The context of this research was the European Union (EU) funded Specialised Animated Interactive Learning (S.A.I.L.) project that set out to incorporate group work as well as to integrate information computer technology (ICT) within primary school classrooms in three European countries. As part of this project, online resource material on the Romany culture was developed and introduced to a group of primary school teachers in Malta. A self-selected group of five of these teachers formed a collaborative enquiry group. The focus of the research was the teachers’ developing classroom practice and pedagogic understanding as evidenced by their developing use of pedagogic language and observations of classroom practice. The research methodology evolved during the project to describe and understand the ways the enquiry group sessions were influencing pedagogic understanding and practice. The teachers’ classes were videotaped and used during the sessions to demonstrate, discuss and problematise classroom practice. The teachers led the sessions and the researcher acted as a facilitator. Data collection instruments included videos of classroom practice and the enquiry group sessions; an initial free writing exercise and questionnaire; teachers’ classroom logs; and a final interview. Data analysis was an on-going process as it was important to develop an understanding of the dynamics of the enquiry group process and how this translated into classroom practice during the five weeks in which this occurred. Concordancing of the transcripts was used to identify key lexical items and their frequency and this was followed by an analysis of how specific lexical items were used in each session. Critical incidents were also identified; providing an understanding of the ways the enquiry group process supported classroom change. The research provides evidence of the ways the enquiry group process adopted influenced classroom practice and the teachers’ pedagogic understanding which has implications for teacher professional development models and programmes. All five teachers’ classroom practice changed over the five-week period, as did each teacher’s use of language about their practice. This was evidenced by lexical item use within the enquiry groups and three categories emerged: (a) new lexical items adopted by individuals; (b) the change in use and meaning of specific lexical items; and (c) the way they used lexical items to convey a pedagogical issue that they were integrating within their classrooms.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:548094 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Gialanze, Michelle |
| Publisher | University of Nottingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12137/ |
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