Action
research and evaluation on line
Session
A: Orientation
Areol,
action research and evaluation on line, is a 15-week public
course offered each semester as a public service by
ALARA,
The Action Learning Action Research Association Inc.
This is the first orientation session.
...
in which an overview of the structure and process of the areol
program is given, descriptions of the various components are
provided, and some of the associated resources are
described
1
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Most sessions will begin with an initial section
indented and marked like this. In the
section you will find suggestions for a question which
you might think about as you read the
material.
This
session has two such paragraphs (in addition to this
one)...
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This material may be more useful for you if you pause
and decide what you would like to get out of the
overall program. What are your personal
goals for this areol program? You can use this
session to help you decide how to achieve them
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I'd like to treat areol as an action research
process as well as an action research
program. If you were writing this
material, what outcomes would you be trying to
achieve? What topics would you address
first? How would you address them? -- and, if
your answers are different to mine, how will you let
me know about it. If you are subscribed to
the discussion list, how will you mention this clearly
and constructively on the list so that we can do
something about it?
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This
is the first of two orientation files for areol: an on
line program of material on action research and
evaluation. It is intended to be read before beginning
the actual areol sessions. 2 It
contains:
and
information on
So, welcome
to areol: action research and evaluation on-line.
Areol has
been run twice each year since February 1995. The
email version is revised each program. This web version tends to
be revised less often. Both versions benefited greatly from
the comments and suggestions offered by participants in those
programs. I thank them for that.
The recent
changes have been relatively trivial. There has been
some restructuring, and more attention to the orientation, the
discussion list and the learning groups. I continue to
polish and simplify the language. I've been giving a
bit more attention to action research as an emergent
methodology: it uses processes which evolve over the course
of a study. I have also been trying to make clearer that it
is a natural process. It is a more formal and
critical version of what good practitioners do to learn from their
experience.
My name is
Bob Dick. I'm your host for the 14 sessions or so of
the program, and the preceding orientation files. If
you are also joining the email version you will be able to "meet"
some of your colleagues on the program later.
Soon, an
overview of the program design. First, though, I
expect that some of you would like to know what I think action
research is.
There are
many varieties. For present purposes I'll assume that
action research is a methodology for simultaneous change and
research. That is, action research is action and research.
To be able to be used in fluid applied settings with change as an intended
outcome it must also be flexible and responsive to
the situation.
Action
research is cyclic (some would prefer to say, a spiral). It
has critical reflection as part
of each cycle. This is what distinguishes it from the
usual work of many practitioners. It is usually (some
would say always) participative. It is usually
qualitative, partly or wholly, but need not be.
In the early
sessions you'll be introduced to a particular version of action
research. There are many. You'll be able
to access the others, if you wish, through additional
reading.
I'll say more
in the first content session, after we've taken care of some of
the preliminaries.
[ index ]
Some of
you, too, would probably like to know something about me.
After all, we're going to spend some time together. A
brief biography follows.
In the
distant past I've been an electrical apprentice. At
different times I've worked in electrical design and personnel
management. I've been an industrial psychologist.
For more than a
quarter of a century I've been an academic. Most of that time I've
used experiential methods to help people learn social
consultancy. Most of this was done within a
traditional psychology department at a traditional
university. That has now ended, though I still maintain an
adjunct position at Southern Cross University.
I think my academic
colleagues would describe me as non-traditional and often therefore
somewhat marginal.
Since the mid
1970s I've run a small consultancy business in community and
organisational change and related matters. Much of my recent work
has used action learning and action research.
At Southern
Cross University I manage arlist-l and armnet-l (electronic action
research mailing lists) and areol, maintain and help to edit
Action research international (a refereed on-line journal)
and supervise or provide guidance on action research and other
qualitative theses.
At the University
of South Australia I provide occasional advice on action research
theses.
I probably
should mention that, formally, I'm not well qualified for any of
this. My undergraduate and research masters
qualifications are in experimental psychology. On
balance, I would claim it as an asset that I haven't ever worked
at a job I was formally qualified to hold. That helped
me to avoid the indoctrination. So far, too, I've
resisted encouragement to upgrade my qualifications. I've recently
completed an unofficial doctorate for my own learning. You'll find
it on the web at
http://www.aral.com.au/DLitt/
as a
series of PDF files.
