Participatory Action Research

From "16 Tenets of Participatory Action Research" by Robin McTaggart (1989)
Participatory Action Research
1. is an approach to improving social practice by changing it
2. is contingent on authentic participation
3. is collaborative
4. establishes self-critical communities
5. is a systematic learning process
6. involves people in theorising about their practices
7. requires that people put their practices, ideas and assumptions about institutions to the test
8. involves keeping records
9. requires participants to objectify their own experiences
10. is a political process
11. involves making critical analyses
12. starts small
13. starts with small cycles
14. starts with small groups
15. allows and requires participants to build records
16. allows and requires participants to give a reasoned justification of their social (educational) work to others

From "A Short Note on Participatory Research" by Sirisena Tilakaratna (1990):
The key features of participatory research are:
* people are the subjects of research: the dichotomy between subject and object is broken
* people themselves collect the data, and then process and analyse the information using methods easily understood by them
* the knowledge generated is used to promote actions for change or to improve existing local actions
* the knowledge belongs to the people and they are the primary beneficiaries of the knowledge creation
* research and action are inseparable – they represent a unity
* research is a praxis rhythm of action-reflection where knowledge creation supports action
* people function as organic intellectuals
* there is an built-in mechanism to ensure authenticity and genuineness of the information that is generated because people themselves use the information for life improvement.

The promotion of participatory research is basically an exercise in stimulating the people to:
* collect information
* reflect and analyse it
* use the results as a knowledge base for life improvement, and
* whenever possible, to document the results for wider dissemination ie for the creation of a people’s literature.

The role of the outside professional is to promote the above processes. This can be done by:
* assisting people to collect data and then to process and analyse the information using simple methods which enables them to systematise their knowledge
* linking the local situation (which the people know best) to the larger external situation (about which the outside may know more)
* improving people’s access to new information and formal knowledge (eg technology)
* introducing local people to experiences from outside their environment
* throwing up relevant issues or problems for local people to reflect on and analyse and then assisting them in coming to their own conclusions.

Participatory Approach
Aims to involve participants in the design, conduct and evaluation of research.



Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) Coherence Framework


from: http://www.hbs.edu/pelp/images/graphic-framework-lg.gif


The PELP Coherence Framework is designed to help leaders identify the key elements that support a district-wide improvement strategy and to bring these elements into a coherent and integrated relationship. School district leaders leverage this framework to develop strategies that work towards improving student performance throughout the district.

The framework assists with achieving and sustaining coherence by:

* Connecting the instructional core with a district-wide strategy for improvement.
* Highlighting district elements that can support or hinder effective implementation.
* Identifying interdependencies among district elements.
* Recognizing forces in the environment that have an impact on the implementation of strategy.


Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) attempts to capture some of the essential qualities of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge. At the heart of the TPCK framework, is the complex interplay of three primary forms of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK).

See PDF by Mishra & Koehler

http://www.tpck.org/tpck/images/tpck/d/dc/TPCK_3_CIRCLE_WITH_LABELS.png

The TPCK approach goes beyond seeing these three knowledge bases in isoloation. On the other hand, it emphasizes the new kinds of knowledge that lie at the intersections between them. Considering P and C together we get Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Shulman’s idea of knowledge of pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content. Similarly, considering T and C taken together, we get Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), the knowledge of the relationship between technology and content. At the intersection of T and P, is Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), which emphasizes the existence, components and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in the settings of teaching and learning.

Finally, at the intersection of all three elements is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). True technology integration is understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components of knowledge. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and greater than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a mathematician or a historian), a technology expert (a computer scientist) and a pedagogical expert (an experienced educator). Effective technology integration for pedagogy around specific subject matter requires developing sensitivity to the dynamic, [transactional] relationship between all three components.

8 Essential Learning Functions

Engage – 6 Essential Conditions

High Performance Learning

Employability Skills

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/education/learning-tools/pdfs/esp2000.pdf

Our Solutions Should Be Contextualized

from http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wiki/Evaluating_Context

LOTI - Levels of Technology Implementation

Level 0: Nonuse

Are cobwebs forming around your classroom computers?
Description:
A perceived lack of access to technology-based tools (e.g., computers) or a lack of time to pursue electronic technology implementation. Existing technology is predominately text-based (e.g., ditto sheets, chalkboard, overhead projector).
Classroom Observations:

• No visible evidence of computer access in the classroom
• Classroom computers sit idle during the instructional day

Teacher Comments:

• "I really don't have the time to deal with computers anyway."
• "They are still figuring out a way to get me hooked up to the internet. I can't start using this stuff until I know that I am connected."
• "Using computers is the least of my problems this semester. Have you seen my class enrollment?"
• "Using computers gets in the way of what I am supposed to be doing."
• "My computer crashed and burned on me a few years ago. I am still waiting for someone to fix it."

