Action Research Ideas

Action research is an idea that you develop and continually monitor to ensure that it supports what you wish to happen.

This project is intended to promote an active awareness of how my actions impact learning.

Identify an aspect of your teaching situation which you think might benefit from change.

I've already been studying and considering the impact of ensuring that PPE is not generic, but that a range of options are available to people of varying sizes and shapes. This is an area of student support that I find interesting and I have a mind to continue it, but it might get expensive and pointless if I go too far. There is a risk of over-inundating my current cohort of students with too many options. I'm still having trouble with a few students and their tutors forgetting to use PPE and some simple 'goggles on a string' options may be worth trialling, but I think they will become bored with my constant prodding. Also, the theoretical underpinnings of this have already been demonstrated. The students do respond well to welding equipment that fits better. Where else could I go with this, really?

Another area I might explore is my own apparent dyspraxia. While it is awkward and confusing to engage with, it certainly has an impact on my ability to teach (and hold learners' attention) so it could be worthwhile to focus upon it directly. I could ask the Learning Centre for research guidance to learn more about the condition, coping strategies, and resources about time management and planning. I should probably find some means of securing a true diagnosis before I undertake this, as if I go through the whole rigmarole only to discover that I actually have ADD or am depressed or just thick, well... Well actually, some help with time management would probably not go amiss in any case, but people with different reasons for their poor time management may benefit from different approaches or strategies. No sense putting post-it notes on everything if you're just as likely to ignore a post-it as you are to forget to check your phone calendar.