05 approaches to_researching_educational_innovation_palitha_edirisingha

The Role of ICT in Education, Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, MA IE Programme 20 - 13, Dr Palitha Edirisingha

Approaches to researching Educational innovation and reform

Innovation and Reform

Specialist module: Sessions 3 and 4

Dr Palitha EdirisinghaInstitute of Learning Innovation

University of Leicester105, Princess Road East

Leicester LE1 7LG- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tel: +44 (0)116 252 3753Mobile: +44 (0)7525 246592

Email: pe27@le.ac.uk

(Background image from Geralt on http://pixabay.com)

First used in Feb 2014in an MA course

Three linked sessions

Session 3:18 Feb 2014

10am – 12pm

Session 4:18 Feb 20142pm – 4pm

Session 6:25 Feb 2014

10am – 12pm

Input on a number of approaches Working on a case study

IntroductionA range of approaches to researching innovations in education. Some examples are programme evaluation, action research, participatory action research, design-based research, and case studies.

We will also look at the role of internet in supporting our research in innovation and reform.

Some key questions to consider are: What is the relationship between the researcher(s)

and the research participant(s) in a research process, and

What are the implications of this for the nature of knowledge generated from such research and implications for policy and practice.

We will look at a number of practical examples of research in innovation and reform and their outcomes in terms of reforms of curriculum and improving both the quality of learning and access to education.

Educational innovation(s)?

What does it mean?

Why do we consider it an innovation?

What are the underlying assumptions?

What are the aims? whose interests are we catering to?

Researching educational innovation(s)?

What are the issues with regard to claims to knowledge?

Examples of innovation and reforms in education?

???

About educational innovations“A generation ago, a series of innovations entered the world of education. Depending on your age or your powers of recollections, you may recognize some of them. They include team teaching, career education, values clarification, multicultural education, human relations training, open schools, competency-based education, peace education, back to the basics, bilingual education, and a few others” (Ellis, 2005, pp. 13 – 14).

About educational innovations“Where are they now? The answers vary. Some disappeared without a trace. Some are the forerunners of present day reform efforts. Some are still around in one form or another. This will always be the case. Today’s trend is often tomorrow’s forgotten dream. Some of the innovations that sweep through the school scene are nothing more than fads. Some have greater staying power” (Ellis, 2005, p. 14. Italics added).

A framework for thinking about educational innovations • Education for All, Millennium Development

Goals• Unesco, World Bank, Commonwealth of

Learning• Learners with no access to conventional

schools

Global, International

•New political climate, failing school standards, teachers’ CPD•“Building Schools for Future”, “mega-schools”, “open schools”

National, country level

•Migration to urban areas, left-behind children•????

Regional, provincial level

•After-school initiatives, private sector involvement, •????School•PISA (Policy makers’ and educators’ interests?)•Creativity, assessment and feedback, critical thinkingCurriculum

•Learners with special needs•????Learners

Research approaches

What are the differences and similarities (if any) between research that you have undertaken and researching an innovative educational approach?

[5 minutes]

Responses Asking past experience, vs expectations, present time

experience Stats – analysis of data in the past vs different sort of

statistics? Specif methods – future. Delphi methods for future. Past

data – for prediction. [future dimension of an innovation] Eg., BSF programme – traditional methods Both – used to enhance current situation Future methods built on past / regular research

Major types of social research

Basic

Applied- Evaluation- Action- Social impact

Use and

audience

Explore

Describe

Explain

Purpose

(Neuman, 2011)

Reading material: Neuman, 2011, Chapter 2:“What are the Major Types of Social Research?”

Use and audience of research

Basic research / academic research / pure research

Applied research

“Scientific” / “academic” “Activist, practical, action-oriented”

To develop / advance / contribute to ‘fundamental knowledge of the world’

For the scientific community

To ‘support or refute theories about how the social world operate and changes, what makes things happen, and why social relations or events are a certain way’

Addressing a specific concern (e.g., to offer a solution to a question raised by an employer, a local community, or a social issue)

Link to theory – limited

Short term, small scale

Useful practical results … in the short term

Audience – practitioners (teachers, managers)

Arguments for and against?