Level 1: Awareness

Who's using the computers? The teacher or the students?
Description:
The use of technology-based tools is either (1) one step removed from the classroom teacher (e.g., integrated learning system labs, special computer-based pull-out programs, computer literacy classes, central word processing labs), (2) used almost exclusively by the classroom teacher for classroom and/or curriculum management tasks (e.g., taking attendance, using grade book programs, accessing email, retrieving lesson plans from a curriculum management system or the internet) and/or (3) used to embellish or enhance teacher-directed lessons or lectures (e.g., multimedia presentations).
Classroom Observations:

• Available classroom computer(s) are used exclusively for teacher productivity (e.g., email, word processing, grading programs)
• Multimedia applications (including web-based) are used to embellish classroom lectures or teacher presentations
• Computer use serves as a reward station or as a digital babysitter
• Curriculum management tools are used extensively to generate standards-driven lesson plans

Teacher Comments:

• "This grading program is fabulous. I can generate an average for each student or print out any outstanding assignment. Computers are great!"
• "I basically send my kids to the computer lab where they learn how to use it. The kids love it."
• "I designed my own web-page so that students can view their weekly assignments."
• "My students go to the lab each Tuesday. This frees me to catch up on my grades or meet with parents."
• "Our staff attends a bimonthly computer camp with our technology coordinator. This month we are learning how to design a web page. I'm hoping that I can put all of my recipes on this page. That would be great!"

Level 2: Exploration

Is the focus more on computer use or on the critical content?
Description:
Technology-based tools supplement the existing instructional program (e.g., tutorials, educational games, basic skill applications) or complement selected multimedia and/or web-based projects (e.g., internet-based research papers, informational multimedia presentations) at the knowledge/comprehension level. The electronic technology is employed either as extension activities, enrichment exercises, or technology-based tools and generally reinforces lower cognitive skill development relating to the content under investigation.
Classroom Observations:

• Student projects (e.g., designing web pages, research via the Internet, creating multimedia presentations, creating graphs and charts) focus on lower levels of student cognition (e.g., creating a web page to learn more about whale species)
• There is greater emphasis on the technology rather than on the critical content (e.g., "My students' project was to create a WebQuest using Inspiration and HyperStudio. The topic was the California Gold Rush.")
• Students were gathering weather data and keyboarding the information into a wide-area network database (e.g., GLOBE project)

Teacher Comments:

• "My students have built some very sophisticated and impressive multimedia applications during the year. Some of their projects even look professional."
• "When students finish their packets early, they often go back to the computers and practice their computer skills."
• "My students created our school's web page."
• "My kids graphed some data from an AIMS activity last week. They love the way the graphs look on the screen."
• "We are running a school-wide contest on the best HyperStudio presentation this month."

Level 3: Infusion

Is higher order thinking and problem solving linked to critical content the focus of computer use in the classroom?
Description:
Technology-based tools including databases, spreadsheet and graphing packages, multimedia and desktop publishing applications, and internet use complement selected instructional events (e.g., field investigation using spreadsheets/graphs to analyze results from local water quality samples) or multimedia/web-based projects at the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels. Though the learning activity may or may not be perceived as authentic by the student, emphasis is, nonetheless, placed on higher levels of cognitive processing and in-depth treatment of the content using a variety of thinking skill strategies (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making, reflective thinking, experimentation, scientific inquiry).
Classroom Observations:

• Student use of tool-based applications such as spreadsheets/graphing, concept mapping, and databases is used primarily for analyzing data, making inferences, and drawing conclusions from an investigation or related scientific inquiry.
• Students are involved with different forms of "WebQuest" projects that require students to research information, draw conclusions from their research, and post them either to a web page or incorporate them into some form of multimedia presentation.
• Students use the web for research purposes or interact with selected software applications that require them to take a position or role play an issue (e.g., Tom Snyder Productions' "Decisions, Decisions").

Teacher Comments:

• "My students just completed a research project investigating why many middle school students never use the school's drinking fountains."
• "I designed a culminating performance task for my 4th grade students that required them to conduct web-based research and related data gathering to support their predictions for the upcoming Presidential election."
• "My students created a multimedia presentation that analyzed the issue of poverty among 18-25 year old adults."

