Cross-programme event Action Research: Jenny Good

Wednesday 1st November

This was an incredibly insightful and useful lecture, where we were introduced to the idea of arts based research as a methodology and using the experience of drawing to create data. Something which many of us are now thinking about how we can apply this to our own Action Research Projects.

Francesco asks at the end of the session where we could consider trying to get our research published. Lindsay recommends the following as a starting point.

https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark
sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk
International Journal of A&D Ed

Extra tutorial Monday 30th October

We discuss participatory research principles to support a live project, working with your participants when ultimately, it’s for them. Participatory – define a core, designed participatory activity with one block to complete a project. We are advised to offer the students a choice – you can be involved. Then analyse all the data and give feedback. There are different layers of participation, respect whatever someone can bring in their capacity. If you’re the leader, you need to organise the details, for me that is to consider what is the best way to do the research in relation to the subject of sustainability. I want to work with students to get feedback, but I don’t want to use their studio time for my experiments. If we co-design the experience, I need to be the researcher. Be organised, let them know we have eg. two, four or six weeks to do this – I am advised to be as honest as I can. In relation to sustainability – how best can I organise this event? To think more critically about what sustainability is. I am also one of the participants but a subject expert in my field (Graphic Branding & Identity) use that experience with students who will also know what they want, they are participants meeting with their own expertise. I will take charge along WITH my students hopefully, creating a balance in the power dynamic.

Peripheral participation ‘Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) describes how newcomers become experienced members and eventually old timers of a community of practice or collaborative project (Lave & Wenger 1991). LPP identifies learning as a contextual social phenomenon, achieved through participation in a community practice.’

Peripheral participation is a methodology for sharing the power, for research, recording conversations and what happens in the workshops I create for my ARP. I must use appropriate methods to document what happens, collecting feedback as a reflection. The reflective task – I can share my critical reflection… I thought this went well, next time we can… Working with students I have to map their diary, asking ‘can you meet up three or four times, do you have availability? If I do sign up sessions, people will invariably drop out. I need to make sure they are aware of their role and what is expected of me. As a matter of urgently I need to ask the students as soon as possible to sign up, firstly I need to ask my course leader Sunita for permission. Consider the Action research cycle, in the time that I have I may not complete all of it but aim to achieve so much, document this & my next steps for the project.

In a more traditional research format, the researcher has more power. Consider sustainability & use of resources, refine my data collection as a methodology. Decide how to collect my data – a survey, interviews, diary, videocast or podcast. The topic affects the data collection. I have tried to make my workshops and activities as participatory as possible; document – these are the methods I have used. If I become short of time, this is what I have decided to do.

Consider the following.

• The gatekeeper – my line manager, get permission to run workshops & student activities.
• Promote the benefits of my ARP to my course leader for the course I teach on.
• The making and testing in spaces engaging in social issues.
• My question – how can we embed the use of materials in the studio beyond relying on the digital?
• For me – ask my colleagues and students, are you happy to stay back? See how it goes.
• Time to analyse my data – this will take time.
• The methods I use, such as an online survey with open ended questions 2/3/5?
• Qualitative data will take longer to analyse.
• Thematic analysis – draw themes from my colleagues’ data, look for commonality and ask – what can I do with this?
• List the books I read in relation to this subject – what does the literature say? What are the big themes? What themes can I add?
• What is my contribution to the field?
• Be aware that I may run out of time but consider my next steps.
• Look at others work in relation to these subject areas such as the graduate’s sustainability game presented during my Carbon Literacy training.  
• Plan – I am on the second step of the ARP cycle, I’ve managed… it’s OK whatever stage I am at.
• ASAP – Send staff emails this week and ask students this Friday to participate on both the 3rd and 10th of November.
• Design with professional boundaries
• Talk about different possible methodologies eg I chose this one because McNiff cycle
• I need to figure out a methodology for working with my research & working with students My question & research will be co-produced
• Co-construct my collected research & design with my co-participants
• consent form
• Justify what happened – what are my next steps
• All part of the process
• You can repeat the Action Research cycle in your project
• Present my methodology –  I looked at this, I chose this because it sits better with the aims of my research
• Also consider the notion of success, how do we measure success? This is a learning process for all students (me included)

Our tutor today – Mallikas’ advice is very helpful. My fellow Pg Cert participant, the first person I met online during our very first session back in unit 1 – Joel’s advises me to look at the work of the Ual climate and environmental Action Group, they have lots of subgroups doing lots of work – some of which might be useful. I also need to look at climate literature, consider whatre the big themes I need to be aware of to help me pose my questions for my interviews.

I am encouraged to read Situated Learning Legitimate peripheral participation by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger – community of practise, to gain understanding in the sense of the various roles my participants and I will inhabit.  Social anthropologist Jean Lave and computer scientist Etienne Wenger’s helped to change the fields of cognitive science and pedagogy by approaching learning from a novel angle, choosing to look at learning not as an individual process, but as a social one. Also look at David Cross, a reader at Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Art. ‘I am a Reader in Fine Art at the University of the Arts, London. Informing my research, practice and teaching is a critical engagement with the relationship between visual culture and the social-ecological crisis.’

https://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1748-5908-4-11

https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/230-david-cross

30^th Oct

• Mon Blog posts up to date
• Tue Register on Orb as staff / a student to be able to book faciliites at LCC
• Tue Orb – book Risograph printing induction workshop
• Tue Visit Print Finishing to find out If I can cut curved edges on my prompt cards once finalised
• Tue Book time off from teaching to work on my ARP, let my CL Sunita know
• Tue Visit digital printing
• Tue Make a visual plan, mark up timeline – colour coordinate
• Wed Create questions and e-mail staff + an introduction e-mail and consent forms
• Thurs Put sheet together for SIP students who participated in Analogue Tuesday
• Fri Ask Sunita if I can drop off students’ questionnaires on Friday for next week?
• Email or call my teaching colleague Sandra, arranged to go in next Thursday?
• Mon Spend some time on tutorial
• Mon Prep student session for Friday 10th
• Mon 13th Collate data and extract words

Planning this week
1^st/2^nd November Send out staff questionnaire
3^rd November Do student survey
6^th November ½ days Catchup on all blog posts & tutorial notes
13^th November Distil data, extract quotes, make presentation2
20^th November Make cards – design. Investigate letterpress workshop, print Risograph?
27^th November Put finished cards into PPU workshop with year.2 students from across the design school
4^th December Collate feedback from PPU students. End of term

Over Christmas make presentation, catchup on reading,

Requirements for student facing workshop 1

1. Consent form
2. Sheet of questions
3. Materials – paper to draw on and pens to draw with
4. Provide a thank you to each participant in the form of a bar of chocolate

Questions to pose

1. Did you attend analogue Tuesday?
2. How did you find the experience?
3. Can you draw what you made?
4. Can you think about sustainability – what is important to you?
5. How do you feel about not using digital resources to support your creative outcome?
6. How could this influence your future projects?

Next week we will have a group discussion about a similar range of topics.