RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
in this paper they are not yet fully
developed.
Research Design
As noted above, Argyris and Schön refer
to action research as involving
‘intervention experiments’, as the
following extract indicates:
‘[Action research] builds
descriptions and theories within
the practice context itself and tests
them there through intervention
experiments …that bear the
double burden of testing
hypotheses and effecting some
(putatively) desirable change in
the situation’ (1989, p. 613).
The intervention experiment was the
introduction of e-portfolios in 2018. In the
first cycle of this action research study
data and analyses were generated that
evaluated the benefits of e-portfolios for
student learning, creativity, creative
problem-solving, reflective practice and
assessment. It is intended that the
findings from this cycle will be used to
inform future implementations of e-
portfolio and learning support for
students on this module. In this context
Coghlan and Brannick’s (2001) 4-step
cycle of diagnose, plan, act and review
was adopted, with this paper addressing
the question ‘Are e-portfolios an
appropriate method of assessment for
the module Creativity and Discovery?’
Michele’s primary role, as lecturer on the
course in 2018, was that of insider
participant (Coghlan, 2003; Coghlan &
Brannick, 2014, 2001; Herr & Anderson,
2005), while Geraldine, who had
delivered the course the previous year,
was acting in the role of critical friend
(Kember, Lam, Lee, NG, & Yan, 1997;
Stenhouse, 1975) and outsider facilitator
(Elliott, 1985; Kember et al., 1997). The
rationale for the study is instrumental in
terms of managing a specific change or
problem, and as such is mechanistic in
its orientation (Coghlan, 2003).
Data Generation and Collection
Data collection in an action research
study is slightly different from external
field research in that it is more
appropriate to refer to data generated
during the action interventions (generally
research in action and with participants)
rather than collecting data from
participants’ answers to largely
predefined questions. Data is generated
and collected through each step of each
cycle in a spiral of iterative cycles, as
represented in Fig. 1.
This first cycle, covering the period 15 th
January to 30 th June 2018, involved an
‘intervention experiment’ when e-
portfolios were adopted as a method of
assessment. Data collection involved
ascertaining the pain and gain points and
included an evaluation of how well the
initial plan for implementation worked in
practice. This embraced different
elements of reflection, for example,
reflection on issues that emerged during
implementation and on how well the plan
worked in action, student feedback,
experiential learning, comparative grade
analysis using Dublin City University
Business School (DCUBS) course
analytics.
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