Supporting the Teaching of Action Research ARNA-STAR-C spring Newsletter 2024

EDITORS: TERI MARCOS, LINDA PURRINGTON, & CLOTILDE LOMELI AGRUEL

For Spanish

This is the spring 2024 newsletter of one of the Action Research Communities (ARCs) of the Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA). Our ARC is Supporting the Teaching of Action Research (STAR-c). A group of professors who teach action research have met between ARNA conferences over the last few years to think about strategies, issues, and resources to support the teaching of action research. We created a website (star-arna-arc.org) as a forum for our Learning Circle discussions (onlinelearningcircles.org) around our own teaching of action research. The website provides resources to help support the teaching of action research including supportive topics, syllabi, examples of how action research fits in different programs, and both teacher and student resources.

We invite you to join the STAR community and welcome your contributions to the ARNA-STAR Newsletter. Please submit short essays on any issue in the teaching of action research, your feedback on what you would like to see in the newsletter, or books, conferences, or resources you would like us to add. Please send your submissions to the STAR-ARC website at star-arna-arc.org and an editor will be in touch. We have also launched a blog to encourage more discussion around topics. Please join us at: https://actionresearchteaching.home.blog/

This edition summarizes six Chats the STAR-Community has sponsored 2023-2024. Each contains a reflection from one of the moderators or sponsors of the chat to think about how things may have changed or what opportunities or questions have evolved as we look back. We are preparing this edition of the STAR-C Newsletter for the Action Research Network of the Americas Conference, June 8-9 as way to reflect on the topics we have reviewed and to help us think about what topics we might sponsor for the coming year. We hope you will join us at the conference for this meta-chat. Here are the topics:

• Storytelling for Social Change and Action Research (April 2024);
• Climate Change and Youth Participatory Action Research (Feb. 2024);
• Innovation, Education, and Artificial Intelligence (Oct. 2023);
• The Use and Misuse of Artificial Intelligence in Action Research Courses (June 2023);
• Lesson Study-A Form of Action Research (May 2023);
• Language Learning, Action Research, and Language Education Policies (Feb. 2023)

Revisiting the Story Telling for Social Change and Action Research Chat (April 3, 2024)

Chat Summary:

Guest Speaker: Melissa Rowker, Director of Global Education, The International Education And Resource Network. iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change builds global leaders by engaging Algerian, Tunisian, and American high school-aged youth in global collaboration to tell stories about real world issues in their local communities. The virtual exchange draws on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to explore the transformative power of storytelling. Throughout the program, participants learn how to use several techniques and tools to develop, record, edit, and publish their stories. The current work builds on the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Digital Storytelling Workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, hosted by iEARN-USA, iEARN-Bangladesh, and the YES program. Learn more about the workshop and view all four digital story telling films on YouTube. During the talk Carlos Chiu shared a video of students in Peru taking social action and using digital storytelling videos to share their work. Star-c Chat Webpage Chat Recording

Post Chat Reflection:

by Melissa Rowker

Introducing iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change program in a STAR chat was a rewarding experience that highlighted the program's potential to foster global citizenship and empower youth to become agents of positive change.

iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change is a virtual exchange program that builds global leaders by engaging Algerian, Tunisian, and American high school-aged youth in global collaboration to tell stories about real-world issues in their local communities. The virtual exchange draws on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to explore the transformative power of storytelling. Throughout the program, participants learn how to use several techniques and tools to develop, record, edit, and publish their stories.

By bringing together high school-aged youth from Algeria, Tunisia, and the United States, the program facilitates cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation, allowing participants to gain new perspectives and insights into global issues. STAR chat participants reflected on the value of incorporating real-world issues into curriculum design to promote critical thinking and global awareness among students within this program and shared examples of other programs from which we could learn.

Overall, sharing iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change program with a group of educational professionals was an inspiring experience that underscored the transformative power of storytelling in education. As we discussed the program’s objectives, methodologies, and outcomes, we discussed how storytelling has the potential to not only engage students in meaningful learning experiences but also empower them to become active participants in shaping a more just and sustainable world. Engaging with educational leaders who are actively working in the space of youth-developed and youth-led project-based learning provided valuable insights into our programming. I left the presentation feeling energized and contemplating the role that programs like Storytelling for Social Change can play in nurturing the next generation of global leaders.

