This
is a copy of the third report from year 1 using a new tool - the Ultraversity
'Action Enquiry' portfolio tool. I’ve left the structure the same and included
links to supporting documentation.
Welcome
to the Ultraversity 'Action Enquiry' portfolio tool.
This
online tool is designed to take you through the process of planning and
reporting on an action enquiry project. It will enable you to publish work to a
searchable database on the Internet if you choose to do so. You will also be able to
read fellow researchers' work who choose to share on the Internet and bookmark
interesting reports for future reference.
Text is best created using
a word processing or HTML package and then copied and pasted in to the relevant
fields. The tool has the facility for you to upload files to support your
report. These files could range from photos to diagrams to spreadsheets and
other documents. The whole should not exceed 4000 words or equivalent.
4. Literature,
References, Websites
5. Methods for
collecting data
7. Description of
Data & Upload files
This should
lead you to identify a question, hypothesis or assumption that you want to
research. Remember to think small scale to keep the work manageable. Discuss
your ideas in the community.
Initially I wanted to use an existing
artifact as the basis for an action research project. As part of the
brainstorming exercise, I discussed the idea in the Learning organization
community and posted a question to Cyril Wilkinson in the Action Research
Hotseat.
The transcript of these conversations is available as
a link. ‘First action enquiry
idea'
At
this point I was ready to start the action enquiry based on the artifact and
the outcomes of these discussions.
At
around the same time, I also had a second possible line of enquiry for an
action research project.
I contacted the local adult education college to see if there was a
possibility of teaching an art class in September.
I’ve taught
adults before, but not since 1993, and I felt like I’d like to get involved
again as its something I’ve always enjoyed doing. I also felt it would be
interesting to apply some of the Ultraversity learning so far to a practical
teaching situation. The teaching practice could also provide practical and
theoretical study opportunities for future Ultraversity studies.
The college were very
supportive and asked me to come along and discuss some options. Initially they
asked for some idea of the sort of subjects I could teach.
I decided that this new
teaching opportunity would provide an excellent basis for an action enquiry
report. Looking at the type of courses that the college were already running,
working out what I wanted to teach and turning this into a deliverable teaching
opportunity would form the basis of this new action enquiry.
I discussed this new
opportunity with my learning facilitator and we decided that it would make a
good starting point for an action enquiry.
I already had an idea of
the type of course I’d like to teach, but decided to look at the colleges
current offering in art classes to see if it fitted in.
The transcript of the
conversation with my leaning facilitator about the new action enquiry is linked
here. ‘Second action enquiry
idea'
This
should be in the form of a question like the ones below:
* How
effective is (particular program or strategy)
* How
can we improve (some aspect of learning)?
* Which
children are at risk for (some problem)?
Can I create a new class to fill the gaps in the local college’s art
teaching provision?
Tell
us what the action enquiry is and why this enquiry is important to you and the
people you work with. It needs to be something you have some degree of control
over so that you can change things in the light of your enquiry. Keep the scale
small and manageable:
This
action enquiry looks at the current provision of art courses at the local
college of adult education and where there might be options to run a new class.
This enquiry is important to the college and to me for a number of reasons.
From
the college’s point of view.
1.
The college is always looking to attract new students by offering
new and interesting classes.
2.
The current arts provision is quite extensive, but many classes
cover ‘traditional’ subjects such as oil and watercolour painting. These
classes are always well attended but there could be students looking for
something a little different.
3.
They want to attract students that might want to try an art class,
but view a traditional painting class as being too difficult or beyond their
capabilities.
From
my point of view.
1.
The chance to teach again after a long period of time would be a
great opportunity; I really enjoy teaching arts-based subjects and look forward
to the challenge of devising a new class.
2.
I would be able to take some of the learning I have carried out
during the Ultraversity course and try to put it in to practice. (Action
enquiry for example).
3.
As the class progresses, I can use the teaching experience to
inform some of the research that I’m doing as part of the Ultraversity course.
Read
some literature on the topic you are going to study and reference them using
the Harvard system. Write down the references to sources such as books,
websites, television programmes and reference them using the Harvard system.
Add a sentence after each one explaining why you believe it is relevant:
This area of the website
has downloadable PDFs by action researchers talking about why they choose to do
action research; I particularly liked this quote from Bob Dick.
