Social Emotional Learning

Professor Eileen Piggot-Irvine explains action research as research that doesn't conclude with data collection, but continues through an action in response to the research findings. She discusses how action research can be utilized best and where it is going in the future. Piggot-Irvine also discusses some of the drawbacks to using action research.

More and more schools are engaging in action research as part of their school improvement plans. But what exactly is 'action research' and is it a good thing? To answer these questions we've filmed three case studies.

Professor David Coghlan explains action research as an approach that crosses many academic disciplines yet has a shared focus on taking action to address a problem. He describes the difference between this approach and empirical scientific approaches, particularly highlighting the challenge of getting action research to be taken seriously by academic journals.

Professor Jean McNiff talks about action research, the responsibility innate to knowledge, and the emerging nature of reality. She highlights key thinkers in the area of emergence and growth. She also discusses issues of empowerment, regarding both students and researched communities.

Professor Michelle Fine discusses her work in participatory action research, an approach to research that is tied to community activism. She explains the core components of PAR as including a variety of expertise; shaping research questions collaboratively; pooling knowledge and evidence; situating research in history, theory, and action; and community ownership of research data.

Dr. Meagan Call-Cummings presents a participatory action research project that had three aims: to uncover and understand racism in schools, to empower marginalized students, and to determine the effectiveness of participatory action research as a means to effect social change.

Professor Liliane Windsor discusses her research on substance abuse using community-based participatory research methods. In community-based participatory research, members of the community partner with academics to conduct the research. Windsor discusses community preparation and brainstorming, her research findings, and community collaborative boards

Megan Calvert, an ESL teacher, describes how she designed, tested, and adjusted a task-based learning exercise for a mixed-level English language course.