Revisiting Climate Change and Youth Participatory Action Research Chat (Feb 7, 2024)

Chat Summary

The guest Speaker was Carlos Chiu, Director of Colegio de Ciencias in Huanuco, Peru, with two high school presenters, Oriana and Gerson, who recently returned from their presentation at the UN Climate Action Conference COP28 Conference in the United Emirates. Two very dedicated high school climate change scientists from Peru- Oriana and Gerson shared their ideas about climate change and how they are taking action. They shared their recent journey to the United Nations Climate Science COP28 Conference in Dubai and their experience presenting their ideas for addressing climate change and suggesting green roofs in Huánuco, Peru. They shared their work before the conference and told us about the Manifest the youth wrote collectively. Finally, they reported on their learning from the #Decarbonize Project. We appreciated the students taking the time to chat with us especially in a language, English, that they learned to be able to present at the World Conference. Some Climate Action Resources to help you design action research in this area: https://www.weareteachers.com/climate-action/. Star-c Chat WebpageChat Recording

Post Chat Reflection

by Carlos Chiu

After taking part in the chat, the students continued the enhancement of the projects they were working on. On one hand, we received a grant which will help us to plant the green roof, deploy the automatic watering system, and generate some research on the use of the Tenebrio Molitor fertilizer. On the other hand, the project on eco plasticine was presented to the authorities of the Education Sector. They will be collaborating with a school, in which they will select several teachers who will be working in participative action projects with the students to develop new types of eco plasticine to use in their classrooms. In both cases, the students are taking more of a leadership approach and the projects have evolved to become their capstone as they finish their secondary education this year.

Revisiting the Chat: Innovation, Education, and Artificial Intelligence (Oct 4, 2023)

Chat Summary

Guest Speaker: Brian Arnold, Department Chair Global Innovation, Social Emotional Learning, and Educational Technology at Sanford College of Education, National University. Brian Arnold has his Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Educational Psychology. Brian spent the first half of his career focused on media arts (film, games, design) and later teaching / administration in those disciplines. His research interests include AI, the metaverse, media, motivation, innovation, learning, gamification, and play. Early career highlights include working as an editor for Nickelodeon Animation Studios in the late 90s on shows like SpongeBob SquarePants. The conversation moved from how AI can help students and also the large-scale concerns that such tools will be used in ways that promote inequities in our society and threaten democracies. Resources for Exploring AI. Star-c Chat Webpage. Chat Recording

Post CHAT Reflection: Innovation, Education, and Artificial Intelligence

by Ron Morgan

In a recent STAR-C meeting, Dr. Brian Arnold from National University led a discussion on the use of AI in education. In this discussion the pros and cons of how and when AI should be utilized were explored. One of the AI-powered tools discussed was ChatGBT, which can write anything with just a simple prompt. This tool has ignited debates about the benefits and drawbacks of the use of artificial intelligence in education. Some educators are worried about how students might use AI-driven technologies like ChatGBT to cheat on assignments and have it basically write a paper for them. Because of this concern it becomes more important for schools to engage in deep discussions of what students should know and be able to do in the new era of AI.

Revisiting The Use and Misuse of AI in Action Research Courses Chat (June 2, 2023)

Chat Summary

Teaching with and about Learning Machines--Artificial intelligence (AI)--is in YOUR future, so it is time to think about how you plan to interact and develop your ideas about it. The chat took place as part of the Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA) Conference. We explored how AI works (see below for a link to an educational chatbot and resources), what it can be used for, what new prompting strategies will produce the best results, thoughtful strategies for evaluating results- see AI created example; and new ethical guidelines for using external collective thinking tools. Resources for Exploring AI Star-c Chat Webpage. Chat Recording

Post Chat Reflection

by Margaret Riel

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues at lightning speed. We already see advances across all sectors of society. Predicting exactly what AI will mean for learners and educators is difficult. Nevertheless, AI will be integrated into all aspects of society, including education.

One small example comes from my personal efforts to learn Spanish on my cell phone with Duolingual. With the introduction of Roleplay supported by AI, I have shifted from repeating phrases to conversing with AI bots in Spanish. I hear a question while seeing the text appear. Simultaneously with my spoken responses, the text appears, which gives me feedback on what the AI bot understood from my efforts to speak in Spanish. I can then correct the text and submit it. I receive immediate correction of the text, sometimes with alternative ways of expressing the meaning. This type of feedback, speech transferred to text, and rapid correction of text in real-time, demonstrates how AI can support learning. This may be even more effective than practicing with humans because a person in conversation focuses on understanding with a minimal focus on errors. In human conversation, it is often difficult for both the speaker and the hearer to know if the speech is being shared accurately.

This raises an important question How often and for what information will we turn to machines rather than humans?