(Neuman, 2011)

Use and audience of research

Basic research / academic research / pure research

Applied research

“Scientific” / “academic” “Activist, practical, action-oriented”

To develop / advance / contribute to ‘fundamental knowledge of the world’

For the scientific community

To ‘support or refute theories about how the social world operate and changes, what makes things happen, and why social relations or events are a certain way’

Addressing a specific concern (e.g., to offer a solution to a question raised by an employer, a local community, or a social issue)

Link to theory – limited

Short term, small scale

Useful practical results … in the short term

Audience – practitioners (teachers, managers)

Arguments for and against?

(Neuman, 2011)

Eval

uatio

n re

sear

ch

Action

research

Participatory Action

Research

Design-based

research

Types of applied research

(Neuman, 2011; Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005; Newby, 2010)

Evaluation research

1. Examples of evaluation of educational innovations?

2. What sort of research questions? Research designs? Data collection methods / techniques?

3. Who is best to conduct evaluation research? Insiders or outsiders? What are the pros and cons?

4. What are the ethical issues and political tensions that might arise in evaluation research?

5. What are the limitations / weaknesses of evaluation research?

“Applied research in which one tries to determine how well a program or policy is working or reaching its goals and objectives”(Neuman, 2011, p. 28)

[Group activity – 5 minutes]

Measuring the effectiveness of an intervention / a programme.

(Image from Geralt on http://pixabay.com)

Action research

‘… knowledge as a form of power. … acquiring new knowledge with using the knowledge to achieve a specific purpose.’

Active involvement of the research participants / respondents

“Applied research in which the primary goal is to facilitate social change or bring about a value-oriented political-social goal”(Neuman, 2011, p. 30)

Attributed to Kurt Lewin -1940s in the USA. (Reading material: Newby, 2010, pp. 61-64).

(Image from pixabay.com)

Action research

‘a powerful tool for change and improvement at the local level’

‘combination of action and research’

Applicable in … ‘a problem involving people, tasks and procedures cries out for solution’

Some example of areas, see Cohen et al., 2011, p. 344.

Action + reflection for improving and reforming practice, ‘based on a rigorous evidential trail of data and research’

Different from everyday actions of teachers (for improving teaching) (Kemmis and McTaggart, 1992, p. 21-2)

Not always a group / collective activity; can be done by an individual teacher. ‘teacher-as-researcher’ (Stenhouse, 1975).

“A small-scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close examination of the effects of such an intervention”

(Cohen and Manion, 1994, p. 186).

(Cohen et al, 2011, p. 344 – 361)

Action research

‘to develop and implement change’ (p. 61).

‘uses research findings to inform and shape personal and organisational action’ (p. 61).

Knowledge is not generated for its own sake (but not so clear cut!)

Action is part of the research process; a cyclical procedure

Used in business, as part of management practice.

In education – to improve their (e.g., teachers’) own practice

“A cyclical research and development proceddure that moves form problem to goal, through action to reflection on the result in relation to the goal, and then moves forward by revising action or goal or both.”

(Newby, 2010, p. 115).

(Newby, 2010)

Issue

Review,

reflect

Plan

Action

Observe

Action research

1. What is the researcher’s stance?

2. What kind of research designs? Data collection methods / techniques?

3. Who might be the key players / stake-holders in an Action Research project?

4. What are the ethical issues and political tensions that might arise in Action Research?

5. What are the limitations / weaknesses of Action Research ?

Reading material:1. Newby, 2010, p. 62. Teaching

statistics. 2. Newby, 2010, pp. 623-24. Christina’s

innovative approach to laboratory teaching.

[Group activity – 10 minutes]

Participatory Action Research

‘A fourth generation of action research’ (Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005, pp. 559 - 603).

“Action research in which the research participants actively help design and conduct the research study. It emphazises democratizing knowledge-creation and engaging in collective action … .”(Neuman, 2011, p. 30)

Image from Nemo on pixabay.com

Participatory Action Research

‘the development of theoretical arguments for more “actionist” approaches to action research’

‘the need for participatory action researchers to make links with broad social movements.’

(Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005, pp. 559 - 603)

‘… developed in the context of social movements in the developing world, championed by people such as Paulo Freire, [and others] in adult education and literacy, community development, and development studies … .’

