Collaborative Action Research Study Research Articles

Practices Promoting the Inclusion of Adult Students with Disabilities in the Classroom: A Case of a Technical Vocational Education and Training College in Kazakhstan

Practices Promoting the Inclusion of Adult Students with Disabilities in the Classroom: A Case of a Technical Vocational Education and Training College in Kazakhstan

Developing student-researchers in primary schools through inclusive inquiry

ABSTRACT This paper argues that more should be done to draw on the views of children and young people when using collaborative action research to promote inclusion in schools. Drawing on the findings of a collaborative action research study which explored how primary school students ( 4-12-year-olds) could take on the role of researchers, through Inclusive Inquiry, an approach that focuses on the development of inclusive practices and thinking in schools, the paper throws light on the potential of this approach. Building on earlier research carried out with secondary schools, the findings reported here are based on work carried out in 30 primary schools in five countries. The analysis of data generated through these experiences suggests that collaborative action research approaches that involve children as researchers in schools can increase students’ confidence, make them more engaged in lessons, and facilitate stronger relationships with their teachers. It is argued that these features can also lead to the development of student agency.

특수교사와 일반교사의 학교 안 전문적학습공동체 참여 경험과 의미

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine special and general teachers’ experiences and implications of participating in an in-school professional learning community to encourage the disabled students to participate in the inclusive classes.
 Methods The researcher used the collaborative action research to achieve the purpose of this study. For this pur-pose, the researcher used the action research method of problem addressing-planning-implementing-in-trospecting-modifying of the plan and re-implementing. To this end, the researcher organized and operated an in-school professional learning community wherein a special teacher and two general ones would participate.
 Results First of all, the results of teachers’ cooperative participation in the in-school professional learning com-munity to encourage the disabled students to participate positively in learning can be summed up as follows. First, the school community members experienced some positive changes, while improving the problems in the school professional learning community, through the collaborative action research study. Secondly, through the collabo-rative action research study, the school community members could experience and perceive the educational val-ue of the professional in-school learning community. Thirdly, it was found that the special teacher and general ones could form a partnership for a cooperative learning. Next, the conclusion about teachers’ experiences and implication of their participation in the in-school learning community can be summed up as follows. First, the teachers who participated in the in-school professional learning community would experience the positive change of teachers’ perception. Secondly, the teachers would experience a positive change in the interactions with the school community members. Thirdly, the teachers who participated in the professional learning com-munity would be able to develop their educational professionalism.
 Conclusions It is expected that this study would provide for some basic data to explore an effective method of enhancing inclusive education through the in-school professional learning community.

The Language Quadriptych in content and language integrated learning: findings from a collaborative action research study

ABSTRACT In this study, we report the findings from a collaborative action research project carried out between three secondary school teachers (Biology, History, Literature) from a Spanish-English bilingual school in Argentina, and Author 1. The project emerged in response to the teachers’ interest in providing their learners with further opportunities to use English as an additional language in the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classroom. The experience included a series of workshops on lesson planning and reflection around the Language Triptych (Coyle et al. 2010. CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Data were collected through classroom observations, teaching and learning artefacts, and interviews with the participating teachers. Data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. We particularly pay attention to how the participating teachers put forward what we shall call the ‘Language Quadriptych’ to account for their learners’ linguistic and cognitive needs and wants in relation reflecting on their learning, alongside constructing disciplinary knowledge in English.

Incorporating Problem-Posing into Sixth-Grade Mathematics Classes

Problem-posing is an essential component of mathematics education because, among other reasons, when students are given the opportunity to pose their problems, they can take ownership of their learning and become more engaged in the given subject. Thus, problem-posing can lead to a deeper understanding of the studied mathematical concepts. In a collaborative action research study, the authors explored whether well-structured problem-posing activities could be incorporated into classes with students of mixed ability in mathematics. This question is addressed by examining the correlation between students’ mathematics grades and problem-posing success. The problem-posing approach used in this paper relies on problem solving as a parallel activity. Hence, the study also focuses on the relationship between problem posing and problem solving. The paper presents the results of a classroom experiment with 86 sixth-grade students and their teachers from Hungary and Romania. After evaluating the students’ problem-posing products and problem-solving performances, the results show that problem posing, based on a worked-out model problem, is a feasible challenge for most students. Moreover, this experiment identified a direct relationship between successful problem posing and problem solving.

