The Language Teacher
04 - 2001
Teacher Education SIG and Ibaraki
Chapter
Lois Scott-Conley,
Academic
Coordinator, School for Int'l Training IEP at Tokyo Jogakkan
Jr. College
Joseph Tomei
Membership Chair, Kumamoto Chapter
The TLT, proofers, and coeditors wish to apologize for the late appearance of this report. This month, you will read about two successful chapter/SIG-sponsored retreats, their goals, content, and the people who went to them. The coeditors invite those who didn't go to send in an 800-word report about your chapter or SIG in English or Japanese or a combination of both.
Teacher Education SIG and Ibaraki Chapter
Action Research Retreat, April 22-23, 2000
The Teacher Education SIG Action Research (AR) retreat was held at British Hills, a reconstructed "historic" English village between Tokyo and Sendai. In Tudor buildings nestled in swirling mist in the mountains, an intimate group of 15 gathered for the weekend. The retreat leader, Dr. Andy Curtis, flew in from Hong Kong to weave together anecdotes with talks and activities on research theory and practice.
The workshop began with a poster session as participants shared their contexts, experience with AR, and projects in progress. Over the next two days, Andy led us through interactive activities, lectures, readings, and discussions. We first generated key ideas to define AR -- the process of classroom-based inquiry that starts with a hypothesis or question and is followed by reflection and intervention (or action). Data collection and analysis may lead the researcher back to form a new question or take new action. We looked at Nunan's seven steps and worked from case studies and our own experiences to explore the "myth of linearity" within the AR process and created guidelines for carrying out what can be messy.
A variety of reasons to do AR were brought up, with the need to solve problems and effect positive lasting change as two of the strongest. Andy presented information about problems teachers face in doing AR. Time was the most problematic. He urged us to consider time realistically when setting the scope of a project and to design projects that we feel passionate about. We also received a guide to designing research projects, which included the questions: What can be known? How we will know that we know it? and Is it worth knowing?
Applying work on our own AR, we identified whether our projects were more structured or interventionist, whether our data collection was more quantitative or qualitative. Finally, we discussed methods of data collection.
Throughout the weekend, discussion was lively, even as the evening came and we sunk ever more comfortably into overstuffed chairs. We were provided with snacks, lunchtime swimming, and plenty of British fish-'n-chips. Great fun!
Andy Curtis, currently in Canada, can be reached at <chengly@post.queensu.ca>. His book, Pursuing Professional Development: The Self as Source, published by Heinle and Heinle and co-authored with Kathleen Bailey and David Nunan, is available this spring. (The chapter on AR is particularly good!)
Lois Scott-Conley, Academic Coordinator,
School for Int'l Training IEP at Tokyo Jogakkan Jr. College
Teacher Education SIG website: <jalt.org/teach/>
Pan-Kyushu Retreat, March 31-April 2, 2000
On the weekend of April 1st, 2000, Kyushu JALT chapters (Fukuoka,
Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Kumamoto) held
their 3rd annual Pan Kyushu Hanami Retreat. This year, it was
held in Amakusa, Kumamoto, at the Amakusa Camping Grounds near
Shimoda Onsen (info at <www.kumagaku.ac.jp/teacher/jtomei/jalt/retreatl.jpg>).
The idea was to rent bungalows and charge a fixed fee rather than
having to deal with reservations and last-minute cancellations.
Plus families with children could have the run of a place rather
than worrying about upsetting other guests. Three families stayed
on the Friday night for a pre-hanami outing, with the total
number of people swelling to 21 for the Saturday festivities.
In contrast to the previous year, sponsored by Kitakyushu at an Oita onsen, we avoided setting up a schedule in favour of just getting people together. Because the trip was completely paid for by the fixed fee, we hoped to encourage non-JALT members to come and get to know everyone. We didn't have as many as the previous year, but a good time was had by all. The one big disappointment was that the local pod of dolphins was not in residence, so the planned dolphin-watching excursion was cancelled in favor of a lie on the beach (shucks!). However, the whole weekend was a great chance to get to know not only JALT members but also their families.
I will be very un-Japanese and point out that one of the highlights
was Miho Tomei's Saturday evening Thai pumpkin curry; she has
been volunteered for it for next year. In addition, the Kitakyushu
chapter sponsored the Sunday morning breakfast with Peg Orleans'
homemade waffles and two kinds of quiche, provided by Malcolm
Swanson, editor of The Language Teacher. (Why is New Zealand
quiche so good? Is it the sheep?)
Kitakyushu is now planning the next retreat, combining it with
a pre-conference local planning event in preparation for JALT2001.
Tentative plans are for mid-April 2001, and we warmly invite other
JALT members to our sun-kissed latitudes (especially those interested
in getting involved in JALT2001). If you would like information
or would like to come, please contact me at <jtomei@kumagaku.ac.jp>
or Dennis Woolbright at <ldw@seafolk.ne.jp>.
See you there!
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