Post on 13-Jan-2015
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This presentation was made for the Colorado Technical University by Dr. E. Alana James and is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
James, E.A. (2008). Complex Adaptive Problems and the Use of Participatory Action Research to SOLVE Them. Presented 12 April, 2008 at Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO.
Complex Problems: And the use of
Participatory Action Research to SOLVE them
E. Alana James, Ed.D.Doctoral Residency for the Institute for Advanced
Studies, Colorado Technical UniversityApril 12, 2008
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Shameless self promotion
Definition
Participatory Action Research (PAR)• = Groups of people
(CoPs, networks, family, friends, communities) working together to:– Diagnose a situation, – Act to improve it, – Measure or evaluate their effectiveness, and– Reflect on their learning and plan next steps
• PAR work progresses in cycles, • It ends with personal transformation and
solutions to some of the trickiest complex adaptive problems we face
Complex Problems: Where reality confuses, alienates, creates
defensiveness in others
By definition complex adaptive problems put people in the middle of the tension between the ideal life we would like to be living and the realities we face.
PAR uses the TENSION to create Transformation
Complexity Video
What Complex Adaptive Problems Do You Face?Discuss and then we will list a few
PAR Cycles
© Alan Bucknam - Notchcode.com
Books
Web searching
Looking to see what is happening around you
Becoming part of online networks
Discussing ideas among your participatory group
Diagnose:Employ all the learning tools at your disposal
Remember
“My bright ideas aren’t good enough on their own. I need a group of people around me and an firm understanding of my academic context to pass peer review.”
David Leasure
Act:Individually
and as a group.
Even small steps make a big difference
Take support from your group to succeed
Focus on what you are doing right now
Not the future
Every step by every person counts
Measure:Your progress
Your enjoyment of the processYour outcomes
Always take the pulse of the people you affect
(over coffee, in focus groups and/or interviews)
As you are affecting BIG changes, Consistently look for SMALL effects
Once in a while survey the larger group to
identify overall effect
Check in with each other frequently
Measure
Standard positivistic research methodsMixed methodological studies• Purpose• Logic models• Quantitative• Qualitative
Reflect:Personal and group reflection not only helps us orient our next steps towards success but reminds us to celebrate the journey as we progress
+ / - What worked and what was
challenging?
Personally: Does this work bring you joy?
What do you still need to learn?What are your obvious next steps:
Results You Can EXPECT
PAR has proven itself to be TRANSFORMATIONAL work
As participants have said:
I will never teach in the same way again
I could never have this life, these results and this wonderment if I
had not learned the PAR process.
Practical considerations for doctoral candidates:
• Write it up in cycles• Tie cycles together with logic models• You have a choice – mixed methods or PAR – if you
write it up as PAR know why it is stronger that way– Use of group– Complexity of problem required flexibility in structure
of research– Looking for systemic change or organizational
development and needed the action step
Tools of interest
• www.doctoratelife.blogspot.com• EndNote• Tools for distributed learning:
– www.youtube.com– www.slideshare.net – http://wiki.zoho.com
Q & A