For years, I would ask my husband all manner of questions, and he was great at answering by speculating or even making up reasonable responses when he didn’t immediately know the answer. During the last decade, we have a third partner in our discussions. “Hey, Google,” followed by a question, adds valued information into the discussion with an air of validity that comes from citing a source. Google often prefaces responses with "According to The American Medical Association…," or "Wikipedia says..." Then we can debate the validity of the source as well as the response.

We now live with AI partners which are ready to chat with us about anything. Unlike Google-shared information from websites established and filtered by humans, AI is more like my husband, creating reasonable speculations and ideas that could be true but without the confidence that comes with sources and validation. With time, AI's false assumptions-- "hallucinations”--may become less frequent, or AI may be able to lead us back through its neural network to new forms of validation. It is also possible that AI and Google will each be members of our everyday conversations, providing different types of information.

What is clear is that we will need new forms of digital literacy that will include how to talk to and understand AI interactions. AI is like a digital form of our Elders, giving back to us the combined wisdom of those who thought before us. What will our role be? Will we be able to expand our own neural networks to create ever-evolving creations, installations, and machinery? Or will our minds shrink and atrophy, leaving only the machines to make sense of our world?

El Lesson Study -- una forma de Investigación Acción (May 3, 2023)

Summary

This Chat (IN SPANISH) included two presentations about Lesson Study. Lesson study is a collaborative approach to learning how to teach. It involves a strategic plan for teaching planned and implemented by teachers working together in a team. Both presentations described the main aspects of learning and teaching in Lesson Study where teachers participate in the shared creation of a lesson that each of the teachers in the team implements in their own classrooms. In the first by Dr. Encarnación Soto Gómez, Faculty of Education, Universidad de Málagaand sharing information about Lesson Study from their new book: Aprender a Enseñar para Enseñar a Aprender (Spanish). Dr. Encarnación Soto Gomez presented aspects of the ten years of collaborative Lesson Study work at the faculty of Education of the Universidad de Málaga and the Universidad Nacional in Ecuador. (See Fall 2023 edition of the ARNA STARc Newsletter). The second presentation was by Ellen Zhang an assistant professor of teaching at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Education University of Hong Kong. She introduced how lesson study is used in Hong Kong to promote teachers' professional development. The time difference between Hong Kong and CA necessitated an annotated PowerPoint translated into Spanish, and her text was read with the slides. The Chat discussion center on understanding how this practical approach to building collective teaching knowledge has been transported across cultures and it's ability to create professional communities for learning. Star-c Chat Webpage. Chat Recording

Post Chat Reflection:

by Geitza Rebolledo

Action Research Lesson Study methodology is based on teachers sharing their teaching methods in collaborative groups, as described in a review of the book titled, Aprender a Enseñar para Enseñar a Aprender, published in the most fall 2023 edition of the ARNA STARc Newsletter. This method of teaching was first developed in Japan and other Asian cultures before it was brought to England and later to Spain via teacher training. Lesson Study has flourished in the collaborative culture of university teaching training. This has not been the case in those school settings in which a competitive culture exists. My experience interacting with teachers from different primary schools in Venezuela and graduate students who have used Action Research methodology in dissertation studies of schools, has revealed that teachers who are competing to survive with little support develop insecurity about their teaching methods and neglect to participate in teaching innovations such as Lesson Study.

Dr. Pérez Gómez, one of the coordinators of Aprender a Enseñar para Enseñar a Aprender, points out in chapter one the need to develop cooperation among those trying to apply Lesson Study in different contexts. He references Garcés (2020) in relation to promoting an equal level of learners, “I learn with you, and you learn with me in order to develop a co-creation process taking care of each other and also finding answers to situations that interest them.” Gomez describes cooperation as a philosophical pedagogy and references several authors’ ideas, including Macrine (2020), Torralba (2020), Garcés (2020), and Myers (2020), on the need to expand solidarity and cooperation to different cultures on the planet.

Reflecting further on Lesson Study and collaborative culture has prompted me to pose the following questions:

1. How might teachers cultivate a classroom environment that models a collaborative healthy debate?
2. What kind of administrative support is essential to the creation and support of a school culture of free expression and collaboration?

You are invited to ponder these questions and share your ideas and experiences.

References

• Garcés, M. (2020). Escuela de aprendices. Barcelona, Spain: Galaxia Gutenberg.
• Macrine, Sh. (2020). Critical pedagogy in uncertain times: Hope and possibilities. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Myers, J. (2020). Research on teaching global issues. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Torralba, F. (2020). Vivir en lo esencial: Ideas y preguntas después de la Pandemia. Barcelona, Spain: Plataforma Editorial.

