Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how teachers’ practice knowledge is used as a tool in a Learning Study and how teachers’ practice knowledge is challenged by using Variation Theory as a tool in the process? Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on data from the research process in a Learning Study. The data consists of meeting notes of ten research meetings, field notes of the research meetings and from the enactment of the lessons, video recordings of the lessons and reflective notes after and between the meetings. The analysis is qualitative and the findings are described in themes. Findings – Teachers’ practice knowledge was used and challenged in different ways in the process. This is described in five themes. Teachers’ practice knowledge was visible in the process since it enabled relevant questions to be addressed and subtle signals from students to be taken into account. It also ensured that the activities used were suitable for the students. The theory provided a focus on the object of learning and a language to talk about teaching and learning. It also challenged teachers’ assumptions about teaching and learning and allowed them to be discussed. Originality/value – The paper addresses both teachers’ practice knowledge and Variation Theory in relation to a Learning Study. It focusses on how practice knowledge of teachers can be used and challenged in the same process. The perspective is from the inside, from a teacher researcher’s point of view.
The purpose of this article is to discuss and describe how a clinical research method can be used to generate knowledge about teaching and learning. This will be addressed from a teacher researcher's perspective, taking a conducted Learning Study as the departure. Learning Study is an interventionist, iterative and collaborative research approach, focusing on the teaching of an object of learning. The actual study was conducted by a teacher researcher leading a teacher research team in a study about story-writing in primary school. The research process and the results are discussed using four areas that are described as dichotomies by Labaree (2003). Labaree states that teacher researchers need to go from being normative, experimental, personal and particular into being analytical, theoretical, intellectual and universal. By using examples from the Learning Study, I argue that these areas do not have to be seen as dichotomies; instead they can be combined and intertwined. Thus, in a Learning Study, elements from both the teaching practice and the academic practice matter, thus enhancing the possibility that results are useful for practitioners.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss experiences, in terms of challenges and opportunities, of teacher-researchers who engage in research on the learning study approach. The following two questions will be addressed: how can the teaching experience influence, and become an asset, in the research process and what challenges do teachers face when they enter the research practice? Design/methodology/approach Each question will be explored through some empirically grounded themes. The analysis is based on experiences from participation in a PhD program, where learning study was used as a method and variation theory was the main theoretical framework. One learning study was focusing on creative writing in primary school and the other was focusing on historical primary source analysis in upper secondary school. Findings The first question is addressed through the following themes: choosing and identifying research problems; planning and conducting research lessons; analyzing research lessons and students’ learning; and process of self-reflection, and the second question through: teaching as an object of research; to use and develop theories; and communication and review in research. The findings indicate that learning study is a practice-based research approach where teaching experience and academic skills are intertwined in many ways. Both approaches bring opportunities as well as challenges. Originality/value The paper is expected to contribute insights and knowledge about the advantages, as well as hindrances to overcome, for teacher-researchers who use learning study as a research method. The results can also be related to the performing of action research in teachers’ classroom practice.
Linköpings universitet har deltagit i ULF, en nationell försöksverksamhet om praktiknära skolforskning. ULF står för utveckling, lärande och forskning och inleddes med en nationell försöksperiod från 2017 till 2021. Under försöksperioden har landets 25 deltagande lärosäten varit indelade i fyra noder. De olika noderna har letts av Karlstad, Göteborg. Umeå och Malmö universitet. Linköpings universitet (LiU) har, tillsammans med Högskolan i Halmstad, Högskolan väst och Karlstad universitet (KaU), ingått i Karlstad-noden. De två första åren (2017-2018) fördelades inte ULF-medlen ut till de ingående universiteten i noden, utan enbart Karlstad utprovade då olika modeller för praktiknära forskning. Från och med 2019 har medlen fördelats till alla lärosäten i noden. Det innebär att arbetet med ULF vid Linköpings universitet har på gått mellan 2019 och 2021, det vill säga i tre år. Mellan 2022 och 2024 kommer en ny försöksperiod att genomföras. Den kommer att ha samma organisatoriska uppdelning i noder som tidigare. Därefter genomförs förändringar avseende nodindelningen och även avseende andra aspekter av ULF. Dessa baseras på de erfarenheter som görs under de båda försöksperioderna. I denna rapport redovisas samlade erfarenheter av den första försöksperioden. Dessutom ges projektspecifika beskrivningar av de praktiknära forskningsprojekt som har genomförts eller håller på att genomföras inom ramen för ULF under åren 2019-2021. Rapporten är skriven av projektledare Anja Thorsten.
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