Classroom-based Research for Professional Development

Abstract:  

 

This EVO Project provides a hands-on introduction to inquiry-based teacher development, especially (though not exclusively) for teachers working in difficult circumstances (large classes, low-resource classrooms, etc.). The project takes participants through different stages of teacher-research, engaging them in practical activities which will gradually build their confidence in this area.

 

Hashtag: #tresearch

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Target audience:

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We aim to connect, in particular, with teachers and teacher educators working in relatively difficult circumstances in developing countries who may not otherwise have much access to teacher development opportunities. Open-source materials and experiences to be referred to mainly come from teacher-research projects in such settings, including the Champion Teachers project in Chile (British Council and Ministry of Education Chile) (2013 to present), Hornby Regional Schools in Nepal (2013-2014) (A.S. Hornby Educational Trust and British Council) and the Teachers and Children as Co-researchers in Indian Primary Schools project (British Council) (2015-2016). 

 

Session objectives:

 

Overall the project aims to improve teachers' sense of self-efficacy and professional autonomy via inquiry-based practice.  Specific session aims focus on commencing teacher-research,  developing a plan, sustaining research and developing further autonomy. 

 

Participants will learn how to carry out small-scale research in their own teaching settings: tasks will be provided which teachers can carry out in their own classrooms or teaching institutions. The goal will be for participants to share  findings with others in this EVO commmunity, and ultimately beyond.

 

The project takes participants through different stages of teacher-research for teacher development and engages them in activities which will gradually build their confidence in this area: from sharing successes and understanding the value of collaboration (week 1) to creating research questions and gaining insights from colleagues (week 2), then deciding on and trying out tools for exploring the questions by collecting classroom data (week 3); analyzing data and learning how to share findings (week 4); and finally reporting to the community, and planning further research and action (week 5).  

 

 

Before 1st January you can join our Facebook group, and we will post reminders and further information there.    From 1st January to 13th January, you can register for this EVO by following the instructions we will post on 1st January on our website home page:  http://classroombasedresearch.weebly.com/evo2019.html If you do not register by 13th January, you will still be able to listen in to webinars and access website tasks as they become available, week by week from 14th January onwards, but you will not be able to join in fully, i.e. receive mentoring or have access to other participants' responses to tasks.

 

 

Syllabus:

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 While-waiting warm-up (1–13 Jan. 2018)

 

While you're waiting for the EVO to begin, get to know the moderators via their short self-introductions, introduce yourself in our Facebook group / Google + community (we'll provide that link on the website

(http://classroombasedresearch.weebly.com/evo2019.html) on 1st January), fill out a questionnaire which will help us support you better, and browse some of the readings and videos about teacher-research that we'll make available.

 

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Week 1 (14–20 Jan. 2019)

 

 Introduction and stepping into research for teacher development 

 

Hear an introduction to the project overall, then introduce your classroom and teaching situation to the group via Google + / Facebook group. We will then focus on sharing recent successful teaching experiences relating to your contexts. The emphasis is on confidence-building and relationship-building via recognition of yourselves and your colleagues as experts in your own classrooms. Videos of other teachers sharing their experiences in a workshop in Nepal will also be shared and discussed.

 

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Week 2 (21–27 Jan. 2019)

 

Identifying a focus of research and developing research questions 

 

You will be introduced to the value of exploring before attempting to bring about a change. This entails stepping back from the situation and investigating it thoroughly. As a first step, you will be helped to identify a main research focus and develop this into a clear research question or questions. During this process, you will receive feedback from moderators and other course participants.

 

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Week 3 (28 Jan.–3 Feb. 2019)

 

Practical tools for exploratory research

 

You will be guided into considering different sources of information and appropriate data collection tools. You will be helped to determine the best type(s) for your own questions.  You will continue to gain feedback from moderators. Participants will also be shown how they can involve their students in the research and problem-solving process. 

 

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 Week 4 (4–10 Feb. 2019)

 

 Timelines, Analysis & Sharing

 

This week will be allocated to the discussion of and guidance in timelining, basic data analysis procedures, and ways of sharing research.  Participants will create their own timeline, will learn about several ways to analyze data and will decide which analysis procedure(s) will best complement their study.  Finally, participants will discuss how to best share their valuable insights with their colleagues, with a focus on innovative, creative and teacher-friendly means of sharing. 

 

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Week 5 (11–17 Feb. 2019)

 

Developing a plan for further research and sharing

 

Participants will share their work in the form of research plans (context - questions - data collection methods - timeline) or reports on work so far if the research has already started. Finally, teachers will be encouraged to join specific networks (the 'Teachers Research!' Facebook group, the Teaching English in Large Classes network (TELCnet) and IATEFL Research SIG) for further development in this area. They will also be invited to stay in touch and report back about their research in March or April. 

