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Annie Storkey

Nose in a good book

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Edited by Annie Storkey, Friday, 29 Oct 2021, 16:30

This week I started reading Action Research in Teaching and Learning by Lin Norton. I’ve read a lot of books recently on action research and most have been very informative and provided helpful and stimulating advice that made me reflect on the theory and practice of my own research. Norton’s book is no exception but what I am really enjoying is the emphasis on reflective practice in, for want of a better word, ‘practical’ terms. For instance, Norton discusses including participants in reflective practice and the pitfalls of using reflective journals. I have had several people suggest that I should get my participants to keep reflective journals about their support needs and this approach was a key focus of my research when I first applied for my doctorate course. But I decided not to use this approach as I know that many students struggle with reflective writing and I did not want to put pressure on my participants to fulfil my expectations at the risk of them feeling inadequate; my research is about empowering students with mental health challenges not confining them. Reflective journals will be mentioned as a study aid (they are a component of one module I teach) but there will be no pressure from the perspective of my research. I want my student participants to explore what study approaches they think is helpful not what academics think they should do, and I will be using my regular email contact to encourage reflection with all my students as part of my proactive motivational support. Norton recognises that practitioner researcher needs to be aware of their students’ own experiences of learning.

The discussions on professionalism on career development have also been very useful and have given me ideas on developing my research career, including thoughts on how my current research might be expended in the future to look at specific interventions such as how I manage my tutor group forum in relation to mental health and wellbeing support. The book acknowledges that action research can be ‘messy’ and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Annie


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Annie Storkey

Starting professional doctorate studies

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Edited by Annie Storkey, Friday, 29 Oct 2021, 16:43

Most OU modules start this week so it is always busy for an Associate Lecturer in the first few weeks of October but this year was extra busy for me as I started my Professional Doctorate in Education. Don't know what this is? Well, it is basically a part time doctorate for people in professional practice. Unlike most doctorates which are done at the beginning of a career, a professional doctorate is done later in a career within your own work environment. The OU offers a Professional Doctorate programme in Education or Health and Social Care  http://wels.open.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research/edd

The year 1 residential was last weekend and what an intensive time it was. Not only was it a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow students (it's a distance learning course so meeting others is a valuable experience) and to share ideas and interests, but it was a helpful approach to cementing identity at the beginning of doctoral studies. I was able to explore what it means to be a research professional, reflect on the ethics of research and learn more about critical review of literature. I saw a research project in action which had many similarities to my own. The library session was immensely useful; I may be an AL but it was very helpful to have one to one assistance from a librarian and to learn about relevant software to aid my studies.

Now I'm off on my research journey. I am lucky in that I have a firm structure to work within: 3 days of OU work punctuated by two days for study, an obvious necessity for a manic depressive who needs to plan her schedule clearly to avoid stress. There will be some overlap though as I am doing action research. My current working title is 'How can Students with Mental Health Challenges be Empowered to become Independent Learners within the Technology-enhanced Learning Environment?' but more on that another time.

Now to start my Researching professional development Plan.

Annie


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