Unit name | Professional Development through Collaborative Working on Issues in Education |
---|---|
Unit code | EDUCM5307 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
Unit director | Professor. Brown |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Education |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit involves participants identifying an issue in education 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. These may be subject specific with a group of Newly Qualified Teachers in a single subject area or part of a school based professional development initiative such as Leading in Learning groupings within a school. 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:
The part-time students will be teachers in local schools. Teaching will predominantly be through supportive group seminars with whole group discussion in early sessions on how to approach, monitor and evaluate stages of the action research process. Students will conduct fieldwork relevant to their chosen action research project. 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:
A portfolio of:
The assignment can be presented as the set of these formative papers written over the two terms documenting development and reflection (totalling 4,000 words) or be presented as a continuous piece of summative reflective writing of about 4,000 words.
The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary.
Educational Action Research.
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
Altrichter, H, Posch, P & Somekh, B (1993) Teachers Investigate their Work: An Introduction to the Methods of Action Research, Routledge.
Brown, A & Dowling, P (1998) Doing Research/Reading Research, a Mode of Interrogation for Education, Falmer.
Elliott, J (1991) Action Research for Educational Change, Open University Press.
McNiff, J. (2002) Action Research: principles and practice. London:Routledge Falmer.