The concept ¡§World Cafe Community¡¨, which is proposed by Juanita Brown and David Issacs, is becoming a new method for team learning. According to Peter Senge¡¦s opinion, ¡§World Cafe¡¨ is just a detail implementation to a deeply dialogue, which is a method for achieving team learning. The main meaning of ¡§World Cafe¡¨ is through group discussion and idea exchange to realize brain storming. However, ¡§World Cafe¡¨ is helpful for diversified communications, but some of the concrete operation details are not suitable for Eastern. The main purpose of this study is to develop a serious of action researches to improve the operation details in the ¡§World Cafe¡¨ model. Through holding three conferences with ¡§World Cafe¡¨, some improved skills in team communication are introduced in each conference. We hope use these improved skills to find out a suitable model of organizational communication and knowledge sharing in holding ¡§World Cafe¡¨ in Eastern societies. This study proposed some improvements such as a new entire printed page, mind-mapping, and talking stick, which could impress participators about the discussion contents and processes. These improvements also make the discussed issues focused. Therefore, the suggested improvements by this study can make people who are not familiar with ¡§World Cafe¡¨ quickly understand the communicated and shared key point and hence, create more team brain storming.

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In this study I explored the research questions, how do students understand membership in a community and the responsibilities of our various locations and what pedagogical rationales and practices move students from awareness of social injustice towards acting to transform the societal structures that reinforce injustice? This project engaged in a critical and classroom action research using ethnographic tools with a class of Grade 7 students from a Vancouver elementary school. The purpose was to create spaces in curriculum for student initiated social justice oriented actions while testing a pedagogy founded in student inquiry, criticality and praxis. This was an experiment in applying critical discourse to instructional design. While teaching about social justice issues, the teacher- researcher sought to employ the principles of social justice in the pedagogy as well as the methodology of this study. The methodology sought to be consistent with the principles of social justice through attempting to create a collaborative critical research cohort with students through using data collection to foster a dialogic relationship between teacher- researcher and students. The data collection was in the forms of teacher and student generated fieldnotes, a communal research log, photography, questionnaires, interviews and written reflections. The findings from this research were analyzed through the themes of teacher tensions, constructs of student and teachers, and resistance. The analysis of the data provided opportunities for identifying power dynamics within the concepts being critiqued, exploring the makings of the cognitive unconscious and entering into a dialogic relationship with students about official and hidden curricula. Conclusions drawn from this research included that the experiment of teaching and researching for social justice in a socially just manner requires not only a grounding in theory and an awareness of the normative discourse, but an investigation of and critical reflection on those social constructions of teacher and student that are deeply embedded in the collective cognitive unconscious of the classroom. Teacher tensions and student resistance are productive as they provoke awareness of these constructions and their effects on the classroom.

Grounded theory methodology blended with action research can provide creative approaches to addressing policy-oriented questions with practical outcomes. Practical policy-oriented research outcomes are illustrated through an integrated constructivist grounded action research policy case study applied to collaborative natural resource management for Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) consideration. The study developed grounded theory, which reflexively informed collaborative strategies and supported action-oriented collaborative tool development. Outcomes were developed to address each of three research questions through cyclical reflexivity of researcher action shifts. Each action shift entailed cyclical reflexivity through re-visitation of data in light of both developed grounded theory and previous research question outcomes. As such, each question was addressed in reflexive cycles that built upon previous research outcomes, which was complimented by authorial reflexively. This constructivist grounded action bricolage demonstrates a reflexive, pragmatic, systematic approach to policy-oriented recommendations and tool development. Reflexive constructivist grounded action shift research supported strategic, integrated policy-oriented research outcomes for DFO Pacific Region's consideration. The hope of this research is to encourage further exploration of constructivist grounded action research as a dynamic, reflexive avenue that can support integrated adaptive organizational policies and management.

Using a multimodal approach to literacy, this thesis explores student dialogue and responses from viewing wordless and image-rich books to answer the following questions: What impact does visual literacy instruction have on students’ learning and achievement in reading and viewing comprehension? What are grade five students’ perspectives on being involved in reading and viewing wordless and image-rich books in the classroom? Action research methodology is employed by the teacher researcher in a grade five classroom. Qualitative data sourced from whole class observations, small group reading interviews, student work samples, a colleague’s observational notes, and quantitative data from reading assessments reveal insights into the affordances of presenting visually rich texts to students. The author focuses the discussion on reading comprehension strategies, visual elements, and the experience of reading wordless and image-rich books. He concludes that students are able to use deeper level reading comprehension strategies and articulate their understanding while viewing images.

