Supporting development by facilitation in action research Anette Olin, Karin Rönnerman Göteborg University, Sweden Rachel Jakhelln, Torbjørn Lund Tromsø.

Supporting development by facilitation in action research

Anette Olin, Karin Rönnerman

Göteborg University, Sweden

Rachel Jakhelln, Torbjørn Lund

Tromsø University, Norway

Teachers’statements on facilitation

The facilitator has been very good (knowledgeable, good listener, focused on the topic).

Didn't know what the facilitation would contain but came from every occasion with new thoughts and insights in my rucksack.

Got good help to focus on what was important, to narrow when work was sprawling. And to get going when it felt tough – got inspiration.

Very good for finding and keeping focus but still get more angles of approaches and ways of thinking.

Has been valuable to put words on what you are working with and that others have been listening and commenting. That the facilitator has conducted/lead the developmental work forward.

The facilitator has asked questions that has made me come up with solutions. Very “learnable”.

Question to guide our analyses

Can specific features/elements be discerned?

What are the common features in the three cases?

Can facilitation be understood by using different rationalities?

Case 1: Course in AR

Start in practice Use experiences from practice Use theory and tools from social

science View the workplace as a place for

improvement Collaboration with others Learning and improvement goes hand in

hand

Two tracks

Litterature/theory

The idea and theoretical standpoints for AR

Different perspectives of quality and development

Action/Practical work

Tools Analyse Documentation Facilitation Reflection(individual

and collective)

Theoretical knowledgeToolsAnalyse

Practical knowledgeQuestions

Experiences

Action

Teachers in groups of eight Facilitation seven times during one year Four lectures during one year Carrying through a project Time for doing action research Present the project for other teachers in

the municipality

Facilitating groups of teachers

Elucidate the participants expectations on the meeting

Be able to see different perspectives Use the journal in facilitating All participants have equal right to time and

room Reflection Theory oriented

FacilitatingCollegial knowledge

Journal writingpersonal knowledge

DocumentationCommunicative knowledge

School improveme

nt

Case 2Facilitating new Teachers up North

Professional Qualification in the Tension between Education and Work

Background

Critic of the teacher education what professionalism imply for teachers focused on isolated subjects, not seeing these

as an integrated part in the construction of a teacher practise and a teacher identity

The new teachers experience a practice shock

The schools are not concerned about caretaking of newly certified teachers.

Organization of the facilitation

Attendance is optional The new teachers get a local mentor – an

experienced colleague – local guidance group The school are facilitated by a supervisor from

one of the Teacher educations in the region Guidance and facilitation in common

meetings/sessions among all the participants in the region

Distance to practice is shaped by:

Different meetings and guidance situations (new – new/ experienced – experienced/ new – experienced – teacher trainer)

Writing papers based on practice experiences and theoretical reflection (discussed in the guidance)

Reading literature Professional discussions on the Internet All the participators, new as experienced, are offered a

10 ECTS educational program: Professional development through experience and guidance

Experiences

The structured meetings shapes both reflection and action

Contribute to inclusion of the new teacher The experienced teacher are seeing her

own organisation in a new perspective The different meetings strengthen the

participants

Case 3: Action research through dialogue conferences and networks More than 130 school leaders 4 communities (region) 4 researchers Period: 2006-2009

Action research based on -dialogue conferences and-network activities

2. Dialogue conference

1. Dialogue conference

3. Dialogue

conference

4. Dialogue conference

Qualifying school leaders to handle the new school reform

(School development, Leadership)

Action learningDialogue based

Experience basedNetworksoriented

Network meeting 1

Network meeting 2

Network meeting 3

Knowledgebuilding and action

Basic ideas for conferences;

Oriented towards ideals for democratic communication

Structured communication

Researcher vs practitioner

Plenum(2 hours) Concepts Reflection on ongoing activity in the project, new concepts

Practitioner vs practitioner

Heterogene (diff schools)groups(1 hour)

Ideas and concepts

Monitoring

Practitioners vs plenum

Plenum (1 hour)

Followed by questions

Ideas and reflection

Monitoring

Discussant

Practitioner vs researcher

Homogeneous schoolgroups

(4-6 hours)

Reflection

Planning

Facilitating in groups or networkgroups

Basic activities during the conferences

Who meets? Voices About what? Facilitator

Dialogue conference as an arena for expanding reflection

talking reading

writing

perspectives

Structuring, focusing

critical

How are ideas from constructing conferences/dialogues transformed into school leader`s practice?

How can this result in school development according to the New School Reform in Norway?

Action research;dialogue conferences

Challenge 1: How to handle the facilitor`s work in dialogue

conferences?

A ) as a program coordinator

B) as a facilitator in smaller groups

Challenge 2: How to monitor the activity while at the same

time run the activity?

Common features in the three cases Structured communication Supporting their school development Based on experiences from their ongoing

projects Oriented towards democratic dialogues Facilitator - a model for facilitating Closeness – distance - closeness Groups of teachers/school leaders

Facilitation as:

Master-apprenticeship model creation instructive

Mutual peer guidance Supporting Confirming

Dimensions in facilitating

Technical rationality

Communicative rationality

Critical rationality

Questions to discuss:

Other ways to analyze facilitating?

Is facilitating in AR specific compared to facilitating in general?