Revisiting the STAR-C Chat on Language Learning, Action Research, and Language Education Policies (Feb 1, 2023)

Summary

The discussion was moderated by a team of professors who support action research among teachers who teach languages: Marjan Asgari from South Tyrol Italy, Angela Gallagher from London, England, Larisa Kasumagić- Kafedžić from Sarajevo, currently Cornell Ithaca and Christine Lechner from Tyrol Austria. They shared their experiences working with teachers from many countries supporting their action research process to enhance the learning of languages. They have also started a discussion in a blog entry. The blog is the place to go to continue the chat-- please tell us more about your experiences with language teaching and learning with action research. The slides can be viewed in the video, or viewed separately. There were some references shared in the chat during the chat that can be seen here. Continue the discussion in the blog. Star-c Chat Webpage. Chat Recording

Post Chat Reflection:

by Christine Lechner

Reflection on how Artificial Intelligence shapes Language Learning and Teaching

In early 2023, when we held the Chat on action research & language learning, the world of language learning was very different. Clearly, language educators and learners had been exploiting computer-based approaches for a couple of decades, but it had always appeared that the users, educators, and learners were in control until the advent of AI. Now that the situation is different, we must reflect upon the implications for the user, the learner, and the teacher.

On the one hand, AI tools are extremely useful for people working with languages at all levels. DeepL has freed us from the tedious task of typing up a translation; DeepL executes pages of translation amazingly quickly and, as has often been pointed out, in the case of widely spoken languages such as English, French, German and Spanish, which use the same alphabet, the level of the translation is extremely high. This just leaves the translator to peruse thoughtfully and adjust a couple of terms.

It is great for language users and learners at all levels to be able to get texts checked and help with finding the perfect word. Writing has always played an important role in language lessons, and although the introduction of the Common European Framework for Languages established that Writing is only one of the competencies to be acquired on the way to L2 proficiency, Writing has remained an important skill to practice in the classroom.

Learners and teachers are faced by an unprecedented dilemma. For example, until very recently, creative writing was a human thing, and as a language teacher, one simply assumed that a creative text could only be composed by a human being. However, when I asked https://pi.ai/ to write me a story with a happy ending, 130 words, B1 level, the title being “A tiger, a wizard and a fridge”, it was generated in seconds:

Once upon a time, a tiger, a wizard, and a fridge lived together in a small village. The tiger was fierce, the wizard was wise, and the fridge was always cool. One day, a drought hit the village. The animals were thirsty, the plants were wilting, and the wizard's spells couldn't bring rain. The tiger and fridge felt useless. Suddenly, the tiger had an idea. He ran to the top of the nearest hill and roared as loudly as he could. His roar was so powerful that it shook the clouds and made them burst with rain. The village was saved! The animals drank, the plants grew, and the fridge kept everyone's drinks cold. From that day on, the tiger, wizard, and fridge were heroes. And they lived happily ever after.

I liked the story; it made me smile and would have touched me if I read this as a language teacher believing that a B1 level learner had come up with the tale. So where does this put teachers? How are we ever to know whether to read submitted texts empathically and to write our comments or to assume that the homework has been written by a machine? In this case there might be a hint in the first line a tiger, a wizard, and a fridge lived together in a small village. Fridges don’t live in villages, or perhaps they do in a fantastic world. If the text had been written by a learner, I would enjoy a discussion about the role of inanimate objects in our lives. In the new situation, time is spent analyzing texts to ascertain where they come from, which hardly has positive effects for the relationship between learners and teachers.

Incidentally, when I asked the bot for a C1 version they were equally obliging coming up with

In a quaint village, an improbable trio resided: a formidable tiger, a sagacious wizard, and an unremittingly chilled refrigerator. Their idyllic existence was disrupted when a relentless drought besieged the hamlet….

It’s all there, the lesser used lexis, the complex sentence, use of Passive Voice… Although I’m not so enthusiastic about the more advanced version as the complexity of language is somehow not congruent with the simple idea, the issue remains the same: What are we, as human readers, and teachers to do with generated texts?

As a language teacher, it makes me sad to think of learners missing out on the experience of successfully writing one’s own funny story in an L2 and enjoying the process. It also makes me sad to think that new generations of language teachers will be going into a profession to some extent robbed of the creativity. AI can write lesson plans and AI can write stories for teachers to tell.

How can action research help us? The reflective teacher can see dilemmas as opportunities, as an opportunity for development. We ask questions.