I should also
mention that my natural leadership style is laissez-faire -- I
think it's your responsibility to decide what you want from this
program. I'm not going to offer the "truth" about
action research. I'm going to describe one of my
versions of the mechanics. I'll try to do so in ways
that illuminate some of the principles and concepts. I
leave it to you to decide what you're going to do with it.
A minority of
past participants have said that I don't pay enough attention in
this program to history or philosophy. It's true I
don't give much space to them.
Although I
read a reasonably amount of philosophy, very little of it has
given me any reason to change my practice. Also, I don't
personally think most participants are looking for material on
history or philosophy. Fortunately there is a growing
action research literature which does discuss philosophy.
For those of
you enrolled in the email version of areol there is an
academic learning group set up. We can talk philosophy
there if enough people wish to do so.
There isn't
much about ethics, either. It's not that I think
ethics are unimportant. Quite the reverse: too important for me
to presume to tell you what you should do.
In my spare
time I enjoy the company of my partner of 31 years, Camilla, and
from time to time the 17 grandchildren (that we know about).
When I'm not reading technical literature I read science
fiction.
Now, the
areol program itself...
[ index ]
The
design of the program
In many programs
what you get out depends on what you put in. I think that's true
of areol.
Areol doesn't
pretend to be encyclopaedic, or for that matter very
academic. Mostly I use one particular variety of
action research to illustrate some more general
principles. My hope is that you'll use it as an
example, and work out your own ideas and processes.
The focus of
the program is on action research as action and
research. Some sessions will describe how the action
component can be strengthened; others will discuss enhancing
the research component. Some will talk about how the
two can be integrated.
I've assumed
that different people will want to use the areol program to
achieve different goals. To that end I've designed it
as a smorgasbord. There are many
offerings. You are invited to put together a
combination that suits your goals, style, experience, energy, and
time.
I'm still
learning how to achieve these outcomes. The present
attempt at design goes something like this ...
You can think
of areol as a having a tiered structure. The content
is addressed in three main ways:
- Most
basic are the areol sessions. Taken together, they
constitute an introductory course in one form of action
research and evaluation. There is also some exploration of
the underlying principles, using that particular approach as
an example
- The
content of the sessions is supplemented by archived
files. They expand on the material in the
sessions. There are instructions for accessing them
below
- Most
sessions also contain suggestions for further reading.
You can follow these up too if you wish
There are a
number of different levels of activity allowed for in the
sessions. Most sessions contain:
- The
content. Your activity is to read it, and (I hope)
to think about it
- A trigger
question (on the discussion list) to introduce the theme and
suggest a way of thinking about the material you read
- From time
to time, a case study or example to illustrate some of the
processes and principles
- A thought
experiment. You can usually do this without leaving
your computer
- An
individual activity. Sometimes this involves pencil
and paper; sometimes it will invite you to go and do
something
- A team
activity. This may be done with your learning
group, if you have one. Or you may set up some
other group (perhaps an ad hoc group) for it.
I think you
will also find it very useful to have a project in mind. You
can then use it as a sort of "test case" to try out the ideas
presented in areol.
More on each
of these later.
[ index ]
There
are different ways of getting involved in areol:
- You can
read the material (sessions, archived files, and references to
choose from)
- You can
in addition take part in the discussion on the discussion
list. (I regard this as an important part of the
email program. I also realise that keeping up with the
reading will be as much involvement as some of you will be able
to manage. I'll try to encourage discussion;
but the level of your involvement is your choice)
- If you are
doing the email version you may
have joined one of the learning groups. These have
the aim of helping you to apply the material to your own
interests and projects
- I try to
practise action research in my own work as educator,
facilitator or consultant. This includes
areol. For those of you following the email program
there will be an evaluation at the end of the current program,
and perhaps midstream. The results of this can be
discussed on the list. (If areol subscribers wish
to do other research on the list and its discussions, that too
may be possible.)
Beyond all
this there is no limit to what you might do yourself.
Some people have set up face-to-face learning groups amongst their
colleagues. Some have passed on the areol material to
others at the same site, in some instances having discussions with
them about the material. I imagine you have some ideas
of your own.
