Speakers
KEYWORDS
agency, research design, practitioner research, language learning advising
ABSTRACT
As an “emergent phenomenon” (Priestly et al., 2015) facilitated by collaboration (Edwards, 2015), the agency of instructor-researchers can be enhanced through research designs that draw on multiple perspectives for collecting and analysing data (Paltridge, 2020). This presentation will explore how the complementary positionalities of a classroom teacher and a learning advisor were brought to bear in an investigation of learner agency at a Japanese university. As a practitioner-research case study focusing on 14 learners in his own classes, the teacher, a non-Japanese male, collected data via direct observation of learners’ activities, interactions, and assignments as they engaged with a course component targeting self-directed language learning. Meanwhile, the learning advisor, a Japanese female, conducted stimulated recall interviews in participants’ L1 based on their self-directed learning plans and reflections. Our different roles, expertise, experience, and cultural backgrounds contributed significantly to research validity and data quality, as well as enhancing our agency as instructor-researchers. We will discuss the rationale, benefits, and challenges of our research design and offer specific recommendations for incorporating multiple perspectives into classroom-based practitioner-research.
| TITLE | Enhancing Researcher Agency Through Multi-Perspective Research |
|---|---|
| RELEVANT SIG | Learner Development |
| FORMAT | Practice-oriented Oral Face-to-face presentation (25 minutes, including Q&A) |