Incidence de la COVID-19 sur la gestion et le leadership des équipes de direction d’établissements scolaires en milieux francophones minoritaires dans l’Ouest canadien

Cet article porte sur les résultats d’une recherche auprès d’équipes de direction d’établissements scolaires en milieux francophones minoritaires (MFM) de l’Ouest canadien. C’est à partir du point de vue de ces praticiens (n=63) qu’il est possible de dresser un tableau comparatif de l’impact de la COVID-19 sur leurs pratiques de gestion et de leadership. Le questionnaire portait, entre autres, sur les éléments de gestion. Un consensus fort émerge autour des fonctions de gestion et de leadership liées à la nécessité de préserver le bien-être du personnel, d’assurer une communication régulière, d’encourager et de motiver le personnel enseignant et de réviser les horaires. Certaines caractéristiques, telles que les postes occupés, le genre, l’emplacement et la taille des écoles influent sur certains résultats. Les relations entre certains acteurs sont touchées. Le soutien reçu des membres du personnel, des collègues de travail, de la famille et des amis proches compense largement les lacunes d’ailleurs.

Imagination as a Tool for Participation in Communities for Middle‐School German Students

AbstractWith the goal of exploring a motivating way to approach world language teaching and learning in order to promote lifelong language learning, this article reports on a year‐long, collaborative action research study of two middle‐school German classes that used an imagined communities curriculum. The curriculum, co‐constructed with the classroom teacher, provided a way for the teacher to address the required content while helping students feel more connected with other target language speakers. Study findings show that students' feelings of connection to the target community were influenced by their perceived similarities or cultural differences with German speakers, their perceived language abilities, and their opportunities to communicate with, or be in proximity to, German speakers. Compared to their experiences with a conventional curriculum the year before, 36 of the 41 students found that the imagined‐communities‐infused curriculum activities helped them feel greater connection with, or ability to relate to, other speakers of German.

Exploring the Use of Productive Questions in Mathematics Classes with Preschool Students: An Action Research

This qualitative, collaborative action research study explored preschoolers’ learning of mathematical concepts as their teacher used productive questions as a key pedagogical strategy. The teacher’s use of productive questions was also investigated. One early childhood supervisor, a preschool teacher and eight 4-year old students from her class participated in this research. Data were collected through observations of teacher and students’ question-answer interactions, and semi-structured interviews with the teacher. The findings indicated that the use of productive questions increased the number of student responses that demonstrated higher order thinking, and although challenging for the teacher, allowed students to be actively involved and responsible for their own learning. One implication of the findings is that teachers need to be supported and guided when exploring new pedagogies (such as the use of productive questioning) to ensure proper implementation and to assist in overcoming challenges that will invariably arise.

The Role of a Selected Thinking Routine in the Development of Critical Thinking Skills in Preschool Students

This collaborative action research study examined the development of critical thinking when the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine was implemented in a preschool classroom. One preschool teacher undertook this research with 13 preschoolers (aged 3-4 years). The thinking routine was conducted as an in-depth group discussion during circle time. The data collection for the research included field notes, vignettes and document analysis. The results indicated that the routine promoted critical thinking skills in preschool aged children. These included the ability to analyze information presented to them and the curiosity to want to learn more. The routine also provided instructional aids and assisted in making children’s thinking visible. The See, Think, Wonder thinking routine can be a potential pedagogical tool for the promotion of critical thinking in young children. Opportunities for such routines can be created as part of the structured curriculum or during self-chosen activities in the preschool.

Design of the Maternal Website EMAeHealth That Supports Decision-Making During Pregnancy and in the Postpartum Period: Collaborative Action Research Study.

BackgroundDespite the benefit maternal education has for women, it needs new tools to increase its effectiveness and scope, in tune with the needs of current users.ObjectiveWe attempted to develop a multifunctional personalized eHealth platform aimed at the self-management of health in relation to maternity, which can be considered a flexible and adaptable maternal education tool.MethodsThe International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) were applied. A website prototype was developed for implementation in the public health system using a collaborative action research process, in which experts and patients participate, with qualitative research techniques, as well as focus groups, prioritization, and consensus techniques.ResultsWe have proposed a website that includes (1) systematically updated information related to clinical practice guidelines, (2) interaction between peers and users/professionals, (3) instruments for self-assessment of health needs as a basis for working on counseling, agreement on actions, help in the search for resources, support in decision-making, and monitoring and evaluation of results, and (4) access for women to their clinical data and the option of sharing the data with other health agents. These components, with different access requirements, would be reviewed through iterative cycles depending on the frequency and effectiveness resulting from their use and would be accessible from any digital device.ConclusionsA website that supports maternal education should contain not only information, but also resources for individual attention and social support. Its usefulness for the health and satisfaction of women should be evaluated in various different environments.

