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MD614 Practitioner Based Inquiry (A)
Credits: 20
Tutor: Professor
Mel Ainscow
Aims
The aim of the double unit is to introduce participants
to techniques that can be used to monitor the development, implementation
and impact of innovations in educational contexts. It is intended that
this double unit will support the dissertation. It is aimed at experienced
practitioners and will be particularly relevant to those wishing to conduct
studies in schools and other educational institutions, both during and
after the programme. The double unit will address four main issues in
relation to innovation:
- What do you want to know (and why)?
- How are you going to find out?
- What does this tell you?
- What are you going to do about it?
Within this overall agenda, attention will focus on
the choice and use of particular methodologies and methods of inquiry;
the analysis and interpretation of data; ethical considerations and trustworthiness;
and forms of reporting. Throughout there will be an emphasis on using
inquiry as a basis for reviewing and developing policy and practice in
the field. Attention will also be given to ways of engaging critically
with evidence from existing research and evaluation reports. Students
conduct a short inquiry in a school.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this double unit students
should be able to:
- Select and use appropriate methods to carry out inquires
that will inform the development of policies and practice in educational
contexts;
- Demonstrate an engagement with skills of analysis,
synthesis, interpretation and critical reflection;
- Demonstrate an awareness of recent thinking in the
fields of educational research and evaluation as they relate to current
issues within education systems;
- Read educational research and evaluation reports in
a critical manner;
- Have an awareness of the demands of writing for different
audiences.
Content
- Introduction to the unit and establishing critical
friendship groups.
- Perspectives on inquiry – determining research
questions.
- Styles of writing.
- Using Educational databases to
access journal articles.
- Classroom Observation.
- Interviewing.
- Surveys.
- Introduction to the Statistical Package for Social
Scientists (SPSS).
- Analysing data and establishing trustworthiness.
- Analysing qualitative data.
- School Visits and practical research tasks.
Teaching and Learning methods
Sessions will usually be in two parts, as follows:
(i) workshop activities related to the theme of the week; and (ii) critical
friendship groups to review reading and support individual projects. Methods
include lecturing, active learning, small groups methods and discussion.
Participants will be expected to have studied the required
readings prior to the sessions. These readings will be provided.
Core Publications
The unit is based on a series of carefully selected
readings, which are usually academic journal articles. These readings
are distributed on a weekly basis, usually 2 per week, and form the basis
for the discussion and activities of the following week. These are compulsory
readings.
In addition, the following are considered as key texts:
Bell, J. (1993) Doing Your Research Project, Buckingham: Open University
Press.
Coffey, A. and Atkinson, P. (1996) Making Sense of Qualitative
Data. Complementary Research Strategies, Londn: Sage.
Coolican, H (1996) Introduction to research methods
and statistics in Psychology, 2nd edition Hodder and Stoughton
Denzin, K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.) (1994) Handbook
of Qualitative Research, London: Sage.
Gomm, R. and Woods, P. (1993) Educational Research in
Action, London: Paul Chapman.
Hopkins, D. (1993) A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom
Research, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Kinnear, PR & Gray, CD (1998) SPSS for Windows Made
Simple, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Robson, C (1993) Real World Research. Oxford: Blackwell
Rowntree, D. (1981) Statistics Without Tears. London:
Penguin
Taylor, R. & Bryce, J. (1998) SPSS: An introductory
guide, Department of Psychology University of Manchester. (This book has
been written by 2 postgrads and is designed specifically for students.
It is easy to follow and only costs £5 from Peter Harforth in the
Dept of Psychology)
Wilkinson, D. (2000) The Researcher’s Tool Kit:
The Complete Guide to Practitioner Research, London: Routledge Falmer.
Assessment methods
Report of short research tasks (surveys, observation
and interviewing – 4000 words max).
Learning hours
| MD614 Activity |
Time (Hours) |
| 12 module session |
30 |
| Private study/assignment preparation |
105 |
| Directed reading |
60 |
| Individual/group tutorials |
5 |
| Total hours |
200 |
Mode of Teaching:
Full-time/part-time/ face to face
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