“When I began to build regular monitoring and
reflection into my university classes they began to improve noticeably. This
explains one of my interests in action research -- how to increase further its
flexibility and responsiveness. As my educational skills improved so did my
action research. As my action research was refined, so were my educational
skills.
I found this very interesting, as this is exactly what
I’m hoping action research will do for me. The Ultraversity course will inform
my teaching practice and I can use my teaching experiences in future action
research.
http://www.infed.org/research/b-actres.htm
This page has some interesting definitions of action
research including those of Carr and Kemmis and Kurt Lewins. I found the
passage about action research falling out of favour in the 1960’s interesting.
Also, the quote from Lewins’ work:
“There was a tension between providing a rational basis for change
through research, and the recognition that individuals are constrained in their
ability to change by their cultural and social perceptions, and the systems of
which they are a part.”
I can apply this to my work situation. I am more
likely to be able to influence and change the teaching work I’m doing as I have
greater freedom and influence in the way I structure classes and teach.
Applying any action research outcomes in my full-time job as part of a national
charity is likely to be much harder. This is due to the more rigid structure of
the organisation and the need to consult with many other departments and
individuals. I can probably change my own practice and influence some of my
colleagues but introducing a major change in practice would probably be much
harder.
Martin
Judy
Sketching
– A structured course in mastering the art of sketching
HarperCollins
publishers
ISBN
0-00-412616-5
An
excellent book on sketching by Judy Martin covered in the data analysis
Extracts
from the book 1 and 2
http://www.oca-uk.com/courses/painting/paint1.php
This
is a basic introduction to painting course and had a useful list of what the
course intended to cover. Some of the subjects like ‘Understanding and using
colour’ could be adapted as short workshops for students to do in class and as
part of their own study.
http://www.craftonhills.edu/CHC/CHCdepts/Admin/CURR/ART/art.htm
This is a course outline for a drawing course.
Possibly the structure is a bit too advanced for the type of class I want to
teach but there are still areas I might investigate for inclusion in the
outline. Download PDF file ART
124X4 2.pdf
One area – ‘Demonstrate effective utilisation of
materials: pencil, charcoal, pen, brush and ink’ could be turned into a lesson
on working with mixed media to produce a sketch with different textures.
Michael Kluckner – Travel Art
No course outlines as such but some interesting
travel painting scenarios – such as travelling in an old Volkswagen Van and
recording the journey – could be adapted into a project for a sketchbook. This
could involve keeping a sketchbook in the car and making quick sketches of all
the places visited in a week.
John Lovett’s Website
This is an excellent site with online advice on
painting techniques and materials. I will probably include this on a list of
resources for students to refer to.
Sketchbooks from the Archives of American Art
http://archivesofamericanart.si.edu/exhibits/sketchbk/sketchbk.htm
This has some lovely examples of sketchbooks and
would be useful as inspiration for the students, showing them a range of ideas
and techniques.
WetCanvas
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/6561/299/
This is a huge resource of tutorials and ideas posted
to the site. This article has some excellent step-by-step exercise on basic
drawing techniques. Another one for the resource list.
Say
how you will collect your data. It is better to collect less data and complete
the action enquiry cycle then get 'bogged' down with more data than you can
handle:
I’m
going to use the Kolb cycle of reflection, (Kolb 1984), as a method of carrying
out the action research for this enquiry. This involves two cycles of enquiry
with a period of reflection and assessment between them.
The
data for the action enquiry will be collected in the following way.
For
the first cycle:
1.
Obtain the list of arts based classes from the college.
2.
List my own art skills and compare them to the current provision.
3.
Identify areas that I could develop into a class that is not
offered within the current provision.
4.
Develop these areas into brief course outlines for discussion with
the college programme manager.
5.
Identify in agreement with the college programme manager, an area
for further development into a course outline.
For the second cycle:
1.
Incorporate the findings from discussions with the college
programme manager.
2.
Provide a structured course outline to submit to the college.
3.
Incorporate feedback from the college.
4.
Agree the course outline with the college.
Be
realistic in the amount you hope to achieve and set out what resources you will
need and a timescale for your work:
The
research plan is set to quite a tight schedule. This is because I changed my
mind about the subject of the action enquiry. I also had a holiday booked
between the 13th and 29th March.
The
research objectives for the first cycle of the action enquiry.
1.