Now, the
components in more detail. Most of these apply only to
the email version, and are included for information (and because
some email participants prefer to read the web version) ...
[ index ]
Discussion
list
At
the heart of the email program are two email mailing
lists. 3 One
carries an email version of the text that you are reading
now. You can read it, but not write to it.
The other functions as a discussion list.
You will be
given information on emailing to the discussion list if you
subscribe to the email version of the
program. 4
I expect the
discussion list to consider both the content of the sessions on
the reading list, and the way this electronic course
operates. You can think of it as an electronic
tutorial which also monitors the program as a whole.
It gives you
a chance to question anything ambiguous or unclear in the areol
sessions. It allows you to provide examples and
references additional to those in the sessions. You
can use it to express views contrary to those I hold (and I hope
you will). You can offer suggestions about the
process.
I will often
post a trigger question on the discussion list when an areol
session is mailed. This is just to help maintain the
discussion. Many of the participants in previous
programs have been disappointed that the discussion list was less
active than they would have preferred.
I hope that
you won't confine your discussion list contributions to the topic
of the trigger question. The email version attracts
diverse and substantial experience and talent. It
would be a pity not to make use of it.
[ index ]
Learning
groups
I'll keep
this short. There are more detailed descriptions in
the next
file,
which you can ignore if it's not relevant. I'm
mentioning the learning groups here so that those of you not on
one of them will understand the otherwise esoteric mentions of
them.
The
discussion list (described above) is for questions about the
material. As I said, it's to help you clarify the
material, challenge it, or add to it. The learning
groups, on the other hand, are to allow more specialised dialogue
between people with similar interests.
Above all,
the learning groups give their members a forum where they can help
each other to apply the material to their own work and
projects.
(You may hear
them referred to as "learning sets" from time to time. This
is because they operate in a way consistent with action
learning. "Set" is the terminology often applied to a
learning group in action learning projects. You may
also hear the term "pod" from some of the Southern Cross
University subscribers, who use this term.)
[ index ]
Choosing
a project
There is a
simple and effective way of checking the usefulness of the program
materials and your understanding of them. Have a
project. When you read of any process or principle, ask
yourself how you can make use of it in your project.
Often, you
may be able to try out processes in practice. When
this is not feasible, you can at least imagine yourself using
them. Any step you cannot imagine in detail, you probably
don't yet understand. This may well be because I haven't
explained it clearly, or because I've left something
out.
If you
subscribe to the discussion list you can take your questions and
comments to it. (If you're too shy for that, you can
refer
them
to me.)
If there is
some project which is a high priority for you at the moment, it
may be the best areol project. For example, if you are
using action research for a thesis, that may be a good
choice. (One of the early sessions will touch on the use of
action research as thesis research, and refer you to archived
resources.)
Lacking such
a project, you may choose something you could undertake (or
imagine) as part of your work or in your family and social life.
Here are some of the features which you may want to take into
account:
- the
project is going to be easier to manage if you can maintain
some control over it
- your own
practice, for example as a professional or technical worker,
may provide a very good vehicle for applying the processes and
ideas presented here
- a small
and simple project can be more effective for the purposes of
this workshop series than a large or complex one; if it
is large or complex, there may be some piece of it you can
concentrate on
- it is
most likely to suit the use of action research if it involves
some change you and/or others wish to introduce.
[ index ]
The
archive and other resources
There are a
number of archives. They contain materials to
supplement the areol sessions, as well as other materials on
action research. One of them contains an archive for
arlist-l (another action research mailing list -- many of you are
already subscribers).
(To subscribe
to arlist-l, you send the message
subscribe ARLIST-L Firstname Lastname
(eg. subscribe ARLIST-L Joan Baez)
to listproc@scu.edu.au
from your
usual email account. Subscribe to armnet-l in the same
way, substituting the appropriate listname. Of course,
substitute your real name for "Joan Baez". You're
welcome to join arlist-l and armnet-l; but there may be
enough reading on areol to keep you occupied.)
