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Researching Networks in Education

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Title: Researching Networks in Education


1
Researching Networks in Education
  • Symposium for Annual Conference of British
    Educational Research Association
  • University of Glamorgan
  • 16 September 2005

2
Practitioner learning, enquiry and research
  • Colleen McLaughlin, Kristine Black Hawkins and
    Andrew Townsend
  • University of Cambridge Faculty of Education
  • BERA Glamorgan September 16th, 2005

3
Research undertaken
  • Research questions from Networked Learning
    Communities research strands
  • 25. How are practitioner research and enquiry
    developed and sustained in networked learning
    communities?
  • 27 How do networked learning communities support
    schools to learn from research and evidence?
  • 28 Are there particular kinds of learning process
    that are more likely to occur through
    school-school connections?

4
Our specific questions were
  • 1. What is understood by research and enquiry?
  • by different people who engage in this activity
  • What do people chose to do as research and
    enquiry?
  • And why do they do it purposes?
  • 2. What is the impact or effect of research and
    enquiry on a school?
  • How does it benefit a school or schools?
  • And, how is it understood by those engaging in
    and promoting research and enquiry?
  • 3. What sustains the effective use of research
    and enquiry in schools? What are the implications
    for sustainability and organisational redesign at
    the following levels-
  • The organisational level
  • The leadership level
  • The level of external support e.g. relationships
    between schools and other organisations such as
    LEAs, universities, national government bodies
    and other professionally related organisations?

5
Research strategy
  • Review of the literature on teachers, schools and
    networks and research and enquiry - 2004
  • Case studies of 6 Networked Learning Communities
    - 2005
  • Special schools Primary schools
  • Secondary schools Rural and urban schools
  • A geographical spread in the country
  • A spread in terms of school characteristics
  • A range of experience and stage of development in
    terms of working in this field of practitioner
    research and enquiry
  • Questionnaires to all staff in those schools -
    approx. 651 returned

6
Overview of this presentation
  • What R and E occurred and what influenced it?
  • How was it conceived and the emergent issues?
  • The impact of undertaking research and enquiry
  • Sustaining and developing research and enquiry
    and the emergent issues
  • Implications for organisations and networks

7
What Research and Enquiry occurred and what
influenced it?
  • Did occur in every context we examined
  • Mirrored the purposes and context
  • EAZ, Subject area, challenging circumstances
  • Conceptions often mirrored external pressures and
    external models of R and E
  • Room for manoeuvre dependent on external and
    particular contexts of networks - limits to risk
    taking and networking?
  • Different emphases at different levels within the
    network or system

8
How was it conceived and the emergent issues?
  • Wide ranging definitions that encompassed and
    included classroom, school improvement and
    professional learning.
  • Conceptions emphasised
  • Professional learning through collaborative
    problem solving and knowledge sharing
  • Reflection on practice and sharing of that
    reflection
  • A process of improvement focused on teaching and
    learning
  • A process of refining developing and changing
    practice - action research
  • A process of professional development and
    refreshment - professional dialogue
  • A process of enquiry that relies on the use of
    and collection of evidence in a systematic way

9
Issues of definition or conception
  • This blurring of boundaries had assets and
    drawbacks
  • Encouraged experimentation and involvement
  • Lack of clarity about outcomes or the basis for
    judging the claims made
  • Hargreaves 1999 noted that 2 most challenging
    aspects of knowledge creating schools were the
    issues of validation and dissemination - our
    research supports that
  • Pressure to adhere to conventional ways of
    conducting and disseminating R and E
  • Need to refine, develop and articulate the
    distinctions and implications of the differences.

10
The three fields of knowledge
  • Concept widely used in the networks
  • What is known- knowledge from theory, research
    and best practice
  • What we know- practitioner knowledge
  • New knowledge - created through collaborative
    work
  • Very limited evidence of the use of current
    knowledge
  • Practitioners -serious issues re the
    availability, accessibility, use and form of
    wider educational research - how to take up this
    challenge without dumbing down. Has
    implications for support of networks and
    teachers.
  • Engaging in research enhances the use of others
    research and deepens involvement and motivation.
  • Polarities and mediation between the different
    fields of knowledge.

11
The impact on practitioners, schools and networks
  • Reported considerable and powerful impact on
    practitioners
  • Sense of professionalism, professional learning
    and professional development. Most effective
    form of staff development
  • Refreshment and retention
  • Lessening isolation
  • Collaboration seemed to be the most important
    factor in many cases. Range of forms of
    collaboration.
  • Impact on school policy where focus is clear and
    routes to implementation planned and clear e.g.
    subject areas in secondary schools and shared
    agendas in primary e.g. KS1 or 2
  • Takes longer than expected

12
Sustaining and developing research and enquiry
and the emergent issues
  • Alignment a key concept.
  • Need to develop mechanisms and thinking re
    sustainability
  • Mediator or external agent crucial - image of
    bridge
  • Need for technical, professional and personal
    support - group dynamics key
  • Manageability - a key concept
  • Dissemination - a key challenge
  • Capacity and conditional change connected

13
Alignment
  • A professional realm is healthiest when the
    values of the culture are in line with those of
    the domain, when the expectations of stakeholders
    match those of the field and when domain and
    field are themselves in sync. When these
    conditions exist, individual practitioners are
    free to operate at their best, morale is high and
    the professional realm flourishes. We term this a
    situation of authentic alignment.
  • Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi and Damon, 2001 27

14
Implications for organisations and networks
  • The notion of the self-facilitating network free
    of external support and resources is a myth
  • The development of research, enquiry and
    collaboration is powerful lever and will involve
    re-examining structures and organisation in order
    to facilitate the work if it is to endure
  • Building on commonality

15
References
  • Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Damon, W.
    2001 Good Work when excellence and ethics
    meet. New York Basic Books.
  • Hargreaves, D. 1999 'The Knowledge Creating
    School'. British Journal of Educational Studies,
    Vol. 47, no 2, pp.122-144
  • National College of School Leadership 2005
    Networked Learning Communities learning about
    learning networks. Cranfield, NCSL.

