ACTION RESEARCH TO INVESTIGATE DIVERSITY & EDUCATIONAL METHODS ©Douglas Gosse, PhD Methods, Faculty of Education Nipissing University

2 The $ question… What do you want your teaching to be like? Quickly write a few lines or make a sketch. This is an exercise in surrealism or automatic writing/sketching. You must write or sketch for 2 minutes without stopping. Go!

3 Grauerholz, L. (2001). Teaching Holistically to Achieve Deep Learning. College Teaching, 49(2), Holistic teaching seeks to provide a safe environment for students to express their ideas and feelings openly. The intent also is to acknowledge and legitimate the many different voices and experiences of our students, especially those who have historically been silenced in traditional classroom settings.

4 Gosse, D. (2005). My Arts-Informed Narrative Inquiry into Homophobia in Elementary Schools as a Supply Teacher, International Journal of the Arts & Education (Vol. 6, pp. 1-20). Literature review Interviews with staff of two provinces Critical journal reflections Critical reflections as a teacher since 1990 Several classes with junior children Document analysis

5 How are children transformed through participation in Historica Fairs?

6 Kemmis, S., & McTaggert, R. (2005). Participatory Action Research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp ). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Classroom action research: a) Roots in Marxism and community building b) Community involvement is an important tenet c) Responds to needs of people d) often takes into account identity, e.g. race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, geographical location, language & culture e) not just theoretical, but practical f) topics to investigate range from classroom management & power structures to homophobia, racism, and illiteracy

7 Connelly, M. F., & Clandinin, J. D. (1992). Curriculum theory. In M. C. Alkin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational research (6th ed., pp ). New York and Toronto: Macmillan Co.

8 Miron, L. F. (1997). Resisting Discrimination, Affirmation Strategies for Principals and Teachers. Thousand oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. low expectations = self-fulfilling prophesy (Pygmalion Theory) How may we involve guardians? How do we create bridges between the community & curricula? How may teachers become ‘action researchers’ in minority communities? Consider class, gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, language & culture, illiteracy. Then what?

9 What is a good title for this slide?

10 Leggo, C. (2001). Research as Poetic Rumination: Twenty -six Ways of Listening to Light. In L. Neilsen, A. L. Cole & G. K. J. (Eds.), The Art of Writing Inquiry (pp ). Halifax, Nova Scotia: Backalong Books. I want [my teaching to be] like Newfoundland yard art, shaped out of the flotsam of the ocean - driftwood, shipwrecks, lobster traps, glass and plastic and iron- washed up on the beach and scavenged, shaped, and organized into colorful and bizarre creations of the imagination, beyond the imagination (Leggo, 2001)