Page 181 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

Action Learning
Action Learning, or Action Research as it is also known, is a process by which educators carry out research on their pedagogical practices, to assess how effective they are in meeting specific outcomes that are governed by specific processes. This approach may give rise to ways in which educators can provide learners with improved learning processes, environments, technologies or strategies.
Action Learning requires teams of educator-learners to research a specific aspect of their practice or learning program, and assess whether the innovation did improve the learning outcomes of the learner and how significant that improvement is.
One of the differences between the inquiry process and the Action Learning Process is that action learning requires an external reference group, including learners who can be present at regular meetings to assist the educators in reflecting, reviewing and implementing the research outcomes.
For example, a group of staff might decide on the following topics which they need to research:
• Has the school's communication with their community regarding the transitions they are making, been effective?
• What is the effect of learners making increasing use of technologies, on the quality of the learning?
• Did the modifications in the learning environments lead to better learning outcomes? What was the effect of these?
• Did increasing learner competence result in learners being able to take greater agency over their learning? To what degree?
• What happens to learners’ attitudes to learning as they were provided increased agency over their learning? To what degree?
• Did the use of more effective questioning techniques (of both educators and learners), improve learning outcomes?
Schools may carry out the Action Learning Process independently or as a collective of schools.
It is important to frame the fundamental questions that educators wish to pursue, based on the school’s purpose, vision and mission(s). Following discussions amongst the staff, each research group will develop subsidiary questions that will underpin each of the teams’ research programmes. The research programme provides the teams and the team members with a set of actions to enable them to find answers to their questions. It is at this point that educators select which research focus they wish to work with. Each of the groups then meets with the reference team and applies a Reflect-Review-Revise process to interrogate the veracity of the change in pedagogy they have selected.
As is expressed in resource 69 that follows, the next part of the process is for the group to collect research articles, interview experts, learners and peers and gather as much research evidence and resource as possible. In weekly meetings, there is an opportunity for each of the members to share their research findings and to debate the validity or relevance of the research against the question that is being investigated.
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