PS If you were simply asking what I liked about this book, I do say that too!
It's just that there was considerably more that I (personally) didn't like ...
Please have a look at the other reviews on http://www.TeacherResearch.net ...
--
Sarah Fletcher
http://www.TeacherResearch.net
Quoting Sarah Fletcher <[log in to unmask]>:
> Dear Steve/All
>
> Good to hear from you again. I am very grateful for your posting and happy
> to
> have a go at responding. It's late, I am tired but tomorrow is busy and I
> want
> to reply as best I can before I lose the thread of my thoughts and because,
> also, it might be helpful to others to see how (and that) I try to engage:
> Again very much personal views but I am trying to be as honest as I can be...
>
> re. 'In response to the original two extracts at the start of this piece I
> would
> ask:
>
> How has the reading of this publication influenced your learning and
> understanding and in appreciating the educational influence of this text?'
>
> * I realised that I'd outgrown many of the assumptions I had once held firmly
> to while I was a lecturer in the next door office to Jack. The stimulus to
> challenge Jack's writings came from my viva voce examination in November 2003
> (wrong criteria used by examiners - appeal - thesis still unexamined in
> 2005!)
> The examiners asked why I was so accepting of what Jack said about that self
> study action research IS the only form of action research. I started
> thinking!
>
> * I also realised, contentedly, that my ideas-in-practice in furthering
> action
> research mentoring come from my experience of working with Jack. Seeing some
> students he tutored foundering I developed an integration of a mentoring
> style
> rooted in my experience of initial teacher training and enquiries of the kind
> How can I assist you to improve (our collaborative) practice? to help them
> persevere through the early stages of practitioner research when attrition
> can
> rates soar. I passionately wanted & want teachers to love to be researchers!
>
> * I realised that Jack and Jean's book won't be the much hoped for text that
> I
> can recommend for novice teacher researchers. I realised that I already had
> many of the resources that I need thanks to Jean's downloadable A/R booklet,
> the internet and my colleague Steve Coombs' Critical Thinking Scaffolds ...
>
> * I realised that I need to make writing a text for novice teacher
> researchers a
> priority now - in the same way that when I wrote Mentoring in School (2000) I
> created the resource I couldn't quite find and ditto my website at TR.net
>
> * I realised that it was Jack's Being not so much his writing inspired my
> early work towards a conceptualisation of A/research mentoring for teachers -
> as I read the book I could hear Jack and Jean speaking and I re-experienced
> the
> sense of concern I felt reported by some of my PGCE students who read Jack's
> work - they want/needed a much simpler and more straightforward text.
>
> re. how can you engage with it in order to influence the authors and others?
>
> * at http://www,TeacherResearch.net I am assisting in a small way in creating
> a
> resource bacnk for teacher researchers - one aspect of that is the section
> that
> relates to reviews of books and website relevant to teacher researchers.
>
> Time and money is short in UK schools for initiating and supporting teacher
> research - only today a teacher wrote to me (off list) to say that teachers
> don't research because there is no funding - in my reviews I say very clearly
> that it is a personal perspective. I want to enable teachers to consider
> which
> books they might usefully spend time and money on and which they might not
> ...
> in this review for example I point out the websites that might be more useful
> It's a personal view and in this case, a very personal view, but I hope
> useful
>
> I don't hold with academics being beyond question - I don't like
> ivorytowerism
> I have learnt that the impetus to publish isn't always rooted in a desire to
> share knowledge - it can be rooted in greed and in over anxiety about RAEs!
> How I review is just as important as that I research - you'll see in
> teachers'
> websites which represent their enquiries - I encourage critique of my work.
>
> They're are still not finished and unspell checked but do look and enjoy
> them!
> - they arrived just today - offered tentatively with a cautious 'Are they
> OK?'
>
> http://www.cfkeep.org/html/snapshot.php?id=51952540922866
> http://www.cfkeep.org/html/snapshot.php?id=40142960511281
>
> * as I read them (full of admiration) I reflect on how a book might be
> created
> to assist teacher researchers working alone or who are unsure what AR can do.
> I need a book as research mentor to helps me to help teachers research better
>
> * finally I hope that my review enables Jack and Jean to write a better text
> in
> future - you will see from my review that I regard their previous writings
> highly, less so this work. We can all improve and I hope my review helps
> this.
>
> I am not setting myself as an expert but I'm trying to use my experience as a
> school teacher for almost 23 years plus my experience as a university
> lecturer
> to assist teacher researchers in getting their research engaged with by other
> teachers, by university-based researchers and by policy makers. No mean task!
>
> Kind regards
> Sarah
>
> PS I am grateful for others' feedback so far too. I need to consider issues
> Brian raised earlier PLUS how Jack and Jean suggest critical engagement with
> relevant literature in teacher research accounts of their classroom practice.
> --
> Sarah Fletcher
> http://www.TeacherResearch.net
>
>
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