Image from Nemo on pixabay.com

Participatory Action Research

Key features Planning a change Acting and observing the

process and consequences of the change

Reflecting on these processes and consequences

Replanning Acting and observing

again Reflecting again, and so

on . . .

“The criterion of success is not whether participants have followed the steps faithfully but rather whether they have a strong and authentic sense of development and evolution in their practices, their understandings of their practices, and the situations in which they practice..”(Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005, pp. 563)

Plan

Revise & plan

Act &observe

Act &observe

Revise & plan

Reflect

Reflect

(Kemmis and McTaggart, 2005)

Participatory Action Research

1. Researcher(s) stance?

2. What kind of research designs? Data collection methods / techniques?

3. Who might be involved in a Participatory Action Research project?

4. What are the ethical issues and political tensions that might arise in evaluation research?

5. What are the limitations / weaknesses of participatory action research?

“Action research in which the research participants actively help design and conduct the research study. It emphazises democratizing knowledge-creation and engaging in collective action … .”(Neuman, 2011, p. 30)

Image from pixabay.com

Design-Based Research

Recent in Education. Ann Brown (1992), an American researcher.

“… evolved near the beginning of the 21st century …. a practical research methodology that could effectively bridge the chasm between research and practice in formal education” (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 16)

Design Research

“In my current work, I conduct … design experiments, modelled on the procedures of design sciences such as aeronautics and artificial intelligence. As a design scientist in my field, I attempt to engineer innovative educational environments and simultaneously conduct experimental studies of those innovations. … .” (Brown, 1992, p. 142).Image from WikiImages on pixabay.com

“… blends empirical educational research with the

theory-driven design of learning environments, … an

important methodology for understanding how, when,

and why educational innovations work in practice.

Design-based researchers’ innovations embody specific

theoretical claims about teaching and learning, and help

us understand the relationships among educational

theory, designed artifact, and practice. Design is central

in efforts to foster learning, create usable knowledge,

and advance theories of learning and teaching in

complex settings. Design- based research also may

contribute to the growth of human capacity for

subsequent educational reform” (The Design-Based

Research Collective, 2003, p. 5).

Design-Based Research

“… focus on designing and exploring the whole range of

designed innovations: artifacts as well as less concrete

aspects such as activity structures, institutions, scaffolds, and

curricula. Importantly, design-based research goes beyond

merely designing and testing particular interventions.

Interventions embody specific theoretical claims about

teaching and learning, and reflect a commitment to

understanding the relationships among theory, designed

artifacts, and practice. At the same time, research on specific

interventions can contribute to theories of learning and

teaching. (The Design-Based Research Collective, 2003, pp. 5-

6).

The Role of ICT in Education, Core Module Contemporary Issues in Education, MA IE Programme 20 - 13, Dr Palitha Edirisingha

Design-Based Research

Areas where design-based research methods provide promise

1. To explore possibilities for creating novel learning and teaching environments

2. To develop theories of learning and teaching that

are contextually based

3. To advance and consolidate design knowledge, and

4. To increase our capacity for educational innovation.

(The Design-Based Research Collective, 2003, p. 8).

Design-Based Research

(Background image from Nemo on pixabay.com)

Quality features

Being situated in a real educational context

Focusing on the design and testing of a significant intervention

Using mixed methods Involving multiple

iterations Involving a collaborative

partnership between researchers and practitioners

Evolution of design principles

Comparison to action research

(Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 17)

Design-Based Research

(Background image: Openclips on pixabay.com)

“Reeves (2000) … noted that the issue of implementation and adoption is of critical importance and one in which education research in general has had a very poor record.”

“We often challenge participants to think of one research result that has made a difference in their educational practice. It is both surprising and depressing that many educators cannot think of a single research output or can think only of trivial outputs that meet this most practical and important outcome of research.”

(Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 18).

“One could contrast this with the many results of medical research and the way that treatments and practice have evolved and continue to evolve as a result of medical research. This necessity for impact in real education settings was succinctly captured by Barab and Squire (2004), who argued that “designbased research that advances theory but does not demonstrate the value of the design in creating an impact on learning in the local context of study has not adequately justified the value of the theory” (Barab and Squire, 2004, p. 6 in Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 18).