[ index ]
Action
research archive
We will also
make use of resource documents to provide additional
information. In this web version there will be links
direct to the relevant files from each session. You
can also find the index to the resource files at
http://www.aral.com.au/areol/
[ index ]
Archived
resources
Here are some
other relevant introductory resources (I've included URLs for
people who have this as hard copy rather than a web
page):
[ index ]
Other
reading
For
introductory reading on action research and related approaches I
suggest any of the following:
- Greenwood,
Davydd, and Levin, Morten (1998) Introduction to action
research: social research for social change. Thousand Oaks,
Ca.: Sage.
- Kemmis,
Stephen, and McTaggart, Robin, eds. (1988) The
action research planner, third edition.
Victoria: Deakin University.
- Reason,
Peter, ed. (1988) Human inquiry in action:
developments in new paradigm research. Newbury
Park: Sage.
- Stringer,
Ernest T. (1996) Action research: a
handbook for practitioners. Thousand
Oaks: Sage.
If you are
more experienced, or you wish to gain an impression of the breadth
of current action research, Peter Reason and Hilary Bradbury have
edited a recent handbook of action research:
- Reason,
Peter, and Bradbury, Hilary, eds. (2001) Handbook of action
research: participative inquiry and practice. London:
Sage.
For some
recent papers on action learning, many of them practical,
see:
- Pedler,
Mike, ed. (1991) Action learning in
practice, 2nd edition. Aldershot, Hants.:
Gower.
Krystyna
Weinstein has written a very practical and readable account of
action learning, based on her experience with a variety of action
learning groups (usually called "learning sets"):
- Weinstein,
K. (1995) Action learning: a journey in
discovery and development. London: Harper
Collins.
[ index ]
Notes
- Thanks to
all who contributed to this program, including participants in
earlier areol programs. Special thanks to those who
took part in the evaluation of each program, to those who
assisted with the evaluation in various ways, and the learning
groups whose discussion was a great help. Thank
you, too, to the many friends and colleagues who have helped
sharpen my own understanding of action research. I
have the good fortune to have some good friends who are also
thoughtful and skilled, and interested in action research and
its development.
[ back ]
- Yes, by
academic standards these are short lines, short sentences, and
short paragraphs. My intention is to make the
material more readable on screen. White space is
cheap and improves readability. On some screens
text isn't easy reading. You may want to save it to
a file and print it out. If that isn't much better,
you may even read it into a word processor, change the font or
font size, and then print it out.
[ back ]
- Although
you are probably reading this on the web, I've chosen email as
the primary vehicle for this program. There are two
main reasons. First, it provides the widest
access: many people have email and low speed modems, and
nothing more sophisticated than that, so cannot access the
web. Second, there are associated activities which the
web version lacks, and the email version offers you more
interaction.
[ back ]
- Yes, it
would be nice if responses to the reading list could be
redirected automatically to the discussion list.
I'm sorry, but the computer people tell me this can't be done
without changes that are beyond their resources.
[ back ]
- URL is
"uniform resource locator". This is included for
those who use such things. If you don't know what
one is, don't worry. You don't need it.
[ index ]
[ back ]
- _____
In
summary...
In this
orientation you've been introduced to a number of ways in which
you can become more involved through
- the
accompanying discussion group, to raise questions and
comments
- a
learning group, to discuss with a small group of people your
use of the material
- the use
of a project as a vehicle for learning
- the list
archives, providing more detail than the basic session
- the
action research archives, or further resources
If you have
any difficulties in implementing or accessing any of this, don't
hesitate to let me know.
The
next
session, part 2 of the orientation, offers some suggestions for
starting and maintaining effective and satisfying learning
groups.
Let's practice action research on areol. What ideas
do you have for improving this orientation? What didn't
you understand? What examples and resources can you
provide from your own experience? What else? If you
are subscribed to the email version, send your comments to the
discussion
list.
Otherwise, send them to Bob
Dick.
[ index ]
Copyright
(c) Bob Dick 2002. May be copied provided it is not
included in material sold at a profit, and this and the following
notice are shown
This document
may be cited as follows:
Dick,
B. (2002) Orientation. Session A of
Areol - action research and evaluation on line.
URL:
http://www.aral.net.au/areol/areol-intro02.html
Maintained by
Bob
Dick;
this version11.05w; last minor revision 20140105