In this research I developed (see Figure 3) and tested a framework for my own self-study.Part of the rationale for development of the framework was to create a tool that other classroom teachers could easily use. Having conducted a self- study (and from early on in the process) I recognised the power of self-study in relation to practice improvement, and I wanted to be able to share this. The framework merges ideas about self-study by Samaras and colleagues (Samaras, 2011; Samaras & Freese, 2006) with ideas about critical incidents by Tripp (1993), Brookfield (1995) and colleagues, synthesizing them into a single process.
I chose to explore my practice from the perspective of critical incident analysis because critical incident analysis is something with which teachers are already familiar. One consideration throughout my self-study has been to try and create a framework for other teachers hoping to complete their own self-study. As such I wanted to work with techniques that teachers may already be familiar with. Tripp’s (1993) work has been referenced widely in the literature, and taught as part of some university education courses. Tripp’s and Brookfield’s use of critical analysis is easy to grasp and encourages deep reflection, something critical for self-study (Brookfield, 1995; Tripp, 1993). The framework, which can be seen in Figure 3, is divided into five sections.
59 Figure 3: A framework for a self-study into teaching practice
Research
Question The question you develop should reflect an interest in improving teshould be feasible, clear, significant and ethical. Data
Collection Data should be relevant and timely Reflective journal, interviews, documented conversations with men Analysis Identify significant critical incidents
and reflect upon them The critical nature of an incident is determined by the impact it hapoint in awareness? Does it make you rethink some implicit belief, readily come to mind and therefore need exploring?
Determine which of these incidents
are most likely to inform practice Keep in mind two essential components of self-study. First, self-strequiring the researcher to reframe their thinking and transform th evidence to support these changes. Second, self-study is interactiv perspectives. Interactions could be with colleagues, students, liter previous work, to help confirm or challenge understandings as the Analyse these critical incidents For each critical incident use this framework:
x Status – provides an outline of the situation
x Insight – what understanding can you draw from the critic x Reflection – carry out the analysis
x Insight – what new insight can be drawn
x Implications for practice – what will this look like in my tea Suggestions for reflective analysis (see Tripp (1993) or Brookfield
x Use of thinking strategies such as: PMI; alternatives, poss x The Why? Challenge
x Dilemma Identification (Berlak & Berlak, 2012) x Personal Theory Analysis
x Ideology Critique Discussion Relate the critical incident and its
analysis back to literature Discussion is important to help maintain a perspective on what is h Practice Put changes in to place The changes that can then be put into place are evidence based. T rather than change for change sake or rash changes. It is quite co start again, either to look at how the changes impact the teaching another aspect of teaching practice.
61 Research Question
Without a research question it is difficult to determine the direction in which the researcher should take. In a self-study it is important that the research question reflects an interest in improving teaching practice. The research question may relate to one class, one group of students, one subject or it may be broader. However, key to the success of the research is the requirement for the research question to be feasible, clear, significant and ethical.
The development of the research question is something that should be
discussed with a critical friend or mentor. This conversation is critical as it may illuminate ethical issues or issues of feasibility that the researcher had not considered.
Data Collection
The scope of data that can be collected for a self-study is vast. Before beginning the self-study it is important to think carefully about how the data might be analysed and used, and how it informs the research question. Again, these are topics for discussion with a critical friend. Of utmost importance is the fact that the data must be relevant to the research question and timely. Figure 3 contains some examples of data that could be used, but there are many more examples that may be more relevant to other research questions.
Analysis
The framework developed as part of this research use critical incidents analysis as a method to reflect upon practice. The first step in this process is the
identification of critical incidents. Incidents are deemed to be critical when they are a turning point in awareness (Mason, 2002). This could relate to either the teaching or research, and again this reflects the nature of the research
question. Importantly, they are incidents the researcher deems significant (Tripp, 1993).
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Once identified it is important to consider each critical incident, and decide which of the incidents is most likely to inform practice. To ensure that the research is still meeting the requirements of self-study, it is essential to
remember the five components of self-study, as described by Samaras (2011). Talking this through with a critical friend is important, as well as considering any data that has been gathered so that an evidence-based decision can be made. In the case of this self-study, this part of the research is what makes up Chapter Four Results.
The critical incidents that have been selected as those most likely to inform practice are then analysed. Each critical incident is analysed using the same framework, but the method of analysis may vary. The framework is derived from Brookfield’s work on using autobiography to understand oneself as a learner (1995, pp. 58-66).
1. Status
This provided an outline of the situation. 2. Insight
This was where I drew some initial understanding from the critical incident.
3. Reflection – carry out the analysis
At this stage I carried out the analysis using the techniques described by Tripp (1993) and Brookfield (1995).
4. Insight
This was a second opportunity to draw out understanding, this time after the reflection process.
5. Implications for practice
The last, and in my view one of the most critical steps, was to consider how it related to practice. How might my practice change as a result? The third step in the framework is where the analysis is carried out. The
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thinking strategies; the ‘Why’ challenge; dilemma identification; personal theory analysis; and ideology critique.
Discussion
In the discussion section the findings of the critical incident analysis are related back to the literature. This is in essence the forth critically reflective lens
described by Brookfield (1995), the others being the teacher researcher, the students and colleagues. It is important to consider the literature as it may help make sense of the experiences, and importantly it helps maintain a sense of perspective on what is happening outside the researcher’s classroom or school. Practice
This, in my opinion, is one of the most critical aspects of a self-study. It is the returning to practice and putting the changes in place. The changes that are put in place are evidence-based, the result of a critically reflective process. At this point the process may start again, either considering how the changes being made impact on the teaching and learning, or to investigate another aspect of teaching practice. Discussions with a critical friend will help with unravelling the direction of further self-study.
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