16
New Spaces for Dialogue? What are adults learning
about pupil involvement and participation in
Networked Learning Communities?
Dr. Jane McGregor
17
Networked Learning Communities
Networked Learning Communities (NLCs) programme -
largest research development project of the
National College of School Leadership (NCSL) in
England Aims to bring together clusters of
schools with partners to develop good network
forums, learn about networked learning and
influence the wider education system
18
NLCs
  • 135 networks collaborating across England,
    possibly the largest such initiative in the
    world
  • Approximately 1,500 schools,25,000 staff and over
    500,000 pupils.
  • Represents 5 of schools in the country
  • Based around principles of collaborative enquiry
    joint practice development to support networked
    learning

19
Pupil involvementin NLCs
  • 41 (cohort 1) NLCs identified pupil voice as a
    strong feature of networked learning development,
    eg through
  • Pupil perception questionnaires
  • Pupil voice conferences direct feedback on
    teaching learning
  • Pupil intervisitations and Learning Walks
  • Students as Researchers and co-researchers

20
NCSL cross-phase PupilInvolvement
Conference,Nottingham 2005
21
Fieldings typology ofpupil involvement
22
NLC National Conference,Birmingham, June 2005
23
Gap Year consultants
24
(No Transcript)
25
What makes us Think First Schools?
Pupil involvement in Think First questions,
processes and outcomes
  • SC developed a 3 minute video of their school

Video shown within their school
8 videos shown at Pupil Conference and debated
What is the same and what is different?
What is good learning in a TF School?
Diamond nine developed by staff
Council chamber debate
SC lead diamond nine in their own schools
Protocols for Pupil Learning Walks developed
Pupils Question How do we use VAK in our
teaching and learning?
School Councils visit as VAK detectives and then
meet at second Pupil Conference
School Council feedback to their schools good
practice in VAK teaching and learning
26
Think First Networked LearningCommunity Pupil
Involvementin Teaching and Learning
27
Involving students innetwork development
28
Shotgun Weddings, Arranged Marriages or Love
Matches? An Investigation of Networked
Learning Communities and Higher Education
Partnerships in England
  • Anne Campbell
  • Liverpool Hope University
  • Iris Keating
  • MMU

29
Networked Learning (NLCs) Communities and Higher
Education (HEIs) Links Project
  • Funded by the National College for School
    Leadership( NCSL) Networked Learning Group (NLG)
    2004-05
  • Aims were 3 fold
  • To identify the range of NLC/HEI partnerships
  • To explore how best practice in partnerships
    could be shared more widely
  • To work in tandem with the NLG

30
Methodology
  • Eclectic, flexible approaches drawing on
    qualitative and quantitative methods
  • An interrogation of the NCSL database to discover
    existing and planned relationships
  • Classification of links
  • Questionnaire to explore the nature of identified
    relationships
  • Interviews with a small sample of different
    relationships

31
Thinking About Linking Modes of Collaboration
  • Each NLC/HEI link is unique- no rigid conceptual
    framework possible
  • 2 dimensional graph degree of involvement
  • (continuum) and model of collaboration
  • Control, Trust and Power issues
  • Geographical perspectives

32
3 Models
  • The action research model
  • The customised CPD model
  • The special purposes model
  • Issues of overlap

33
General Factors influencing Collaboration
  • Only a minority of NLCs have engaged in
    collaborative work with HEIs
  • ITT and NQT links play a small part in links
  • CPD and research are at the interface of links
  • Personal contact or personal initiative are
    frequent
  • A perceived requirement to link alienated some,
    prompted others into shotgun marriages with
    some quickie divorces- or longer arranged
    marriages and some lucky love matches

34
General Factors continued
  • 70 of NLCs linked on paper only
  • The theme of personality remained dominant
  • Geography had a role to play
  • Structures, money, and funding issues
  • Mutual perceptions and the advent of the new
    CPD
  • Action Research

35
What should Key Players do to bring about more
effective collaboration?
  • HEIs should consider- structures, flexibility,
    research agendas, clarity re benefits, financial
    issues, bartering re ITT and exchange of
    teacher-tutor expertise
  • NLCs should consider what they want from external
    expertise re action research, evaluation,
    critical friendship
  • NLG should consider- avoiding prescription,
    publicising good practice, national conferences,
    DVDs and videos, journal and a code of practice
    for collaboration
  • HE needs to be part of the learning community

36
Further information
  • Full report will be available from NLG
  • Planned tool for dissemination
  • Case studies, major, mini and micro available
  • Campbea_at_hope.ac.uk
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