Non-Western Perspectives on Learning and Knowing

This is a book review for Sharan B. Merriam and Associates’(2007) Non-Western Perspectives on Learning and Knowing.Malabar,FL:Krieger Publishing Company

Online but off-topic: Establishing common ground in small learning groups

There is not yet a great deal of research in formal online learning environments focusing on the seemingly “off-topic” conversations that small groups engage in as they complete learning tasks together. This study uses the theory of common ground as a framework to explore what participants are talking about when not discussing the concepts to be learned and how participants negotiate common ground in distance learning environments, including their use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools. The email, discussion forum, and chat transcripts of ten small groups comprised of experienced distance learners were investigated using computer-mediated discourse analysis, particularly attending to functional moves exchanged while completing tasks. Findings were as follows. First, groups talked more about off-topic issues such as logistics, social and technology concerns than they did the concepts to be learned. Second, they used the discussion forum more than chat or e-mail, but they did not vary much in their choice of mode for talking about particular topics. Finally, the groups established common ground through being explicitly responsive, responsible, and relational. Implications are that highly structured learning tasks should be balanced with more open-ended discussions that require less attention to logistic detail, students should be encouraged to attend to grounding strategies and should remain in the same groups long enough to develop such strategies

Teaching qualitative research methods with ATLAS.ti: Beyond data analysis

This presentation will share best practices for integrating ATLAS.ti into advanced qualitative research methods courses. During the spring, summer and the current fall 2013 semesters, students were required to use ATLAS.ti as a project management tool for their semester’s work in order to develop the skills they would need to continue its use during the thesis phase of their programs. In these courses students are typically engaged in independent field work projects, in which they are reviewing the literature, collecting data, transcribing, and/or engaging in data analysis. Each of these phases were conducted within ATLAS.ti and shared with the instructor at regular intervals throughout the semester for feedback. By introducing ATLAS.ti during coursework, positioning it as a project management tool in addition to a data analysis tool, and supporting students’ early experiences with its use, we anticipate that these novice researchers will be more likely to continue using the tool to support their work. Suggestions for best practice for this instructional approach will include a focus on how to: provide adequate access and technical support, balance methodological and technical instruction, create meaningful student assignments, and provide effective feedback

Using ATLAS.ti for a discourse analysis study of blogging in an educational context

While some scholars have claimed that data analysis software tools are not useful for discourse analysis work (Macmillan, 2005), in this presentation we report on our use of ATLAS.ti for conducting a discourse analysis of blog posts and comments made in the context of an undergraduate nutrition course (Lester & Paulus, 2011; Paulus & Lester, 2013). We describe several aspects of our analysis, including: managing the data through document families and quotations, collaborating as a team, engaging in “unmotivated looking” through memos, maintaining a focus on discursive actions through hyperlinking and network views, and narrowing the analytic focus through codes and queries. While we found ATLAS.ti to be extremely useful for documenting our analytic decisions in a transparent and systematic way, we also call for features that would allow the analysis of online interactional data in a more seamless way

Approaches to case analyses in synchronous and asynchronous environments

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools can be used to integrate time-intensive tasks, such as case study analyses, more easily into the teacher education curriculum. How students talk together online for learning purposes in CMC environments is an area that has not yet been thoroughly investigated. This paper extends findings from a previous study by comparing two groups of four preservice teachers analyzing cases in a synchronous and asynchronous environment. A case study and computer-mediated discourse analysis approach was taken to make sense of the discussion transcripts and participant reflections. Booth and Hulten’s (2003) taxonomy of learning contributions is used as an analysis framework. Asymmetrical participation patterns were found in both modes, with more participatory contributions to establish presence made in the asynchronous mode. More interactive moves were contributed in the synchronous mode. Reflective contributions, mainly to agree, were present in both modes. One group chose the asynchronous and the other the synchronous environment to analyze the final case of the course. Implications for the design and analysis of case discussion tasks in CMC environments are discussed

Language and Academic Identity: A Study of the Experiences of Non-Native English Speaking International Students

This phenomenological study explores the experiences of non-native English-speaking international students regarding language, culture and identity in the context of their graduate studies. Interviews were conducted with each of the eight participants. Interpretive analysis was used within a constructivist frame. The findings of this study are organized into four themes of the participants’ experiences: Mastering the language: You know you sound wrong, The meaning of language proficiency: English is alive, Language and academic identity: I feel I’m in-between, and Joining a new community of practice: You have to start all over again. Implications of the study suggest that language and cultural identity are central to the academic experience of non-native speakers. Recommendations emphasize the importance of learner-centered instructional design in addressing these needs

The Walking Dead Genealogy: Unsubstantiated Criticisms of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) and the Failure to Put Them to Rest

The authors conduct an exposé on the deterministic denunciations of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) and how citation errors keep these criticisms alive. They use a zombie metaphor to describe more than two decades of battling these seemingly mindless assessments of QDAS that keep coming –despite their decay – and simply will not die. Focusing exclusively on the criticism of separation/distancing, which alleges that the computer and the software interfere with the researcher’s familiarity with the data, the authors trace one current strand of this criticism through a literature genealogy. Three citation errors (half-truth, proxy, and hearsay) are identified to help dismantle the criticism that QDAS inevitably and negatively interferes with the researchers’ connection to the data. The article concludes with a reckoning about the role of QDAS experts in perpetuating these citation errors and provides four specific recommendations for all qualitative researchers; suggestions that amount to a more viable avenue for pursuing a cure

“I’m Not Sure I Even Know”: Therapists’ Tentative Constructions of Autism

Autism has historically been constructed within and through biomedical discourses and practices. Therapeutic interventions have focused on “treating” and “curing” the individual diagnosed with autism, with therapists positioned as the “experts.” In this paper, we report findings from a discourse analysis informed by discursive psychology of eight interviews with therapists of children with autism labels. While the therapists were frequently positioned as “experts” with presumed “stocks of knowledge,” they were reluctant to definitively name autism as something with clearly defined characteristics, thereby making evident the shifting nature of knowledge surrounding what autism “really is.” We discuss implications for practitioners and others, as well as point to the importance of engaging in social constructionist studies of the discourses surrounding autism

The Ideological Dilemmas Inherent in Informal Learning Spaces: A Discourse Analysis of Preservice Teacher Talk

Informal learning spaces, such as summer reading programs, have the potential to both motivate children and provide opportunities for preservice teachers to try out new practices. However, there is little research on the talk that occurs in these informal learning spaces, particularly those intended to function as third spaces. Audio recordings of meetings between preservice teachers and high school students talking together about young adult literature in a space intended to function as a third space were analyzed to explore how discourse choices shaped the participants\u27 practices. We found that the participants both resisted and reproduced the traditional classroom in their talk, suggesting that the successful design of third spaces is a complex endeavor

Extending the conversation: Qualitative research as dialogic collaborative process

Collaborative research is often refers to collaboration among the researcher and the participants. Few studies investigate the collaborative process among researchers themselves. Assumptions about the qualitative research process, particularly ways to establish rigor and transparency, are pervasive. Our experience conducting three collaborative empirical research studies challenged and transformed our assumptions about qualitative research: (a) research planning taught as concrete and linear rather than as emergent and iterative, (b) data analysis conceptualized as individual discovery rather than collaboratively-constructed meaning, and (c) findings represented as individual product rather than as part of an ongoing conversation. We address each assumption, including how our collaborative research diverged from the assumption and how this divergence has impacted our own practice