THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIEW, ASK QUESTIONS, READ, AND SUMMARIZE STRATEGY IN READING CLASS: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY

This research aimed to improve students' reading ability using the PAQRS strategy. This research applied a classroom action research (CAR) design conducted in two cycles consisting of four stages: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Each cycle consists of four meetings. The researcher conducted tests, interviews, and observations in collecting the data. The data is presented quantitatively as the primary and supporting data. The study's findings showed that 18.91% of students achieved the minimum completeness criteria, and the average score was 67.35 in the first cycle test. While 81.08% of students achieved the minimum completeness criteria, the average score was 76.72 in the second cycle test. The result of the research indicated that students' achievement is an increase from cycle 1 to cycle 2. This study concludes that the PAQRS strategy can successfully improve students' reading skills.

Reflection and Learning Conversations in the Sociology Classroom

This study is a small-scale action research study about the role of reflection in learning that was set in an international school in Romania during the time of a pandemic. The aim of the research was to listen to sociology students' feedback about the experience of focusing on reflection and to uncover the meaning that it had for them. It was a response to engaging with Deborah Eyre's high-performance learning (HPL) philosophy, which argues that the skills of high achieving learners can be taught to all students. The status of evidence-based methods, as a justification for educational initiatives towards social change, is considered alongside a short discussion of Hattie's synthesis of evidence-based methods and his focus on “making learning visible” in the classroom. The potential for HPL methods to provide an inclusive template of teaching and learning is briefly considered. This study describes the journey of a small action research study in the classroom and assesses its qualitative findings whilst acknowledging that some aspects of the study design were flawed.

Leading through the first wave of COVID: a Canadian action research study

Purpose This first phase of a three-phase action research project aims to define leadership practices that should be used during and after the pandemic to re-imagine and rebuild the health and social care system. Specifically, the objectives were to determine what effective leadership practices Canadian health leaders have used through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore how these differ from pre-crisis practices; and to identify what leadership practices might be leveraged to create the desired health and care systems of the future. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an action research methodology. In the first phase, reported here, the authors conducted one-on-one, virtual interviews with 18 health leaders from across Canada and across leadership roles. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Findings Five key practices emerged from the data, within the core dimension of disrupting entrenched structures and leadership practices. These were, namely, responding to more complex emotions in self and others. Future practice identified to create more psychologically supportive workplaces. Agile and adaptive leadership. Future practice should allow leaders to move systemic change forward more quickly. Integrating diverse perspectives, within and across organizations, leveling hierarchies through bringing together a variety of perspectives in the decision-making process and engaging people more broadly in the co-creation of strategies. Applying existing leadership capabilities and experience. Future practice should develop and expand mentorship to support early career leadership. Communication was increased to build credibility and trust in response to changing and often contradictory emerging evidence and messaging. Future practice should increase communication. Research limitations/implications The project was limited to health leaders in Canada and did not represent all provinces/territories. Participants were recruited through the leadership networks, while diverse, were not demographically representative. All interviews were conducted in English; in the second phase of the study, the authors will recruit a larger and more diverse sample and conduct interviews in both English and French. As the interviews took place during the early stages of the pandemic, it may be that health leaders’ views of what may be required to re-define future health systems may change as the crisis shifts over time. Practical implications The sponsoring organization of this research – the Canadian Health Leadership Network and each of its individual member partners – will mobilize knowledge from this research, and subsequent phases, to inform processes for leadership development and, succession planning across, the Canadian health system, particularly those attributes unique to a context of crisis management but also necessary in post-crisis recovery. Social implications This research has shown that there is an immediate need to develop innovative and influential leadership action – commensurate with its findings – to supporting the evolution of the Canadian health system, the emotional well-being of the health-care workforce, the mental health of the population and challenges inherent in structural inequities across health and health care that discriminate against certain populations. Originality/value An interdisciplinary group of health researchers and decision-makers from across Canada who came together rapidly to examine leadership practices during COVID-19’s first wave using action research study design.

Fostering intercultural learning through project-based learning in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classes: A participatory action research study

<p>Intercultural competence (IC) is increasingly recognized globally as a goal of education. In Vietnam, despite emphasis on intercultural competence in national language education, research has shown the peripheral role of addressing culture in EFL classes although research on the topic of how to cultivate intercultural language teaching and learning (ICLTL) is growing. This study investigated affordances for intercultural learning through project-based learning (PBL) in an EFL program at a Vietnamese university. It followed an interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research approach. It included two related studies. Study 1 was an ethnography-informed study, which involved 14 teachers, 265 students, 6 graduates and their employers. Data were collected from classroom observations, student focus group interviews, and interviews with teachers, graduates and employers. This preliminary research revealed few opportunities for intercultural learning in this program. Specifically, it found that culture was rarely addressed, and the main instructional method for culture was fact transmission. Moreover, teachers showed limited understanding of ICLTL and students expressed the need for further culture learning. Study 2 was a participatory action research study, in which a semester-long project was introduced to foster intercultural learning. Study 2 included two workshops, one at the beginning and one in the middle of the project. In these workshops, the researcher and three teachers collaboratively learned about ICLTL, and planned PBL lessons. Drawing on a thematic analysis of classroom data and teachers’ and students’ reports, the findings showed teachers’ improved practices and understanding of ICLTL and PBL, and indications of students’ IC development throughout the project. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on ICLTL by providing evidence for the efficacy of PBL for intercultural learning. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of teacher professional development on teaching practice and extends understanding of how to incorporate PBL in a textbook-based and exam-oriented EFL context.</p>

Fostering intercultural learning through project-based learning in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classes: A participatory action research study

<p>Intercultural competence (IC) is increasingly recognized globally as a goal of education. In Vietnam, despite emphasis on intercultural competence in national language education, research has shown the peripheral role of addressing culture in EFL classes although research on the topic of how to cultivate intercultural language teaching and learning (ICLTL) is growing. This study investigated affordances for intercultural learning through project-based learning (PBL) in an EFL program at a Vietnamese university. It followed an interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research approach. It included two related studies. Study 1 was an ethnography-informed study, which involved 14 teachers, 265 students, 6 graduates and their employers. Data were collected from classroom observations, student focus group interviews, and interviews with teachers, graduates and employers. This preliminary research revealed few opportunities for intercultural learning in this program. Specifically, it found that culture was rarely addressed, and the main instructional method for culture was fact transmission. Moreover, teachers showed limited understanding of ICLTL and students expressed the need for further culture learning. Study 2 was a participatory action research study, in which a semester-long project was introduced to foster intercultural learning. Study 2 included two workshops, one at the beginning and one in the middle of the project. In these workshops, the researcher and three teachers collaboratively learned about ICLTL, and planned PBL lessons. Drawing on a thematic analysis of classroom data and teachers’ and students’ reports, the findings showed teachers’ improved practices and understanding of ICLTL and PBL, and indications of students’ IC development throughout the project. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on ICLTL by providing evidence for the efficacy of PBL for intercultural learning. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of teacher professional development on teaching practice and extends understanding of how to incorporate PBL in a textbook-based and exam-oriented EFL context.</p>