Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Making It Personal: Reflections on Action Research and Teacher Professional Development

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the Webheads In Action Online Covergence. Fellow edublogger, teacher, and doctoral student,  Konrad Glogowski, and I hosted a discussion focusing on teacher professional development and the Read/Write Web in TalkShoe, a “talk cast” application that neither of us had previous experience with (details regarding our discussion can be found here). I believe we found the application easy to use with the exception of the chat feature which handles a bit oddly and I am not sure how easy is was to participate directly if you were dialing in outside North America.

Nonetheless, Konrad has done a marvelous job summarizing his presentation ideas on his weblog.

For me, this was a great opportunity to use the Read/Write Web to collaborate on a topic that both Konrad and I are quite passionate about. I felt as if I was able to take much of what I have read about constructivism and connectivism and tie them together, bridging my self, specific academic/professional content, and other learners into an experiential whole. While I cannot speak for others who participated both in the TalkShoe and WorldBridges environments, I felt as though I learned quite a bit which I have attempted to describe below.

Konrad is quite versed in action research and spoke directly to the advantages of adopting such an inquiry stance in his practice. Since I have been spending time working with practitioners in support of their inquiry projects, I was curious to hear Konrad’s perspective. What struck me is that Konrad mentioned receiving little support or guidance as he embarked on this process. While I have found this to be the case with many educators, I find myself feeling disappointed or frustrated with the lack of support that educators in general report receiving in terms of sustained mentoring or coaching that should be a part of teacher research and other forms of professional development.

I find myself wondering how many educators would adopt such a practice such as action research if they were not working toward a specified goal like an advanced degree or national certification?

A question was raised during the discussion that asked if action or teacher research could be intuitive, as in something an educator does naturally without formally documenting the process. Such practice is possible but it wouldn’t really count as research if nothing is documented. This leads me to believe that there are still a number of questions around what action research or teacher research really is, what it entails, and why it might be useful.

Basically, action research is about examining one’s own practice, i.e., practitioner research, teacher research or research with a “little r” as opposed to “Big R” research. While it embodies many formal elements associated with scientific method, starting with a hypothesis, a wondering, and leading through periods of observation, empirical data collection, measuring evidence, and reporting conclusions, practitioner classroom research often lacks the rigor associated with conducting formal reliability studies that are an integral part of most formal research (Big R). Not to say such studies cannot be conducted; however, the idea has typically been to get educators to systematically and intentionally examine elements of their practice in a way that can be clearly documented and openly shared with other practitioners.

Action research is not about being “right,” which is a difficult concept for many educators. Action research is part of larger stance that researchers Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan Lytle (1999) have dubbed an “inquiry stance.” Inquiry as stance is essentially a framework or a way to think about teacher learning that embodies all the elements of competent practice. These elements include subject matter knowledge, knowledge about the disciplinary foundations of education, human development, classroom organization, pedagogy, assessment, the social and cultural contexts of teaching and learning, and knowledge of teaching as a profession.

Lytle & Cochran-Smith argue: 

Teacher research … makes visible the ways teachers and students negotiate power, authority, and knowledge in classrooms and schools. As a way of knowing, then, teacher research has the potential to alter profoundly the cultures of teaching—how teachers work with their students toward a more critical and democratic pedagogy, how they build intellectual communities of colleagues who are both educators and activists, and how they position themselves in relationship to school administrators, policy makers, and university-based experts as agents of systemic change (p. 470; cited in Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, p. 275).

Action research/teacher research and teacher inquiry is part of a new vision of teacher education and personal/professional development. It suggests that what educators need are opportunities to explore and question their own and others’ interpretations, practices, and ideologies (C-S & L, 1999). This notion of teacher practice also reminds us that the way most schools are currently configured is nowhere near to approaching such a vision.

While my idealism is still in tact, I aspire to work towards rebuilding and recreating a vision of teacher practice that wholly embraces an inquiry stance which includes working with administrators and district policy makers to see how schools as they are currently operating are doing a disservice to students and teachers alike. Teachers will never embrace such a stance if their working environment leaves them no time to focus on anything but producing outstanding test takers. I believe the Read/Write Web and the social and educational affordances of the Internet have ushered in a new era in how we think about our world, our connections, they way we learn, and our relationships to others. Given this grand opportunity, now is the time for us to rethink what school and what learning are really all about and to take action in making our vision a reality.

For me personally, the connections and learning made possible via the Internet has not been a difficult undertaking, required no superhuman skills—except a desire fueled by curiosity and yearning to know more about myself and the people/world around me. The Webheads in Action Online Convergence reminded me that I am not alone in my desire to bring about changes to the practice of teaching and learning.

And as such, Konrad and I are thinking about hosting such conversations about teacher professional development on a regular basis in an attempt to keep the fire stoked, as it were. If you are interested or would like to join in on the fun, please let me know. The challenge, of course, remains to stay focused and keep working toward the vision as outlined above. This is part of my motivation to complete my graduate studies--so that I can approach policy makers in a way that allows me to speak with conviction and authority while remaining deeply connected to practitioners and the university community. I feel like this process is similar to a calling one feels in one’s bones. And I’m in for the long haul.

As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome.


Reference:
Cochran-Smith, M. and S. L. Lytle (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Educational Research in Education 24: 249-305.