| Unit name | Educational Action Research |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM0099 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Alf Coles |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit involves participants identifying an issue in education (including issues around sustainable futures), to investigate through an action research process, with support from a university tutor and a collaborative group of other students. Students will engage in collaborative reflection on issues that have educational and practical implications. Students will be encouraged to reflect in terms of theory, policy and research as well as on their practice.
This unit is designed for flexibility of structure, delivery and assessment to meet the needs of the cohort who are both Masters students and members of school-based action research groups.
Aims:
The unit aims to:
After taking this unit, the student should demonstrate that they:
Teaching will predominantly be through supportive group seminars with whole group discussion in early sessions on how to approach, plan, monitor and evaluate stages of the action research process. Students will conduct, or plan, fieldwork relevant to their chosen action research project, in schools, or in spaces relating to public pedagogy. Associated activities will be specified such as the keeping of a research diary to support participants in identifying their issue to be worked on as part of the process of action research with reflection and discussion.
In university-based sessions members of the group will:
Formative: Reflective writing showing development of thinking over time; reflective writing showing contribution of collaborative group; reports of small-scale research projects; reports of implementation of strategies to tackle an issue and evaluation.
Summative: The assignment will be presented as a continuous piece of summative text (4,000 words) that draws on the reflective writing done during the course. The assignment will present a critical reflection on the process of educational action research and the learning which resulted (ILO 1-4).
When assessment does not go to plan
Re-assessment arrangements for students who have not been able to take or pass a summative assessment will involve a second attempt at the assignment tasks in their original form. Assessments for this unit are individual and do not involve group work
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EDUCM0099).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
