Living Graphs: representing landmarks in the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators.

BERA September 2011

Liz Hryniewicz, Canterbury Christ Church University

Prof Vivienne Griffiths, Canterbury Christ Church University

Dr Simon Thompson, University of Sussex

Project research

QuestionsTwo stage research project:• What are key features of, and landmarks in, the early

and mid-career experiences of teacher educators, and to what extent are they similar and different in two university contexts?

• What are the major factors affecting the professional and academic development of teacher educators in each university?

• What landmark events and critical incidents mark stages in this development?

Research question

Methodological enquiry

• How effective are living graphs as a methodological tool to illuminate teacher educators’ experiences and development?

• Embedded case study (Yin 2002, Cohen 2007)• Focus on ‘critical incidents’ as career landmarks

(Tripp, 1994)• Clandinin & Connelly (2000) three dimensions:

interaction, continuity and situation• Eraut’s (2007) model of professional learning• Lave and Wenger's (1991) model of legitimate

peripheral participation was used as the theoretical framework for studying teacher educators' development over time.

Methodological and theoretical

frameworks

Research methods

Stage 1•In-depth interviews with12 teacher educators in two UK universities (old and new): 14 f, 10 m Second stage•In-depth interviews with 12 teacher educators in two UK universities (old and new): 14 f, 10 m •Living graphs constructed as concept maps to guide discussion (Zimmerman 2006)

What are living graphs?

Used in:• history teaching to represent sequences and patterns over time. ‘timeline with attitude’ opens up controversy and debatehttp://www.thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityModel/ActModTimeline.html•religious education to represent emotions and feelings against time•Psychotherapy – feeling graphs (AIPC 2011)•Personal Construct Psychology (Kelly 1955)

Visual Research methods

Rapidly developing area of social enquiry and an evolving visual culture in research (Spencer 2011) but often photos or artefacts are used to stimulate discussion (Cremin, Mason and Busher 2011)3 sites:•The production of the image•The image itself•How it is read by different audiences(Rose 2001)Living graphs are respondent - generated imagery

Why use living graphs?

• Passage of time easier to represent using axis. However, see Bagnoli’s critique of this (2010)

• Participant has choice about start time. • Other people’s constructs as a way of making sense of

the world (Iantaffi 2011)• Familiarity of interview carries risk (King and Horrocks

2010). Graph enables extension from question by research subject, rather than control and shaping by interviewer. Voice of the participant less filtered through the researcher

Why use living graphs?

• Powerful way to represent experiences and explain / reflect while drawing or using drawing as a prompt to talk

• Demonstrates richness of data in which life experiences constructed (Spencer 2011)

• Visual representation gives a 2 dimensional approach as represented in examples where research subjects say one thing and draw another

• Language can be limiting (Reavey 2011)

How were living graphs used?

Trialling the method: •Participants asked to represent their professional life through time using 2 axes.•Vertical axis: affective responses and professional learning – highs and lows of research identity and professional development including critical moments•Horizontal axis: career timeline•Three researchers used this in different ways

Why use living graphs?

• Passage of time easier to represent using axis.

• Participant has choice about when to start and end their timeline.

Why use living graphs?

• Powerful way to represent experiences and explain / reflect while drawing or using drawing as a prompt to talk

Graph unavailable

04/21/23

‘I was director of a big [research] project, and as well as that...I taught virtually most days, every day. And at the same time in the evenings and weekends I directed this very, very large programme all by myself, with no administrative help at all. So that was my balance then – I taught most of the time and then I did the project.’

(Female teacher educator, new university)

Why use living graphs?

Other people’s constructs as a way of making sense of the world (Iantaffi 2011)

Living graph: research

Why use living graphs?

Familiarity of interview carries risk (King and Horrocks 2010). Graph enables extension from question by research subject, rather than control and shaping by interviewer. Voice of the participant less filtered through the researcher

04/21/23

• I think that feeling… that involvement with one’s wider professional community is hugely valuable and that’s something which isn’t reflected in the publications graph, a steady line of satisfaction as it were, but certainly has fed in and that is why I put teaching lower at the beginning and much higher at the end.

Why use living graphs?

•Visual representation gives a 2 dimensional approach as represented in examples where research subjects say one thing and draw another

Living graph:

‘Over the first two years my confidence in being a teacher educator took off. I really enjoyed teaching the PGCE and UG courses. In 2003, 3 years in, I had a fantastic cohort of PGCE students. I had learnt from my mistakes and how to recruit. It was a very, very positive group. All got jobs, all were very good. It was a real high in teaching.’

‘The research was very positive. I saw myself moving forward, being recognised as a lecturer rather than an ITE tutor...Where I work there is incredible pressure to be research active, so not to be involved is seen as negative – an outsider...Then I stopped doing research...other roles dominated my time.’

(Male teacher educator, old university)

ConstructsConstructs

Why use living graphs?

• Demonstrates richness of data in which life experiences constructed (Spencer 2011)

• Language can be limiting (Reavey 2011)

Living graph: contextual factors

Key findings and conclusions

The use of learning graphs as a research tool indicated:

• Powerful way to gather data to supplement or replace narrative.

• Iantaffi quote

• Clarity on way method used needed

Moving forward

We need:

• Clarity on way method used for researchers and participants

• Further consideration of ethical issues• More work on how to interpret living graphs

Thank you

Thank you very much for listeningliz.hryniewicz@canterbury.ac.ukvivienne.griffiths@canterbury.ac.uk

• Bagnoli, A Beyond the standard interview: the use of graphic elicitation and arts-based methods. Qualitative Research, Volume 9, Number 5 (November 2009)

• Eraut, M.(2007) Learning from other people in the workplace. Oxford Review of Education 33(4) 403-422.

• Griffiths, V., Thompson, S. & Hyrniewicz, L. (2010) Developing a research profile: mentoring and support for teacher educators. Professional Development in Education 36 (1-2) 245-262

• Iantaffi, A. (2011) Travelling along ‘rivers of experience’: Personal construct psychology and visual metaphors in research. In P. Reavey (Ed.), Visual psychologies: Using and interpreting images in qualitative research. London: Routledge.

• Lave,J. & Wenger,E. (1991) Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Key references