Design-Based Research Vs. Action Research

“Both practitioners and researchers often have trouble differentiating between action research and DBR … because they share many epistemological, ontological, and methodological underpinnings” (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 16).

Design-Based Research Vs. Action Research

“In action research, the educator is both researcher and teacher (Kuhn & Quigley, 1997). The partnership in a design-based study recognizes that teachers are usually too busy and often ill trained to conduct rigorous research. Likewise, the researcher often is not knowledgeable of the complexities of the culture, technology, objectives, and politics of an operating educational system to effectively create and measure the impact of an intervention. Thus, a partnership is developed that negotiates the study from initial problem identification, through literature review, to intervention design and construction, implementation, assessment, and to the creation and publication of theoretical and design principles” (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 16)”

“the design is conceived not just to meet local needs, but toadvance a theoretical agenda, to uncover, explore, and confirmtheoretical relationships” (Barab & Squire, 2004, p. 5, in Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 17).

“… we conclude that DBR has a number of significant characteristics that resonate with the calls for educational reform and for improvements in education research” (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 18).

DBR seems have been used to make a difference - but mostly at the level of small-scale interventions and in the lives of individual teachers and schools. It is interesting to speculate if the methodology could and will be used by researchers to investigate today’s disruptive innovations such as massive open online courses, tuition-free universities (e.g., People’s University), open educational resources, and other networked learning innovations. (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012, p. 24).

Design-Based Research

Based on a review of 47 journal articles on design-based research…

Group activity for Session 6: 25 Feb 2014

1. The characteristics of the research designs?

2. The research questions? Data collection methods / techniques?

3. Who might have been involved in the research process? What were their roles?

4. What might have been the ethical issues and political tensions that might have occurred during the research process?

5. What were / are the limitations / weaknesses of this approach to conducting research?

Resources for this activity.Research projects carried out at Leicester on:• Mobile learning• Learning in Virtual Worlds• Podcasting

Image from pixabay.com

Technology-based innovations

Web 2.0

References and additional resources

Anderson, T., and Shattuck, J. (2012). Design-Based Research: A Decade of Progress in Education Research? Educational Researcher, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 16–25.

Brown, A. (1992). Design experiments: Theoretical and methodological challenges in creating complex interventions in classroom settings. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2(2), 141–178.

Cohen, L., and Manion, L. (1994). Research Methods in Education. 4th Edn. London: Routledge.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., and Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education. 7th Edn. London: Routledge.

Ellis, A. K. (2005). Research on Educational Innovations, 4th Edn., Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Kemmis, S., and McTaggart, R. (2005) Participatory Action Research: Communicative Action and the Public Sphere. In Denzin, N. K., and Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, London: Sage.

Kindon, S. L. (2007) Participatory action research approaches and methods: connecting people, participation, and place. London: Routledge.

Luke, A., Freebody, P., Shun, L. and Gopinathan, S. (2010) Towards Research-

based Innovation and Reform: Singapore schooling in transition, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 25(1), 5-28.

Neuman, W. L. (2011) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative approaches, 7th Edn. London: Pearson.

Newby, P. (2010). Research Methods for Education, London: Pearson.

OECD (n.d.) 21st Century Learning: Research, Innovation and Policy, Directions from recent OECD analyses. OECD. www.oecd.org/site/educeri21st/40554299.pdf [Accessed on 06.12.2013].

Stenhouse, L. (1975). An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development. London: Heinemann.

The Design-Based Research Collective (2003) Design-Based Research: An Emerging Paradigm for Educational Inquiry. Educational Researcher, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 5–8.

Relevant journals:

The Journal of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 13, Issue 1, 2004. Special Issue: Design-based Research: Clarifying the Terms.

Educational Researcher, 2003, Vol. 32, No. 1.

Educational Psychologist, Vol. 39, No. 4.

Thank you!

hope you have enjoyed the class

If you have any questions or suggestions to improve / contribute to this session / presentation, please contact me at:

pe27@le.ac.uk

@palithaed

+44 (0)116 252 3753

+44 (0)7525 246 592

Office: No. 105, Institute of Learning Innovation, University of Leicester, Princess Road

East, LE1 7LG