 

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Media:

 

• Interactive spaces: Facebook group; Google+ https://plus.google.com/communities/104100615681706771119
• Content space Weebly website http://classroombasedresearch.weebly.com/evo2019.html
• Live meeting space Adobe connect (for weekly webinars)

 

Other technology tools: (optional) Digital posters (i.e. Padlet), video making tools (i.e. Voicethread)

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Sponsors: 

 

All-India Network of English Teachers (AINET);

IATEFL Research SIG;

Red de Investigadores Chilenos (RICELT);

Teaching English in Large Classes network (TELCnet)

 

 

To join this group:

 

From January 8 :

 

Go to: 

http://classroombasedresearch.weebly.com/evo2019.html and follow instructions there

 

 

 

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Moderators:

 

 

Name (last, first)	Email address	Location (country of residence)	Biodata	Photo
Dikilitas,Kenan	kenandikilitas@gmail.com	Turkey	Kenan Dikilitaş is an Assistant Professor at Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul. His academic and research interests include language teacher education and professional development through research engagement. He has published his work in books and international journals. His recent book publications include Developing Teacher autonomy through Action Research co-authored with C.Griffiths (2017) and Developing insights into teacher research edited with A.Burns, R. Smith, and M.Wyatt, (2017). Prior to his experience in a higher education context, he taught EFL in primary, secondary and high school settings with intensive teaching loads for several years.
Saglam, Asli Lidice Gokturk	aslilidice@gmail.com	Turkey	Asli, from Turkey, has been an English teacher in EAP settings for 15 years. She is an educational technologies enthusiast. Her research interests include; teacher education, educational technology, and testing and assessment. She shares her reflections about teaching in her blog at http://aslisaglam.edublogs.org/  and on Twitter (@aslilidice)
Chapagain, Babita Sharma	babitasharma34@gmail.com	Nepal	Babita Sharma Chapagain completed her MA in ELT from the University of Warwick in 2015. She works as a teacher trainer at Rato Bangala Foundation, Nepal. She has also been teaching at Kathmandu University where she assists M Ed (ELT) students in carrying out a classroom-based research.
Eraldemir Tuyan, Seden	sedentuyan@gmail.com	Turkey	Seden Tuyan worked as a language instructor, syllabus coordinator, staff developer at Çukurova University, the School of Foreign Languages between 1993-2017. She is currently working as a faculty member in the ELT Department at Çağ University, Mersin. Her major interests are classroom management, action research, and personal and professional development.
Evans, Michelle	shellie_evans@hotmail.co.uk	UK	Michelle, from the UK, has ESOL and EAP teaching experience in the UK and Vietnam and has been working as a research assistant within the Teacher-research for Difficult Circumstances project at the University of Warwick.
Ghazal, Sadeqa	sghazal@gmail.com	India	Sadeqa Ghazal, from India, is a senior research fellow pursuing PhD(ELT) from the school of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Patna. Her research interests include learner autonomy, teaching speaking, critical pedagogy and classroom-based action research in ELT. She has taught ESL at school level for more than five years in low-resource classrooms. Twitter: @sadeqaghazal
Mazzei, Ruben	rumazzei@gmail.com	Argentina	Ruben Mazzei is a university EFL and literature teacher. He teaches at primary, secondary and university levels and at Teacher Training College. He coordinates and designs courses for the CPD department for English in the Ministry of Education (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina). He also facilitates workshops for the British Council. His research interests are genre-based pedagogy, SFL, and EASP.
Serra, Mariana	marianaserra2@gmail.com	Argentina	Mariana Serra is an Argentinian teacher and a licentiate in English. She holds a diploma in E-learning and distance learning and she is attending an MA Program. For PD purposes, she has studied in the USA and Spain. She was one of the winners of Aptis for Teachers Action Research Awards (British Council) in 2015 and has been selected again in 2016-2017. For over ten years she has worked in universities and secondary schools teaching English as a FL and she has worked as a Head of Department mentoring teachers for several years. Her interests are in Applied Linguistics and Materials Development.
Casalini, Lidia	lidiacasalini@gmail.com	Argentina
Loreto Aliaga	loreto.aliaga.salas@gmail.com	Chile	Loreto is a teaching fellow in TESOL at the School of Education at the University of Leeds. Her PhD explored teacher educators’ cognitions in the context of a curriculum change in a pre-service language teacher education programme in Chile. She is a teacher of English, and has taught at primary, secondary, and at pre- and in-service teacher education in Chile and the UK. She is the co-founder of RICELT, the Chilean network of research in ELT.

 

 

Primary Contact : 

 

Kenan Dikilitas kenandikilitas@gmail.com