Level 4a: Integration (Mechanical)

Do classroom management issues relating to authentic, problem-based learning impede your progress with this type of teaching and learning approach?
Description:
Technology-based tools are integrated in a mechanical manner that provides rich context for students' understanding of the pertinent concepts, themes, and processes. Heavy reliance is placed on prepackaged materials and/or outside resources (e.g., assistance from other colleagues), and/or interventions (e.g., professional development workshops) that aid the teacher in the daily management of their operational curriculum. Technology (e.g., multimedia, telecommunications, databases, spreadsheets, word processing) is perceived as a tool to identify and solve authentic problems as perceived by the students relating to an overall theme/concept. Emphasis is placed on student action and on issues resolution that require higher levels of student cognitive processing and in-depth examination of the content.
Classroom Observations:

• Students designed a school-based information kiosk to assist their classmates with various "safety" issues including map directions to school based on the time of day, neighborhood watch sites, and "just-say-no" strategies to use with strangers. The information collected for the information kiosk was supplied from student-generated surveys, field investigations, and personal interviews.
• Students organized a school fund-raiser to raise money for one of the international "solar cooker" societies based on their research, experimentation, and data gathering with homemade solar cookers.
• Students created a travel brochure for families traveling within the state of Florida that included: (1) a guide for selecting the best modes of travel based on the time of year, (2) recommended lodging based on information collected from various travel sites, and (3) a listing of the best destination sites based on criteria established by the students.

Teacher Comments:

• "The creation of the information kiosk idea was based on an existing unit that I borrowed from one of the 5th grade teachers."
• "I used an existing unit design published by a software company that provided an easy way to design my culminating performance task and the student experiences leading up to the fund-raiser."
• "The travel brochure which we used as a part of the culminating performance task was developed by a consultant with assistance from the 4th grade teachers."

Level 4b: Integration (Routine)

Is designing and managing student-based learning experiences using the available computers the most rewarding part of your workday?
Description:
Technology-based tools are integrated in a routine manner that provides rich context for students' understanding of the pertinent concepts, themes, and processes. At this level, teachers can readily design and implement learning experiences (e.g., units of instruction) that empower students to identify and solve authentic problems relating to an overall theme/concept using the available technology (e.g., multimedia applications, internet, databases, spreadsheets, word processing) with little or no outside assistance. Emphasis is again placed on student action and on issues resolution that require higher levels of student cognitive processing and in-depth examination of the content.
Classroom Observations:

• Based on the rise in student violence on campus, students prepared a multimedia presentation highlighting their recommended mediation strategies using data synthesized from school-wide surveys and from the internet.
• Students created a web site devoted to exploring solutions to the steady increase in solid wastes entering the local landfill.
• Students prepared a multimedia presentation highlighting the misconceptions and omissions in history textbooks concerning the contributions of their specific ethic group. Presentation was later burned onto a CD for submission to the various textbook publishers for consideration.
• Students investigated options for salvaging the local "fish ponds" as a way of preserving their native Hawaiian culture. Students prepared a community campaign including the creation of a web page to persuade the voters not to approve a local housing tract proposal that would jeopardize the integrity of these ancient fish ponds.

Teacher Comments:

• "Our student mediation unit was prompted by the recent rise in fights on campus. Many students expressed concern for their personal safety and the safety of others at school."
• "I first converted several digital images into a Power Point presentation to get my students thinking about the waste disposal issue and asking questions."
• "I presented students with an assignment to read different accounts of a historical event which later lead to a lively discussion on how history is presented in various textbooks."
• "We took the students on a field trip to a local fish pond to investigate the potential impact of the proposed housing development on the preservation of this ancient site."

Level 5: Expansion

Are you ready to advance into uncharted areas of powerful teaching strategies linked to advanced technology use?
Description:
Technology access is extended beyond the classroom. Classroom teachers actively elicit technology applications and networking from other schools, business enterprises, governmental agencies (e.g., contacting NASA to establish a link to an orbiting space shuttle via internet), research institutions, and universities to expand student experiences directed at problem-solving, issues resolution, and student activism surrounding a major theme/concept. The complexity and sophistication of the technology-based tools used in the learning environment are now commensurate with (1) the diversity, inventiveness, and spontaneity of the teacher's experiential-based approach to teaching and learning and (2) the students' level of complex thinking (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation) and in-depth understanding of the content experienced in the classroom.
Classroom Observations:

• Students created an actual online business venture involving cosmetics and jewelry as a culminating performance task in their marketing class.
• Students started their online consumer awareness clearinghouse that provided up-to-date information on "best prices" for travel, goods and merchandise, and services based on data collected from their research and online surveys with other schools.
• Using video cameras, NASA and NOAA images, and related weather and mapping data, students assisted a hiker in his goal to conquer the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada. Communicating via email, students were able to provide daily information on the best routes based on projected weather reports and various typographic information.