Find out about the arts classes on offer. This will give me an
outline of the current provision with a view to identifying possible gaps where
new classes could fit in.
2.
Audit my own skills. I can refer to a sheet on my CV that lists my
art and teaching skills.
3.
Identify areas that could be developed. (Look at the gaps and work
out the kind of class that I could teach within my skill set). I’ll also look
at web resources for teaching art classes.
4.
Produce a short outline of the courses I could teach. I’ll look at
web resources for producing course outlines.
5.
Meet with the college programme manager. This meeting is to
discuss the course outlines I’ve produced and see if they fit in with the college’s
programme of classes for September.
The research objectives
for the second cycle of the action enquiry, (outlined in the method for
collecting data).
1.
Develop a course outline for the agreed area. Refer to literature
on designing course outlines and lesson plans.
2.
Submit it to the college for feedback.
3.
Incorporate the feedback into the course outline.
4.
Agree the course outline with the college.
In
addition to the two cycles of research following the Kolb model, I’ll also look
at literature on action enquiry and action research.
Make
sense of the data you have collected. What does it show? (400 words approx)
Upload
images (pictures and scanned images, etc) and files to support your report.
This
is the data collected in accordance with the research plan.
For
the first cycle
1.
I obtained a list of current art based classes offered by the
college from their website. I have included the Activities in Retirement
classes because they also offer some arts based classes. Click this link - ‘Current courses’. This shows the current
provision and possible gaps where a new class could fit.
2.
A list of my teaching and arts based
skills and experience. This allows me to look
at my skills base against the current provision. I can also work out the type
of subjects that I could teach and potential new classes I could devise to fill
the gaps.
3.
A
list of new classes based on the research gathered from the college and my
skills audit. This includes a number
of brief class outlines that I can take with me to the meeting with the college
programme manager. I’ve also carried out a brief analysis of the type of
student I would be targeting with these new classes.
4.
The notes from the meeting
with the college Programme Manager to discuss possible courses.
For
the second cycle
1.
I produced a course
outline based on my initial research and the meeting with the Programme
Manager. Other research included looking at resources from the web and a book
on sketching, resources for running art classes and course outline design
2.
This course outline was sent back to the college for their
feedback and suggestions.
3.
I incorporated the feedback into the course outline.
4.
Agreed the final outline with the college for the new course.
Please
add your research findings under the following headings.
What
happened?
The
research was carried out according to the plan and I didn’t have to rethink or
rework any part of the research plan while carrying it out. This was quite
important as I had lost time by changing the nature of the enquiry and I had
two weeks on holiday during the time that the enquiry was in progress. By
keeping the nature of the enquiry fairly small and linking it to situations
that I had a reasonable amount of control over, I was able to obtain the data I
needed to progress through each stage. Credit must also go to the college
programme manager and her assistant for agreeing to talk to me at short notice
and for providing the feedback so quickly.
What
was learned and by whom?
Having
the data from the initial research that I did on the current courses and gaps
in provision helped me to focus on ideas for classes that complemented existing
classes or offered a new type of class. This prevented me wasting valuable time
on outlines for classes that overlapped or duplicated those already on offer.
Having
pre-prepared ideas for classes helped the programme manager and I to quickly
look at the options and make a decision based on these ideas. It also helped me
to negotiate the class that I really wanted to teach.
The
programme manager learned about the type of teaching I could offer and the
portfolio of work gave her an idea of my previous work experience and the level
I could teach at.
Was it worthwhile and why?
It was certainly a
worthwhile exercise. I needed some form of structure or outline to work within
to design the course. The action enquiry tool provided me with a framework to
use and really made me think about the type of course I could teach and more
importantly, the type of class I wanted to teach. I could probably have done
this outside of an action enquiry exercise, but I might not have achieved the
same depth of planning and reflection that the action enquiry afforded.
What
did I do?
I
carried out the two cycles of enquiry as planned. The first cycle of planning
the courses and meeting with the programme manager really helped me to focus on
the courses that were appropriate both for my skills base and the college’s
requirements for a new course.
I
had an idea for development, but I wanted some more background information on
lesson planning and course outlines before I progressed to designing a course
outline.
