Book/ article reviews, etc.

 

 

Wilson, Shawn (2008)  Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods  Fernwood Press

This wonderful book describes the author's notion of an Indigenous research paradigm, one which contrasts with the Western ('dominant') way of conducting research that most of us are familiar with.  The author holds that relational (rather than objective) theories of knowledge and accountability provide the focus for research.  Included in the theoretical narrative of the book are letters from the author to his family, to his fellow researchers and to the reader.  
This account of why and how research is undertaken and performed has relevance far beyond the culture of Indigenous communities from which it arose and to my mind has much in common with the ethos and aims of Living Educational Theory, which also questions the validity of traditional ways of doing research and proposes alternative pathways.

 

 

 

As a complement to Kathy Carter’s paper, The Place of Story in the Study of Teaching and Teacher Education, which we plan to discuss next Thursday, can I suggest the following article by Karen Johnson and Paula Golombek which forms the introduction to their edited 2002 book , Teacher’s Narrative as Professional Development:

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/2002024649.pdf

Johnson & Golombek are particularly strong in their discussion of notions of embodied knowledge and how this is derived in part from the classroom and also on how Dewey’s ideas of situated knowing and learning can form the basis for effective narrative enquiry.  

 

Robyn M. Gillies

Cooperative Learning: Integrating Theory and Practice

2007

USA

Sage Publications

288 pages

PBK £36.99/ $56.95   ISBN  978-1412940481

HBK £65.00/ $99.95   ISBN  978-1412940474

 

 

This title is aimed at both teachers in training and more experienced professionals wishing to extend their understanding and use of cooperative learning (CL).  Gillies’ emphasises repeatedly that CL is so much more than learning in small groups, both in terms of learning outcomes and the thought and skill required of the teacher in establishing and managing CL teaching.  CL is about structured learning and the structure, created by the teacher, leads to positive interdependence where all group members must co-operate in order for each to succeed with each member being accountable for the success of all group members.

For Gillies, CL is an answer if not the answer to ending the malaise in contemporary educational practice. Indeed, tantalisingly, suggestion is made for the potential of CL to mitigate many of the social ills of our day.  Alas, it is always difficult to prove and rarely politically convenient to connect positive social improvements to educational activity.  Far easier and common is the blaming of teachers for society’s ills, as we saw after this August ‘riots’ in England.  Gillies shares her considerable experience as a researcher in a range of compulsory education settings and there is much to be gained from this book not only in terms of the theory, application and evaluation of CL but about what in broader terms makes effective teaching and a good school.  It would have been good to read about Gillies’ own experiences of education and learning and the absence of a foreword from the author is surprising.

Content is divided in a clear text-book format with reflective activities for the reader, case-study scripts and classroom resources.  Case studies taken from elementary and secondary schools (mainly US and Australian) illuminate the theoretical discussion of CL.  Step-by-step guidance is offered for all elements of the CL process including how establishing CL groups, promoting student thinking, learning and discourse, getting the composition right in groups, and conducting assessment and evaluation.   Each chapter ends with a summary of academic research and suggestions for readers wishing to delve deeper. 

For me, Gillies’ examination of the process of group self-evaluation and parallel metacognitive skills was particularly instructive; as a student I have no recollection of this taking place and as a teacher I recognise that figures low in my practice.  The discussion and guidance on assessment I also found particularly useful.

There is stimulating discussion of possible future developments in CL including examination of ICT in the classroom and the computer-supported collaborative environment (CSCL).  However there is little on the impact of online learning: can the important social elements of CL be reconciled with the blended learning in which face to face contact is a diminished part of the learning environment; Dalsgaard & Paulsen (2009) identify some of these issues and strategies.  Increasingly, UK and US students in both the post-compulsory and compulsory sectors find themselves spending part of their learning time working in online communities. In times of financial austerity the reduction of contact hours in favour of online learning is likely only to increase.   

As Wendy Jolliffe notes in her paper for this journal, CL is a minority pedagogy in UK schools and I am sure wide reading of Gillies’ erudite, thoughtful and persuasive text would help to change this lamentable state of affairs.

 

Dalsgaard, C & Paulsen, M F (2009) Transparency in Cooperative Online Education

in  International Review of Open and Distance Education  June 2009  Vol 10, No 3