Collaboration and Action Research: a cautionary tale

Action research has become a widely accepted and recommended methodology for teacher research. With the current climate of collaborative planning within primary schools. it has been seen as a process which could exist naturally alongside such activity, with much being made in the rhetoric of its essentially ‘collaborative’ character. But such claims are problematic. They derive importantly from epistemological considerations, but weaknesses may be found in such arguments when they are considered against the reality of the process in action. This article considers the claims for the collaborative nature of action research in the context of the progress of a coordinated inquiry in a primary school, within which the author was involved. Whilst recognising their importance, it challenges the arguments for insisting on collaboration as a prerequisite for the most ‘effective’ action research, suggesting that all action research is fundamentally personal. It also raises the question of whether participation in the process may itself raise conflicts with the need for a collaborative structure to ensure critical reflection and valid knowledge claims, suggesting that action research may at times have effects at a personal level which could produce severe tensions in the maintenance of a collaborative situation.     

Connecting Video Segments to Collaborative Learning Activities

Abstract

The article discusses how sections of a video can best be used in the instructional process by activating the minds of students and using their reactions to viewing to produce intellectual action. It gives some suggested schemes for this activity and shows how technological forces can become energies of change.     

Misconceptions about traumatic brain injury among students preparing to be special education professionals

The researchers performed a survey study to determine the effectiveness of collegiate programmes in dispelling common misconceptions about traumatic brain injury (TBI) while preparing undergraduate and graduate students for special education (SpEd) careers. Respondents included 136 undergraduate and 147 graduate SpEd students in their final semesters before obtaining degrees. Each completed an 18‐item true/false survey about TBI and the associated recovery process. Results were compared with survey responses from 318 lay public respondents who participated in a previous study. Two major findings emerged: (a) no significant differences existed in misconception endorsement between SpEd students completing Bachelor's versus Master's degrees; and (b) graduating students in SpEd teacher preparation programmes endorsed similar misconceptions as lay public respondents; hence, these programmes do not appear effective in dispelling common TBI misconceptions. Improving academic preparation for special educators regarding TBI is imperative for effectively identifying, assessing and serving student survivors.     

The HPT model applied to a kayak company's registration process

This case study describes the step‐by‐step application of the traditional human performance technology (HPT) model at a premier kayak company located on the coast of North Carolina. The HPT model was applied to address lost revenues related to three specific business issues: misinformed customers, dissatisfied customers, and guides not showing up for tours or lessons at the kayak company. The case study includes problem statements, organizational analysis, environmental analysis, gap analysis, cause analysis, and proposed interventions.