Using Action Research as a Signature Pedagogy to Develop EdD Students’ Inquiry as Practice Abilities

Abstract

In this essay, I describe the role of action research (AR) in developing inquiry as practice among students in a CPED-guided EdD program. The essay is focused on issues such as (a) the need for developing inquiry as practice skills; (b) a rationale for using AR to develop inquiry skills; and (c) developing inquiry as practice through cycles of AR. I provide a rich, detailed description about how our faculty members have used it to develop students' inquiry skills. The essay concludes with an examination of the challenges of using AR and a summary of its merits to prepare students' inquiry as practice orientations and skills.

Graduates’ Continuing Work as Scholarly Practitioners after Participation in a Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate Guided, EdD Program

“…Specifically, the findings show program graduates continue to draw upon research and literature to combat problems of practice, use data in various ways to inform their practices, and employ a critical approach as they as they gather, and analyze information, literature, and data. The findings on using inquiry as practice are consistent with and extend the results from other recent research in which program participants developed and used inquiry skills during the program (Buss, 2018b;Buss & Avery 2017;. Taken together, it is clear the program has a substantial influence on graduates' thinking and approaches to their work, which continues to be exhibited in their use of these practices in their workplaces after graduation from the program.…”

“…Notably, these skills have been applicable for a broad range of practitioners including K-12 teachers and administrators; and higher education faculty members, administrators, and student, personnel service leaders. In previous research, use of these Program Design Concepts has been shown to influence students' efforts during the EdD program (Buss, 2018b;Buss & Avery, 2017;Perry, 2012;Perry et al, 2015;Zambo et al, 2014). Nevertheless, much less is known about whether and how program graduates have continued to use these skills beyond the program.…”

How CPED Guiding Principles and Design Concepts Influenced the Development and Implementation of an EdD Program

“…Further, CAR ensured students were conducting research in the local setting to guide practice. Moreover, requiring students to engage in on-going CAR throughout the program, affords many opportunities for program participants to develop inquiry skills that carry over into professional practice upon completion of the program (Buss, 2018). Taken together, the CAR approach was consistent with a number of the CPED principles.…”

“…Throughout our program, we have employed on-going CAR (Buss, 2018;Buss & Zambo, 2016). The use of CAR has afforded opportunities for students to develop practice-appropriate inquiry strategies closely connected to their workplace settings (Buss, 2018). Faculty members introduced CAR early in the program and expanded on them throughout.…”

Teachers’ Training Needs for Reading Instruction : Perspectives from Teachers at English Education Centers in China

“…These teachers were recommended by a gatekeeper at the organization and may present perspectives not shared by others. Finally, given the limited nature of this Cycle 0 study (Buss, 2018), it was not possible to interview teachers at every center in every city, thus some locations were not represented and may mask other perspectives germane to these issues. What has been provided with these interviews are unique insights that guide possible ways for additional investigations.…”