Do we assess what we set out to teach in obstetrics: An action research study

Background. Medical education empowers students to transform theoretical knowledge into practice. Assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes determines students’ competency to practice. Assessment methods have been adapted, but not evaluated, to accommodate educational challenges. Objectives. To evaluate whether assessment criteria align with obstetrics learning outcomes. Methods. We conducted a collaborative action research study, in which we reviewed and analysed learning outcomes and assessments according to Bigg’s model of constructive alignment. Data were analysed as per levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Results. Final-year students have two 3-week modules in obstetrics, with 75% overlap in learning outcomes and assessments. Ninety-five percent of learning outcomes were poorly defined, and 11 - 22% were inappropriately assessed. Summative assessments were comprehensive, but continuous assessments were rudimentary without clear educational benefit. There is a deficiency in assessment of clinical skills and competencies, as assessments have been adapted to accommodate patient confidentiality and increasing student numbers. The lack of good assessment practice compromises the validity of assessments, resulting in assessments that do not focus on higher levels of thinking. Conclusion. There was poor alignment between assessment and outcomes. Combining the obstetrics modules, and reviewing learning outcomes and assessments as a single entity, will improve the authenticity of assessments.

Does compensation strategy instruction work? An action research study

AbstractThis collaborative action research study aimed to explore if and to what extent compensation strategy instruction (CSI) can improve the communicative competence of learners of EFL who mainly use L1 in classroom speaking activities. Designed by a university professor and an EFL instructor working at a state university in Turkey, the study was conducted with B1-level learners, aged 17–18, studying at the English Language Centre of the university. The study followed an action research intervention framework. In the second cycle of the intervention process, instruction in affective strategy use was provided in response to the emerging need for dealing with learners’ anxiety and stress. The findings indicate that learners can be taught how to use compensation strategies and that CSI may be useful for improving learners’ communicative competence in a speaking class. However, affective factors, if not addressed, can hinder learners’ effective use of compensation strategies.

Integrating Rich Task into the Mathematics Classroom to Develop Students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills: A Collaborative Action Research Study in a Secondary School

This paper reports a collaborative action research study about the use of rich tasks in a mathematics classroom. It aims at exploring how to implement rich mathematical tasks using the problem-based learning model. It also investigates student higher order thinking skills improvement toward the use of this instructional approach and the difficulties faced by the students. Twenty-one Year 9 students were involved in this study. The results of the study showed significant learning gains in three research cycles. After the teacher and researcher made some improvements, student higher order thinking skills became significantly higher in the second and third cycles. The improvement included providing learning sources, implementing Number Head Together (NHT) learning method, and adding more modelling activities in the student worksheet. Some recommendations related to teachers’ preparations for rich task implementation in the classroom are presented based on teachers' and students' comments as well as existing literature.

Developing Reflective Practices of Elementary School Teachers: A Collaborative Action Research Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of reflective practices of elementary school teachers through interactive workshops. This study used a collaborative action research design, and five-day interactive workshop sessions related to reflective practices conducted to introduce the participants to reflective practices. Most specifically, these workshops focused on building their cognition, affection, and behavior about reflective practices. The Purposive sampling technique was used to select 20 elementary school teachers with at least 1.5 years’ experience in elementary school. After the workshop, participants spend two months of reflective teaching practices. Then, interviews with the participants were conducted, and data were collected until saturation occurred. The analysis of the data revealed that the teachers developed positive beliefs and feelings towards reflective practices, but they lacked in some areas of practice because of the school environment. Implications of the findings are also discussed.

Developing Secondary School Teachers’ Positive Attitude towards Reflective Teaching: A Collaborative Action Research Study

The purpose of this collaborative action research study was to develop reflective teaching practice through focus group discussions as a form of reflection conversations with nine chosen secondary school teachers in a private school. For data collection, two self-constructed open-ended questionnaires were used in this study: one before the focus group discussions and the second after the focus group discussions. Focus group discussions were held with teachers teaching English language, Urdu language, Science, Social Studies, Pakistan Studies. Focus group discussions were audiotaped and then transcribed for coding and thematic analysis. Based on that analysis, certain inferences were finalized. Professional development experience was found to be useful as participants accepted this new concept of reflective teaching with alacrity both for their development and the development of their students as well. Most of the participants described reflective teaching as beneficial to analytical skills as due this they could analyze performance and determine to be better in the future. In addition, they were of the view that it could also help develop the analytical skills of students. It is hoped that the participants’ detailed descriptions in this study will guide the selected school towards enhancing the performance of teachers in the form of better learning goals and students’ grooming so that they could be well prepared for a higher level of education and then professional education in the long run.

