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What is the guest blog?
The guest blog is for teachers, trainee teachers, technicians and support staff based in schools who are doing action research in the classroom whether it be formally, informally, on a large scale or just something small. It aims to give individuals and groups somewhere to showcase their day to day classroom based research and ideas so that others can also try them out. Whilst formal action research is welcomed, work of a more informal nature is also relevant. The focus can be anything linked to the classroom, whether it be something small, such as what colour pen is most effective for marking with, through to something on a larger scale, such as assessment strategies.
Contact me if you would like to be considered for the Guest Blog
Note that if you are not a teacher, trainee, technician or support staff it is unlikely that your submission will be considered for inclusion in the blog.
What is action research?
This is a reflective process by individuals or a team focusing on anything related to their own practices. It is an active process where the focus is on the growth of the individual or group, within their own institution and context, making use of their own day to day experiences.
Take a look at these links to find out more about action research:
Conducting Teacher Action Research
British Council resources on action research
Guiding School Improvement with Action Research
What types of things might the action research be about?
The focus of the action research in the guest blog should be anything linked to teaching and learning and classroom practice; what you do in your classroom, how you do it, how you experiment with new ideas, how you develop your skills as a teacher and how your students learn. The focus does not have to be on a problem but could instead be further developing an area of strength.
The list of things you might investigate is endless and there’s no right and wrong focus. What you focus on could be something small such as what colour pen is most effective for marking with, through to what makes the best assessment strategy. Examples might include:
- Trying out a new style of classroom delivery
- Developing displays that have an impact
- Using different behaviour management techniques
- Developing questioning techniques
- Comparing assessment strategies
- Developing student role models
- How boys learn (or how girls learn!)
- Encouraging independent learning
- Supporting G&T students
- Developing revision resources
- And pretty much anything else you can think of that will help you improve your classroom practice and inspire others
How is the guest blog page structured?
Information doesn’t need to be long, in fact something short and punchy with lots of images is preferred. There is no set structure, style or word limit. You might use the following as an informal guide but this doesn’t have to be strictly followed and it’s just there to help you.
- Your name / the name of the members of the group carrying out the action research
- Your school (or university if you are a trainee)
- The focus / title of your action research
- A short description of the aims of the action research project
- The starting point - a short description of what things looked like / what your opinions were before the action research started
- Any research questions you used to help direct the action research and keep it focused
- A list of the type of data you collected & a brief description of what you actually did
- Analysis of data & analysis of what you did
- Evaluation of the action research with recommendations for moving forward
- Any linked reading recommendations
- Include photos where possible (no photos of identifiable students)
Click here to see the latest Guest Blog entries
General tips
- Information doesn’t need to be lengthy
- Use subheadings and bullet points to summarise information where possible
- Use images and diagrams to illustrate points (these must be your own & photos can’t have identifiable students in them)
- It is up to you to make sure you have the appropriate permissions from individuals and organisations for names, information, and images to be included
Why might you submit a blog - what’s in it for you?
- Showcases your work or that of the group you are working with. This might help raise your profile / that of your department
- Useful addition to your CV
- Can be used as evidence of supporting others as part of your performance review
- Gives you something to aim for when carrying out your action research
- Get your work seen by a wider audience & know you are making a difference to the development of others
How do you go about submitting a blog?
Use the information on this page to write a draft guest blog and then submit it by email to julie@julieboyd.co.uk. It will then be considered for inclusion on the website. Note that there is a selection procedure for the guest blogs so your work may not be automatically used. If you want to discuss the type of guest blog you might submit before starting it email julie@julieboyd.co.uk
Return to the main Guest Blog page to see all resources
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