Practitioner Research as Staff Development

Site Map

Introduction to this Guide

Overview of Practitioner Research as Staff Development
Organization of This Guide
Implementing Practitioner Research as Staff development
Important Resources
     - Research references and resources
Participant Homework and Meeting Preparations
     - Pre-meeting assignment
Recruiting Practitioner Researchers
     - Recruitment package
     - Reflections on practitioner research as staff development from participants

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Research Meetings and Materials

Meeting One: Coming Up With a Research Question

Session 1: Establishing Ourselves as a Learning Community
Activity 1:	Introduction to Meeting One
Activity 2:	Group Resume
	Handout: Group Resume
Activity 3:	Project Timeline
	Sample project timeline
Activity 4:	Building a Professional Community
Session 2: Introducing Practitioner Research
Activity 1:	Guiding Principles and Major Steps
Activity 2:	Becoming A Critically Reflective Teacher
Session 3: Understanding the Issues for Research
Activity1:	Road Map for Conducting Practitioner Research
	Handout: Roadmap for Conducting Practitioner Research
Activity 2:	Understanding the Issues
	Handout: Understanding the Issues: Instructions for Critical Friends
Activity 3:	Statement of the Research Problem
Activity 4:	Excitements, Questions, and Concerns
Session 4: Clarifying Ideas About Practice
Activity 1:	The Doubting and Believing Game
Activity 2:	Examining Our Assumptions
	Handout: Examining Our Assumptions: Instructions for Critical Friends
Activity3:	Sharing Excitements, Questions, and Concerns
	Sample participant concerns and facilitator response
Session 5: What Makes a Good Research Question?
Activity 1:	Looking at Examples of Research Questions
	Handout: Criteria for a Good Research Question
	Sample questions
Activity 2:	Arriving at the Research Question
	Sample research problems
Session 6: Individual and Group Responsibilities
Activity 1:	Conclusion of Meeting One
	Handout: Reflecting on the Problem to Develop a Question
	Sample letter of agreement
	Other handouts for Meeting One
	Meeting Evaluations from the 1999-2000 Virginia Adult Education Research Network

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Meeting Two: Collecting Research Data

Session 7: Learning About Data Collection
Activity 1:	Introduction to Meeting Two
Activity 2:	Reflection on a Phrase
Activity 3:	Learning About Data Collection
Session 8: Practice Collecting Data
Activity 1:	Being a Complete Observer in a Public Setting
	Handout: Observation Assignment
	Sample observation notes
Activity 2:	Rich Data: Learning How to Write Descriptively
Session 9: Designing the Whole Research Project
Activity 1:	Refining the Questions for Research
Activity 2:	Prep Work
Activity 3:	Brainstorming Ways to Collect Data
	Handout: Ways to Collect Data
Activity 4:	Drafting the Complete Plan for Research
	Handout: Collecting Existing Data
	Handout: Focus Group Tips
	Handout: Observation Tips
	Handout: One-On-One Interview Tips
	Handout: Sample Consent Form
	Handout: Suggestions for Using A Research Log
	Handout: Tips for Group Interviewing
	Handout: Two Paradigms of Research on Teaching
	Meeting Evaluations from the 1999-2000 Virginia Adult Education Research Network

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Meeting Three: Analyzing Research Data

Session 10: Learning About Data Analysis
Activity 1:	Introduction to Meeting Three
Activity 2:	Categorically Speaking
Activity 3:	Taking Stock of Our Data
Activity 4:	Individual Data Analysis Process - The Archeology Dig
Session 11: Working With Our Data
Activity 1:	Practice Analyzing Research Data
	Sample data: interview transcript
	Sample data: meeting evaluations
	Sample data: research questions
	Sample data: research problems
Activity 2:	Individual Data Analysis
	Handout: A Process for Making Sense of Your Data
	Handout: The Language of Research
	Handout: Data Analysis in Three Steps
Session 12: Our Preliminary Findings
Activity 1:	Presenting the Preliminary Findings
Activity 2:	Planning to Complete the Data Analysis
	Meeting Evaluations from the 1999-2000 Virginia Adult Education Research Network

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Meeting Four: Making Our Research Knowledge Public

Session 13: Writing to Report the Research
Activity 1:	Introduction to Meeting Four
Activity 2:	What Does Writing Mean to You?
Activity 3:	Criteria to Use in Writing Our Reports
	Sample practitioner research briefs
	Sample criteria for writing the research briefs
Session 14: Telling Our Stories
Activity 1:	Sharing Our Answers to the Research Questions
Activity 2:	Drafting the Research Briefs
Session 15: Celebrating Our Accomplishments
Activity 1:	Humorous Awards Ceremony
Activity 2:	What Does Practitioner Research Mean?
	Meeting Evaluations from the 1999-2000 Virginia Adult Education Research Network

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