At this point, I would like to refer to questions that teachers bring with them to our Action Research Communities for language teachers (www.ecml.at/actionresearch)workshops . Over the past 5 years AR workshops have been running in 9 different European countries and the ARC team has been analyzing the questions that teachers are asking about their practice. By far the largest question category focuses on learner Speaking, “Making learners talk”. Some have focused on Intercultural Learning and some on Literature. Over the last 2 years we have seen questions about learning through or despite AI tools. Two years ago, teachers were concerned with learners writing essays using translation tools or turning to the Internet for quick interpretation of literature rather than thinking. In 2023 and 2034 the emphasis shifted to learner use of AI in general and the worry that learners are no longer learning.

Classroom questions emerge:

• What role will Writing play in future?
• Should I stop giving and writing feedback on Writing texts?
• How can I support my learners to use the tools to help them improve their work? e.g. by comparing their own texts to an AI text?
• Will writing maybe play a subordinate role to speaking?

And more generally and importantly:

• ·How can I ensure that my learners still experience Foreign Language Enjoyment?
• How can I continue to bring my own creativity into my lessons?
• How can we all continue to gain from the cognitive benefits of language learning and lateral thinking across languages?
• How can we ensure that human language users, learners and teachers still possess the necessary knowledge of languages to judge the quality produced by A1?

Books, Articles, and Other Publications to Explore

Developing Preschool Teacher Graduate Students' Professional Identity with Action Research: Connecting Theory and Practice

by Ingibjörg Ósk Sigurðardóttir and Svava Mork

Research Article Published May 2024 in online journal: Educational Action Research: Connecting Research and Practice for Professionals and Communities

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on using action research (AR) to support preschool teacher graduate students in developing professional identity. An effective means of generating new knowledge and transforming school practices, AR has increasingly been adopted in research on education due to allowing teachers to act as researchers and directly benefit from the research process. The objective of our study was to explore how engaging in AR can enhance the development of professional identity among preschool teacher graduate students. For data, we collected journal from 30 students while and after they engaged in AR for a full year under the guidance of university teachers and preschool-based mentors. The findings, based on our analysis of five students’ journals, suggest that engaging in AR supported the students in developing professional identity and increased their confidence as soon-to-be professionals. Moreover, the students reported that the support provided by the university teachers, the preschool-based mentors, and the students’ course group was crucial to their success. Overall, our findings highlight not only the value of AR in supporting preschool teacher graduate students’ professional growth but also the importance of collaborative support for their positive professionalization.

Additional Resources for Action Research

Center for Collaborative Action Research

The Center for Collaborative Action Research (CCAR) links together educators, researchers, and community organizers. The Center's aim is to create deep understanding of important social problems in a range of different contexts including, but not limited to schools, and to encourage evidence-based reasoning to solve these problems. The Center shares collaborative action research projects and supports the development of "knowledge-building" communities making use of innovative technology tools. The goal is to share what others are doing to reinvigorate their workplace with the capacity to reflect and adapt to evolving needs.

We see action researcher as a fulfilling way to live life. It is a way to invite those we work with to be a part of a process of continual innovative change. Developed workplace practices lead to efficiencies, but often at the cost of intellectual boredom. We can develop these practices to free up our minds to tackle the important unsolved problems that are part of our social fabric. Change is constant. With change comes new struggles and with them new voices to blend into strategies that give life to our shared values. We invite you to join with us and make action research your dominant habit of mind.

Action Research Tutorials

We have developed the Action Research Tutorials as a free resource to help practitioners learn how to do action research. Action research helps you to become a more powerful version of yourself, able to engage in, and engage others in a process of continual learning and change. The course is comprised of 12 Tutorials each with a short video to watch, a set of activities to complete (with linked writing templates that can be downloaded individually or can be accessed in the Action Research Activity Workbook), and resources to support the completion of the activities. The goal of creating these materials is to "flip the classroom" so that learning about action research is done outside of the collaborative learning space so that valuable collaborative time can be used to support the action research ideas of each person in the group or class.

Please join our linked Action Research Tutorials Facebook group.

If you teach action research, you might want to join STAR-C Supporting the Teaching of Action Research Community.

Upcoming Conferences

The ARNA 2024 Conference will be held at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Hybrid Gathering will be held: June 7 & 8, 2024. CARN Study Day: June 6 https://arnawebsite.org/conferences/

The CARN DACH conference information can be found on the CARN website: https://www.carn.org.uk/events/conferences/

ALARA ACTION LEARNING ACTION RESEARCH CONFERENCE 2024

7th Nov - 8th Nov 2024

UTS, Sydney, Australia