Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education
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Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education Rita Collins & Světlana Hanušová English Department Faculty of Education Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic
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Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education. Rita Collins & Sv ě tlana Hanušová English Department Faculty of Education Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic. Looking for a balance in teacher education between practice and theory…. ….a possible solution is Action Research. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education
Action Research in Foreign Language Teacher Education
Rita Collins & Světlana HanušováEnglish Department Faculty of Education Masaryk University
Brno, Czech Republic
Looking for a balance in teacher education between
practice and theory….
….a possible solution is
Action Research
What is Action Research?
“…inquiry done by a teacher with the intent that the research will inform and change his or her practice in the future. The research is carried out within the context of the teacher’s environment - that is, with the students and at the school at which the teacher works - on questions that deal with educational matters at hand.”
Ferrance (2000)
The Cycle of Action Research
Two action research projects
at a Czech university
• Meeting the needs of a large class of students studying English
• Developing communicative competence in learners with Specific Learning Disabilities
Facing a large class
Dilemma: 24 Czech university students who met weekly for 90 minutes for practical
English
Research: background readings on large classesclass evaluations by studentsclass discussionsteacher’s previous experience in a different setting
Plan: Explained concept of learning centers
Students signed up to facilitateWe tried it for three weeks.Re-evaluated
Reflect and Evaluate:Students were enthusiasticMore material was coveredMore learner-independenceAn example of action research for
future teachers
Developing communicative competence in learners with SLD
• Participatory action research• Empowering research WITH teachers
not ON teachers• Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Moodle• 5 participating teachers + researcher
as coordinator and facilitator• 8 learners with SLD integrated in
mainstream primary classes
Dual aims
• Teachers: Improving their practice• Teacher educator: Monitoring the cycle of
pedagogical reasoning and action (Shulman, 2007): - teacher's understanding of the given content- transformation of the content in order to mediate it to particular learners- teaching and evaluation- reflection and new understanding
Research Stages
• Mapping stage• Studying resources• Selecting innovations and introducing
them to the teaching practice• Ongoing reports about the progress online
(main source of data)• Reflection and evaluation
VLE Moodle
Research Results
• Pupils with SLD moderately improved their performance in most domains of the communicative competence
• No negative influence of the innovations on intact pupils in the study groups reported
• The teachers appreciated:- “the theory” - online discussions with other teachers
- the facilitator's comments on their particular problems
• The teachers did not appreciate: – time demands
Action research benefits
has the potential of directly influencing practice
shows the relevance of theory to practice
allows learners and teachers an opportunity to create a better educational environment
possible to use in classrooms and in a virtual environment
References
• FERRANCE, E. Action Research. Rhode Island: The Educational Alliance, 2000.
• HIGHER EDUCATION ACADEMY, Subject Center for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. Retrieved 1 February 2009. www.llas.ac.uk/.../projects/action_research.gif
• KUMARAVADIVELU, B. Understanding Language Teaching. From Method to Postmethod. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0805851763.
• SHULMAN, L. S. (1987) Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. Harvard Educational Review. Volume 57. Number 1, pp. 1 – 21.