Teacher Comments:

• "Students got the idea for starting a business venture online after they read a series of articles discussing the pros and cons of online businesses and their success rates."
• "It was amazing! Many of the students already knew how to use these Internet tools such as Any Forms and writing simple CGI scripts."
• "Assisting their hiker friend was the highlight of the day. Since we were limited on time in class, students did the majority of their research online at home."

Level 6: Refinement

Have you reached the promise land involving the power and potential of instructional computing?
Description:
Technology is perceived as a process, product (e.g., invention, patent, new software design), and/or tool for students to find solutions related to an identified "real-world" problem or issue of significance to them. At this level, there is no longer a division between instruction and technology use in the classroom. Technology provides a seamless medium for information queries, problem-solving, and/or product development. Students have ready access to and a complete understanding of a vast array of technology-based tools to accomplish any particular task at school. The instructional curriculum is entirely learner-based. The content emerges based on the needs of the learner according to his/her interests, needs, and/or aspirations and is supported by unlimited access to the most current computer applications and infrastructure available.
Classroom Observations:

• Students designed an interactive web site for bilingual children to expedite their English language proficiency. The site included options for real-time conversations, tutorial sessions, and bilingual online bulletin boards.
• Students created a new type of housing design using some sophisticated CAD programs to improve the amount of heat transfer in future homes.

Teacher Comments:

• "Every student has access to computers, video cameras, scanners, Internet, and any other technology-based application at any time during the instructional day. Doesn't everyone?"
• "We have computers embedded in every desk and in every classroom on campus. Students can use them at any time."

We could use the "Critical Friend Approach" if our team ends up being a little smaller than expected.
In the article, "The Missing Critical Friend", the following orientations are suggested for 'critical friends'.

1. Indigenous viability
2. Ethical clarity
3. Cultural integrity
4. Contextual relativity
5. Gender sensitivity
6. Reflexive generativity
7. Methodological compatibility
8. Knowledge transferability
9. Educative sincerity

Council of 21 provides the 16 major characteristics of schools and school systems capable of preparing students for a global knowledge/information age (P21 Report PDF):

• The definitions of "school," "teacher" and "learner" are reshaped by the digital world.
• All students have equal opportunity for an outstanding education, with adequate funding, no matter where they live.
• Educators are driven by high expectations and clear, challenging standards that are widely understood by students, families and communities.
• A project-based "curriculum for life" engages students in addressing real-world problems, issues important to humanity and questions that matter.
• Teachers and administrators are effectively prepared for the global knowledge/information age.
• Students, schools, school systems and communities are connected around-the-clock with each other and with the world through information-rich, interactive technology.
• School systems conduct, consider and apply significant research in designing programs that lead to constantly improving student achievement.
• Students learn to think, reason and make sound decisions and demonstrate values inherent in a democracy.
• School facilities provide a safe, secure, stimulating, joyous learning environment that contributes to a lifelong passion for learning and high student achievement.
• Leadership is collaborative, and governance is focused on broad issues that affect student learning.
• Students learn about other cultures, respect and honor diversity and see the world as an extended neighborhood.
• Schools promote creativity and teamwork at all levels, and teachers help students turn information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom.
• Assessment of student progress is more performance based, taking into account students’ individual talents, abilities and aspirations.
• A student-centered, collaboratively developed vision provides power and focus for education communitywide.
• Continuous improvement is a driving force in every school and school system.
• Schools are the crossroads and central convening point of the community.

Mike's 5 Strategies for Deeper Learning (also podcast available):

1. Go one to one with laptops so students have access to information to answer their questions. Let’s students “rewind”, go back to information when they need to further their understanding.
2. Project-based Learning: cross discipline the learning in real world applications. Example: Mike’s class visited a bike shop which connected economics, science, math and community building. They also went to a landfill, about learned alternative fuels and made further connections to being better citizens of the Earth.
3. Visuals- let the images tell the story. Strong connection to student brains. Evokes the emotion which brings attention which drives learning. Using graphs. How to filer the information, make meaning of it. Media Literacy.
4. Build in multi-sensory experiences. Get the kids outside the classroom and engage in field trips, real world–new brain experiences. These are deeper. Sometimes means making mistakes, being uncomfortable which leads to learning.
5. Teachers need to let go. Let the kids be more in control. We need to be the coach. We can be co-learners.