The purpose of this action research study was to examine strategies that lead to effective and efficient band rehearsals at the junior high level. Participants in the study were 28 grade 8 band students, 11 males and 17 females, as well as one music teacher researcher. Of 35 grade 8 band students, 28 or 80% chose to participate in the study. The school is located in a relatively high social-economic suburban junior high school. The research questions addressed were: 1. What proportion of instructional time do I spend on: teaching musical concepts and skills; conducting active music making; classroom management; waiting or wasting time? 2. How can I change my rehearsal practice to spend more time engaging students in active musical learning, and less time on non-musical tasks, thus improving the effectiveness and efficiency of my middle years band rehearsals? 3. How do students perceive and respond to their band rehearsals? During a 10-week block, from January to March, 2006, specific teaching innovations, drawn from the research and pedagogical literatures, were implemented with an aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the band class. Music classes were video taped and later analyzed using rehearsal frames. Students responded to the instructional innovations by completing exit slips daily and attitudinal surveys at the beginning and completion of the research project. The teacher tracked her perceptions through daily journal entries and reflecting on the classes videotaped. Qualitative data were unitized and then sorted by thematic codes while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Pre- and Post-survey mean scores were calculated and compared using T-tests. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The majority of class time was spent in active music making followed by “waiting” and “instruction” time; 2) The innovations introduced were effective and improved the efficiency of the band classes; 3) Students strongly agreed that they were involved during band rehearsals conducted throughout the project; and 4) The overwhelming majority of students responded positively to all survey items related to band rehearsals.

The purpose of this action research study was to examine strategies that lead to effective and efficient band rehearsals at the junior high level. Participants in the study were 28 grade 8 band students, 11 males and 17 females, as well as one music teacher researcher. Of 35 grade 8 band students, 28 or 80% chose to participate in the study. The school is located in a relatively high social-economic suburban junior high school. The research questions addressed were: 1. What proportion of instructional time do I spend on: teaching musical concepts and skills; conducting active music making; classroom management; waiting or wasting time? 2. How can I change my rehearsal practice to spend more time engaging students in active musical learning, and less time on non-musical tasks, thus improving the effectiveness and efficiency of my middle years band rehearsals? 3. How do students perceive and respond to their band rehearsals? During a 10-week block, from January to March, 2006, specific teaching innovations, drawn from the research and pedagogical literatures, were implemented with an aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the band class. Music classes were video taped and later analyzed using rehearsal frames. Students responded to the instructional innovations by completing exit slips daily and attitudinal surveys at the beginning and completion of the research project. The teacher tracked her perceptions through daily journal entries and reflecting on the classes videotaped. Qualitative data were unitized and then sorted by thematic codes while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Pre- and Post-survey mean scores were calculated and compared using T-tests. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The majority of class time was spent in active music making followed by “waiting” and “instruction” time; 2) The innovations introduced were effective and improved the efficiency of the band classes; 3) Students strongly agreed that they were involved during band rehearsals conducted throughout the project; and 4) The overwhelming majority of students responded positively to all survey items related to band rehearsals.

In this study I explored the research questions, how do students understand membership in a community and the responsibilities of our various locations and what pedagogical rationales and practices move students from awareness of social injustice towards acting to transform the societal structures that reinforce injustice? This project engaged in a critical and classroom action research using ethnographic tools with a class of Grade 7 students from a Vancouver elementary school. The purpose was to create spaces in curriculum for student initiated social justice oriented actions while testing a pedagogy founded in student inquiry, criticality and praxis. This was an experiment in applying critical discourse to instructional design. While teaching about social justice issues, the teacher- researcher sought to employ the principles of social justice in the pedagogy as well as the methodology of this study. The methodology sought to be consistent with the principles of social justice through attempting to create a collaborative critical research cohort with students through using data collection to foster a dialogic relationship between teacher- researcher and students. The data collection was in the forms of teacher and student generated fieldnotes, a communal research log, photography, questionnaires, interviews and written reflections. The findings from this research were analyzed through the themes of teacher tensions, constructs of student and teachers, and resistance. The analysis of the data provided opportunities for identifying power dynamics within the concepts being critiqued, exploring the makings of the cognitive unconscious and entering into a dialogic relationship with students about official and hidden curricula. Conclusions drawn from this research included that the experiment of teaching and researching for social justice in a socially just manner requires not only a grounding in theory and an awareness of the normative discourse, but an investigation of and critical reflection on those social constructions of teacher and student that are deeply embedded in the collective cognitive unconscious of the classroom. Teacher tensions and student resistance are productive as they provoke awareness of these constructions and their effects on the classroom.

Within the ephemeral world of fad products and activities (such as teenage fashion and the hula-hoop) things come and go quickly. In such a competitive market many new products become obsolete from the moment they reach the market. It is therefore essential to launch new products on the market as soon as possible in order to sustain business and profits. / With activities that can easily become passing fads and fashions, such as going to a Karaoke box, it is important to sustain the novelty value of the leisure-time pursuit by keeping customers motivated and interested in coming back for more. A failure to operate successfully in a fad business seriously threatens profit margins, return on investments and ultimately the lifespan of the product. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.