January 13, 2011 Housekeeping: Journaling Readings: Negotiates meanings which will emerge from the interpretations p.

ns p. 23 Constructivist Social constructivist Not top down but bottom up, emancipation and intellectual (p.3) Connecting to IE: more fluid approach

Educ 904 Class 1

Pulling IE and Vygotsky (tomorrows goal) Ethics, things to consider, what is feasible to accomplish within that timeline How IE does it have to be? To the extent that IE is something that you actually want to explore Only if it used as a lens for whats going on with the students you are working with: what kinds of understandings are my students at? , what story that unfolding for my students? The more you can tackle those questions, the more truly you can call yourself an imaginative educator (situated understanding)

What is action research? Generating knowledge, contextual, collaborative, fluidity Organic Transformation Narrative form Cyclical Flexible Interpretive Negotiation Opposite of control, not imposing of a plan Developed out of social work ppl in offices who thought of a plan, proceed to use the plan, what people engaged in that work, realized, there was an awful lot that ppl d/n know, circumstances etc so A/R was a way of engaging with that difficulty When ppl are given a voice, when their situations are truly taken into account, the nature of knowledge changes Knowledge isnt neat and tidy and comfortable, but one that is embedded in peoples lives: this becomes plans and strategies, then those ppl come to know themselves and their situations

January 13, 2011

Educ 904 Class 1

Your subjects can critique, design they are not the passive receptors of the research, but they can actually change it Youve reintroduced the power imbalance to students How student-centred do you want it to be? Who could you set it up to give students a greater voice in the research Because AR is a model for voice and power, less of the recipients of order, but more thinking, active powerful knowers of their own AR asks how can I use the resources at my disposal to make work? AR a means for questioning everything AR avoids the trap of more traditional research, that tries to build a story that is too neat, you can acknowledge paradoxes The final story you tell will be tidied up but you can choose to acknowledge particular aspects of the journey that were problematic from different points of view If the problems they raise were good in that they raised particular difficulties or barriers as a teacher, then those things can spur further research in the future AR is more circumscribed AR is part of institutional change Moore article o The more people you can involve in the research, the greater the tendency to be on the transformative part of the spectrum o The more questions are about the conditions of teaching themselves, the materials, experiences made possible by the institution o On the other end, the more the research has to do with implementation, then the number of people involved can be much smaller and the question can be around a particular student a/r is regular thoughtful teaching, not outside regular teaching a/r is deeply connected to your values as an educator do something that connects with who you want to be

What is really important to you? What are your core values as an educator? How does that become part of the AR you take on?