RPiN Research Plans

[Curriculum Plan - Downloadable PDF version]                                                                                                                                                                                  [Research Plan - Downloadable PDF Version]
 
Background
The RPiN critical action research project involves teachers in two simultaneous processes. One is to develop a curriculum plan that specifies both teaching content that is connected to student lifeworlds and the pedagogical practices required to teach this content. The other is to identify one aspect of pedagogy and to develop a systematic action research plan to investigate it. Printable (PDF) versions of each of these plans are available above, while online (HTML) versions are included below:
 

1) Curriculum Design Plan - what is your plan for a RPiNised curriculum project?

 

Researching

Students and teachers research community and personal funds of knowledge in order to negotiate rich and connected curriculum tasks

• Who are the learners in my classroom?

• What ‘learning resources’ do my students bring to class?

• How can I connect with their use of language, the significant issues for their communities, and their ‘funds of knowledge’?

• How can I learn from and connect with their sense of ‘identity’ and ‘place’?

• How can I learn from and connect with their engagement with popular culture?

• How does the theme of the curriculum connect with the students’ lifeworlds, funds of knowledge, sense of

identity or place, engagement with popular culture ... ?

• Are my students given opportunity to create new knowledge about their lifeworlds and their communities?

• What social issues can I connect this work to?

 
 
What is a RPiNized unit of work?

  • A clear description of the key aims for learning

  • A ‘strong’ connection to student lifeworlds

  • Meaningful, challenging learning task(s)

  • Performative expectation for student learning/assessment

 

Designing

Students and teachers negotiate and collaborate to design learning activities, assessment structures and classroom operation

• How is this learning rigorous?

• What content knowledge do I want my students to learn?

• What is the key learning challenge?

• What aims are there for social learning?

• Aims for developing learning skills?

• What opportunities are there for students to negotiate significant aspects of their learning?

• How is my idea of rigour converted into meaningful, challenging learning tasks?

• Are the learning tasks I set coherent and build on each other?

 

  
Communicating

Students and teachers communicate through a variety of modes to share understandings and offer explicit instruction

• How can I scaffold the challenges I set my students?

• What pedagogies do I need to ensure my students can succeed in the challenges I set?

• How will I manage explicit teaching/modelling of content and or skills?

• What modes of communication are offered to my students?

• How are the students used as resources for learning?

• How can I build on my students literate practices?

 

  
Transforming

Students actively interact with their worlds and transform knowledge gained through this interaction into a variety of media

• In what ways do students get to build on their skills and understandings?

• In what ways do students get to investigate either their own questions or aspects of the topic being studied?

• In what ways do students get to practice, and/or explore new understandings?

• In what ways do students get to practice new skills?

 

  
Performing

Students perform their learning and act upon their worlds in high stakes situations for a variety of school and community audiences

• In what ways can I provide my students with opportunities to perform/demonstrate what they have learned in my class?

• What are appropriate audiences for my students’ learning?

• What about ‘exhibitions’, use of multi-media presentations, a magazine, presentations to panels, group performances?

• Are my students given opportunities to use their knowledge to improve their communities?

 

  
Reflecting

Students and teachers reflect on their learning, celebrating successes, ‘feeling the quality’ and identifying future challenges

• What opportunities are students given to reflect on their learning and to provide feedback on their experiences?

 

  

 
 

2) Research Plan - what aspect of your pedagogy are you going to research and how?

 

 

What is your research question? And why?

What’s the underlying challenge motivating your project?

  • What’s bothering you most about your teaching?

  • What ‘critical incident’ motivates you to rethink an aspect of your teaching?

 

What ideas do you have to address that challenge?

  • What’s your best hunch about what might improve things?

  • What evidence can you provide for your thinking?

 

What is your research question?

  • Does this question lead to an inquiry?

  • Is it is explicitly linked to improving practice?

  • Does it lead to a richer description of what’s going on?

  • Or does it focus on what makes a difference?

 

  

 

What is the context of my practice?

What is your professional context?

  • role

  • teaching style

  • goals

  • etc

What is your classroom context?

  • resources

  • space

  • etc

 What is your school context?

  • priorities

  • resources

  • etc

 What is your community context?

  • cultures

  • languages

  • socio-economics

  • etc

 Are broader contextual issues impacting on your teaching?

  • policy

  • social expectations

  • political climate

  • etc
 
 

What aspect of your pedagogy will you be addressing?

What aspect of your pedagogy will you be addressing?

  • Researching

  • Designing

  • Communicating

  • Transforming

  • Performing

  • Reflecting

 

 See Curriculum Design Plan

 
What resources do you need to conduct your research?

 

 


| Disclaimer | Copyright (c) 2006 |
Latest Content Revision: 19 December, 2006