| Credit |
6 points |
| Availability |
non-standard teaching period, offshore teaching period |
| Old unit code |
300.662 |
| Outcomes |
Students understand and apply the principles of action research relevant to their own professional context; are able to review and evaluate critically current perspectives on curriculum innovation and design; review and select appropriate models of teaching and learning; construct a curriculum package which incorporates a rationale, a structured learning sequence, together with appropriate assessment components; and develop an action research design to implement the package, defining what counts as data and how it will be collected. |
| Content |
This unit introduces practising educators to the process of conducting action research in their own teaching programs. The focus is not on theoretical aspects of education research or on specific curriculum content or context, but on action research as a mechanism for designing and conducting classroom-based research. Participants in the unit have the opportunity to design a curriculum project for a specific group of students, whether in a particular learning area or cross-curricular, or to use an existing curriculum package. (Past experience has shown that this type of project is not well-suited to learning areas which focus on basic skills, e.g. keyboard, word processing, motor skill training). The curriculum development aspect of the action research enquiry could entail planning for individual student contracts, group research projects, problem-based learning or cross-curricular approaches to integrated projects. Students design an action research plan which is integral to their curriculum package, including identifying what counts as data, how it might be collected and how it might be interpreted to prepare for the next cycle of action research enquiry. |
| Assessment |
The action research design and curriculum package are to be submitted by 13 September 2010.
Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit. |
| Unit Co-ordinator(s) |
Professor Marnie O'Neill |
| Location |
UWA (Crawley), offshore |
| Mode |
on-campus |
| Unit Rules |
| Prerequisites: enrolment in the Graduate Diploma in Professional Studies in Education or a master's degree in education |
| Advisable prior study: completion of a pre-service teacher education qualification and relevant professional experience or EDUC8631 Approaches to Research or EDUC8678 Curriculum Context, Development and Innovation |
Contact hours—25 hrs (compressed unit, 5–9 July)
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| Texts | |
A course reader is to be purchased from the Graduate School of Education.
Mertler, C. A. Action Research: Teachers as Researchers in the Classroom: Sage Publications 2006 |
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- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change.
- Assistance with study skills, including English language skills, is available free of charge from Student Services for all enrolled students (see http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning). Student Services location: Second Floor, South Wing, Guild Village; telephone: 6488 2423.
- Books and other materials wherever listed may be subject to change. Book lists relating to 'Preliminary Reading', 'Recommended Reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available at the University Co-operative Bookshop (from early January) and appropriate administrative offices for students to consult. For first-year units the Bookshop will endeavour to make available photocopies of book lists for individual units. Books marked with an asterisk (*) are available in paperback.
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