Learning to write book reviews for publication: A collaborative action research study on student-teachers’ perceptions, motivation, and self-efficacy

The purpose of this collaborative action research-based study was to explore the effects of learning to write book reviews for publication on 57 student-teachers’ experience with academic writing in initial English language teacher education (IELTE) in Argentina. The initiative was embedded in four different modules at three institutions. Data were gathered from March to November 2018 through an online questionnaire and group interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the data collected show that writing book reviews for publication improved student-teachers’ motivation, sense of self-efficacy, and overall perception of academic writing given the authenticity of audience embedded in the writing tasks. The findings confirm that learning to write for publication, when based on genre pedagogy, helps student-teachers develop professionally through experiential learning and therefore teacher educators may need to consider embedding similar initiatives in IELTE. Unlike previous studies, peer collaboration did not have a positive effect on the student-teachers’ writing development. Pedagogical and research implications are included.

Improving interactions of transition-age peers with visual impairment and intellectual disability

This collaborative action research study addressed the interaction skills of two young adults with visual impairments and intellectual disability in the context of a board game. The intervention involved the use of an adapted board game, four social stories, and rehearsal of game play skills in the context of individual and group therapy sessions. Instructional strategies included clear within and between activity routines, least to most prompting system, sufficient wait time, and modeling of game play behaviors. Both young men improved their initiation skills, terminated interactions appropriately with fewer prompts, and learned some of the elements of board game play. Self-stimulation and anxiety over changes in their daily lives impacted progress. More research is needed to investigate the potential benefit of social stories for students with visual impairments and additional disabilities.

Transforming Pedagogical Practices Through Collaborative Work

This article reports on the first three phases (exploration, identification, and planning) of a collaborative action research study whose main objective was to transform the pedagogical practices of teachers of a Colombian school of foreign languages. A methodology of collaborative action research and techniques, such as direct observation, completion of a reflection journal, and surveys and interviews with teachers and students was employed. Findings showed that the participants managed to identify some of the major problems they faced within their pedagogical practices and to design and implement courses of action to overcome them. Upon completion, favorable perceptions about the impact of collaborative action research on the transformation of the participating English language teachers’ pedagogical practices could be evidenced.

Group improvisation as dialogue: Opening creative spaces in secondary music education

Dialogue is inherently a form of improvisation, focussed on its relational nature and on the syntactic properties of its relationships. In the field of music education, group improvisation is considered as an emerging, reflexive and creative practice. However, research into secondary education has been limited. In this article, we present the results of a Collaborative Action Research study in Spanish Secondary education. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of group improvisation as a dialogic practice in secondary education, and the factors that determine the music creative space for learning. Data collection included observation, interviews, classroom diary, classroom assessments, questionnaires, video and audio recordings. We drew on the perspective of artography, in which artist, researcher and teacher co-exist, to codify, analyse and triangulate data. Findings show how the music creative space in group improvisation is determined by the following connected aspects: (a) active student involvement and wellbeing; (b) the students’ identification with the music; (c) the emergence of group flow and positive emotions manifested from both a multi-dimensional and a dual perspective; (d) a high level of motivation emerging in different forms; and (e) significant musical experiences from students’ role as musicians.

Positive Behavior Supports for Individuals who Are Deafblind with Charge Syndrome

Introduction The purpose of this study was to identify effective individualized positive behavior support strategies and cognitive behavior therapy strategies for young adults who are deafblind. It discusses findings specific to four young adult students with CHARGE syndrome. Methods This collaborative action research study employed collective case study design and elements of grounded theory analysis. Principles of positive behavior support and modified cognitive behavior therapy supported the identification and implementation of individualized behavioral interventions that addressed environment arrangement, sensory needs and sensitivities, and how adults communicated with the students. Results Eight themes were identified as being important to each of the students, although to varying degrees. These were: provide structure, establish and maintain a positive climate, address students’ sensory needs and sensitivities, support on-task behavior, support transitions between activities and environments, support mature behavior, support students in coping with anxiety, and use adult language supports. Each theme included multiple strategies. Discussion Proactive and reactive strategies must be individualized even when children share an etiology. Educational team members must know each student's preferences, likes, dislikes, reinforcers, and unique communication needs in order to identify and effectively implement behavioral supports. Modified cognitive behavior therapy may be helpful in addressing the anxiety experienced by individuals with CHARGE syndrome. Teams require time to collaborate on behavioral assessment, the identification of individualized behavioral strategies, and the effectiveness of behavioral plans. Implications for practitioners Providing well-structured environments and teaching rules and routines can reduce anxiety because students know what to expect. Educational team members should prevent sensory overload, provide structured desensitization opportunities, and teach relaxation techniques to these students. Adult communication must be positive, clarify what will happen next, and redirect behaviors when needed.