interests grew out of some concrete
incident(s) that occurred in their practice/program. Whatever it was
had raised some questions for them that remain unresolved and have led
them to their current research interest. (A reference for facilitators
is included in the
sample recruitment packet from the 1999-2000
Virginia Adult Education Research Network.)
Now turn to the group's more recent entries - the
pre-meeting writing assignment
in which participants detailed some incident(s) in their practice
specifically related to their research interest. Explain that these
descriptions provide the substance for their work in this activity.
Mention this is an example of a data-sharing session. Tell the
group that throughout the research process they will engage in many
activities, like this one, that involve using or manipulating data in
some form. (It's important for everyone to understand that the
activities on the agenda in Meeting One are representative of those
occurring throughout the research process! Knowing this is important
because shortly after Meeting One, the participants will decide to
continue in the research group, or decide to withdraw. If a
participant doesn't enjoy data sharing, for example, there's a good
chance that individual and practitioner research are not a good fit
for one another.)
Now explain that participants will share the "critical incidents"
they described. In small groups, participants will explore the various
factors contributing to and issues involved in their research
situations. Explain that this activity is designed to help
participants question their initial impressions, consider other
people's perspectives, and generate new ideas about the problems that
participants want to research.
But first, facilitators will model this activity for the group. Each
participant receives a copy of the facilitator's writing and the
handout Instructions for Critical Friends. The group reads silently
the activity instructions and the facilitator's account of a critical
incident. Using the facilitator's entry, the entire group completes
the activity, per the instructions on the handout. At the conclusion
of the demonstration, respond to participants' questions - but only to
clarify the assignment.
Remind participants that during their group discussions a "critical
friend" does not offer advice or suggest possible solutions at any
time. Acknowledge that it can be difficult (for some people) to resist
the urge to "help." Be clear with everyone about the purpose of this
activity, which is not to solve problems or give advice.
Divide participants into small groups of three or four, identified
earlier in the day.
_______________________________________________________________________
*Understanding the Issues was adapted by Cassie Drennon, (1998)
Practitioner Inquiry for Staff Development and Program Improvement: A
Facilitation Guide for Local Adult Literacy Programs, Department of
Adult Education, The University of Georgia. Further credit goes to
Brookfield, (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher and
Mezirow, J. (1990) Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood.Top of page
Activity 3: Statement of the Research Problem
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Purpose: |
To document the beginning of the group's research
process and participants' most current thinking about their upcoming
projects.
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Time: |
45 min
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Materials: |
Newsprint pad, easel, markers, tape, and post-it
notes |
Group Process:
1.Reconvene the larger group. Begin by debriefing the previous
activity, Understanding the Issues. Ask how the participants feel
about what happened in the small group discussions. Ask, for example,
if any surprises occurred, or what was most striking, or what they
learned from the experience.
2.Now, raise the subject of "discussion" with the group - and explain
the active ongoing role it plays in a practitioner research group.
Pose the following question to participants to initiate a discussion
about this: What can participants accomplish or learn through
discussion in a practitioner research group?
Possible responses include:
- We can analyze our practices more deeply and raise new questions
about them.
- We continue getting to know each other better and develop a sense of
community.
- We can develop a greater appreciation of alternative perspectives.
- We can help group members deal with practical challenges in
practice.
3.Now shift the focus to the next activity, Statement of the Research
Problem. Explain to the group that now they will document the first
stage of their research and discuss informally their most current
thinking about the upcoming research.
4.Pass out markers and newsprint, and ask participants to write the
following:
- A succinct paragraph summarizing their most current understanding of
their research problem or issue
- A concise statement about what difference it will make when they
solve or better understand their research problem
- One thing they know about their upcoming research project (give
participants fifteen minutes to respond to the prompts)
5.Have participants post their responses. As in a gallery review,
participants and facilitators now walk around the room to see what
everyone has done. Make post-it notes available. Group members post
comments or questions on the borders, or in the white space, of each
participant's paper.
6.Spend the rest of the time discussing the work hanging on the walls.
This is an opportunity to discuss the participants' research projects
in a relaxed social setting, which may occur toward the end of a long
day. Consider serving refreshments and extending the suggested period
of time. (45 minutes)
Top of page
Activity 4: Excitements, Questions, and Concerns
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Purpose: |
Gives participants the opportunity to
express any excitements, questions, and concerns they have about
carrying out the research process.
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Time: |
5 min
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Materials: |
Index cards in three different colors |
Group Process:
Give participants this short "homework assignment" to complete before
the next session begins. Pass out three index cards, one of each
color, to everyone.
Ask participants to reflect on the day's meeting including all the
activities and - in general - the practitioner research process
itself. Ask participants to write the following:
- One excitement about conducting research (on a yellow card, for
example.)
- One concrete question about the research process (on a blue card,
for example.)
- One concern or issue about conducting research (on a pink card, for
example.)
Tell the group to bring the completed index cards to the next session.
Conclusion of session
Session 4: Clarifying Ideas About
Practice
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