I
also wanted to look at the issues of how and why people kept sketchbooks. I
know why I keep one myself, but I need to see what motivated others to. I
looked at a number of online resources about sketching and keeping a
sketchbook. I also looked at a book called ‘Sketching – A structured course in
mastering the art of sketching’ by Judy Martin for ideas for content and
possible lesson plans.
Once
I had this information, I was able to design the course outline with more
confidence, using a combination of the ideas I had found on the web and in the
book, plus my own ideas about keeping a sketchbook.
Ian’s
sketches –
Ian 1.jpg,
Ian 2.jpg,
Ian 3.jpg,
Ian
4.jpg,
I
also made the conscious decision to allow the course to evolve within the
outline if the students wanted it to. Keeping a sketchbook is quite a personal
thing and I decided that I would structure part of the teaching, but also leave
room for the students to develop their own ideas and provide guidance for this.
The
programme manager and her assistant provided me with some valuable feedback
agreeing with nearly all of the structure and providing guidance on materials
that could be provided.
What
have I learned?
I
learned that proper planning is important for a research enquiry to run to
schedule and to produce results that are meaningful.
I
learned that the classes I could teach were not necessarily the classes I
wanted to teach. Using the action enquiry tool helped me to focus on the
subjects that really interested me. I was also able to present these ideas in a
structured and professional way.
I
learned more about the college structure and the requirements for student
assessment. I taught for the college before, about 10 years ago and there was
nowhere near the same level of planning for classes and assessment for students
in place then.
What
are the key things that you found out? (Numbered list - 200 words approx)
Save
and continue to edit Save and view
1.
I answered my initial question. I was able to create a new class to fill the gaps
in the local college’s art teaching provision.
2.
I learned a lot about the college’s art classes. I realised quite
quickly that many of the classes on offer covered the more traditional types of
art such as oil and watercolour painting. This was useful to me as I could
immediately spot potential gaps and think about classes that could possibly
fill them.
3.
I learned about my own thoughts and feelings on the subjects I
could teach. All the course outlines I initially designed I knew I could teach
but I found myself questioning whether or not I really wanted to teach them.
This was very helpful, as I have taught a photography class in the past in a
totally unsuitable room with poor equipment. I didn’t want to repeat this
experience.
4.
I identified a subject that really interested me and I was able to
make a good case for developing it into a course. As a bonus, the college were
sufficiently interested in two other possible outlines for development.
5.
I found out some interesting ideas for course outline development.
This helped me to prepare the outline so that it met the college’s
requirements.
What
did you learn about the action enquiry process? (400 words maximum)
What
did I learn about the action enquiry process
I
found the action enquiry process to be an excellent way of working through a
situation like this. The original question was more of a practical rather than
a hypothetical one and I needed a concrete outcome from the research. Using
action enquiry as a method of achieving this seemed to work very well.
The
initial cycle led logically to the second and the research that I did along the
way really helped me to focus down on the core issue of designing a new course.
I mentioned before that I could probably have come up with a similar set of
results by following my instincts and ideas, but the action enquiry approach
helped me to do this in a much more logical and constructive way. The second
cycle results also gave me ideas for a third cycle. This would involve taking
the course outline and developing individual lesson plans for the length of the
course and thinking about individual learning plans for the students.
How
might I approach action enquiry differently in the future?
I
found the action enquiry tool quite difficult to use initially. I started off
by typing individual sections and uploading them. This seemed a bit disjointed and
the sequence of headings in the tool seemed to throw me off course a bit too. I
think this is more a failing on my part rather than the tool itself. I’m used
to writing a free flowing report, using headings with one section flowing
logically from another. Having the references and literature as point 4 threw
me a bit, as I would normally put these at the end.
I
ended up copying all the headings into a Word document and writing it as a
single file. This helped a lot, as I was able to scroll back and forth between
sections as I was writing. I’m aware that there is some repetition in areas
such as the methods for collecting data and the research plan. These were
essentially the same thing for me. This might again be due to misinterpretation
on my part.
I
will certainly use the action enquiry tool again; perhaps with an enquiry that
is less prescriptive than the one I carried out here.
Action
enquiry as a method of research I will definitely use again. I was able to
identify two definite cycles of research for this enquiry and I think the
cyclical approach to an enquiry yields good results and poses new questions at
the same time. Due to the short timescale I had to complete the enquiry, I
don’t feel I had enough time for proper reflection between the two cycles. I
hope to address this in future action enquiry projects.
