web viewthis study is a longitudinal, qualitative research project that employs abductive reasoning...

Assessment 3: Research MethodologyFor: Dr Virginia Dickson-SwiftResearch Proposal: Individuated Pedagogy for Students With Dyslexia: A heuristic study of a cooperative professional development program to assist individuated pedagogy for students with dyslexiaLa Trobe University, Bendigo: School of EducationAuthor: Paul Rudd

Assessment 3: Research MethodologyFor: Dr Virginia Dickson-Swift

Research Proposal: Individuated Pedagogy for Students with Dyslexia: A heuristic study of a cooperative professional development program to assist

individuated pedagogy for students with dyslexia

La Trobe University, Bendigo: School of Education

Author: Paul Rudd

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The mind is everything: what you think you become

-Buddha

Research ProposalP A Rudd

EdD Candidate, School of Education, La Trobe University, Bendigo

Abstract:This study is a longitudinal, qualitative research project that employs abductive reasoning framed within a heuristic methodological paradigm. The core problem addressed in this research is the question: how teachers may be assisted to develop individuated instruction models for those students they perceive to be experiencing significant text-literacy learning challenges, or dyslexia. A study is proposed in which a one-on-one PD program is implemented for a small, (unrelated), group of teachers, the purpose of which is to co-develop an intervention literacy program for a student that each teacher has identified as being ‘possibly dyslexic’1. The teacher’s interaction with the program is entirely reciprocal and autonomous. The data developed from observing how the participants engage with, respond to and alter their classroom pedagogy as a consequence of their interaction with the PD program forms the basis of the data collected. Data is drawn from the field where pertinent, and may include interview transcripts, field notes, writing found on relevant social media and any participant comments, ideas and insights. This data is in turn subjected to a dialectical analysis, using a heuristic methodology, from which a theoretical perspective in response to the research problem is formed.

1 The problem of identifying a student with dyslexia and the concerns about addressing this in the context of the study is dealt with in detail within the main body of this study proposal.

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The Research ProblemThe idea of developing individualised and personalised pedagogy has, in recent years, become a focus for significant attention in the field of education (Cope, 2000; Hattie, 2009; Healy, 2008; Tomlinson, 2014). However there remains scope for more research to be undertaken in this area in order to develop better protocols and strategies to facilitate such a fundamental change in teaching and learning. This may particularly be the case at the secondary level of education, where the focus of teaching tends to drift away from the particular needs of a student, to the particular requirements of a discipline, the object being to measure competency of content. Most, if not all teachers, now acknowledge that there is a need to evaluate learning styles and abilities across a cohort and adapt the standardised curriculum so that is relevant, challenging and equally weighted for all of their students. Nonetheless there still remain significant challenges for teachers to effectively develop a fully individuated classroom pedagogy. This study is concerned with the ways a small group of rural secondary teachers currently think about and consequently adapt their teaching for students with dyslexia, as well as how they might be assisted to improve the way they might go about doing this. It is therefore of vital interest to ascertain what the participants do, or would prefer to do, in order to facilitate better text literacy teaching practices for those of their students they identify as being ‘possibly dyslexic’.

In order to do this, a qualitative study is proposed in which a small group of participants are invited to participate in a professional development (PD) program, the purpose of which is to nurture curriculum development that purposefully address the specific requirements of students with dyslexia. If we accept that the experience of school for students with dyslexia can often radically and indeed, negatively differ from that of the majority, then it is vital to ensure classroom pedagogies respond effectively to the specific teaching and learning requirements of student with dyslexia. This study, therefore, is engaged with the fundamental problem: what can be done to improve the overall school experience for students struggling with dyslexia?

When all is considered, the only logical question to ask is: how might teachers be assisted to develop individuated instruction models for those students they perceive to be experiencing significant text-literacy learning challenges, or dyslexia? This study is an erstwhile attempt to address this question in the hopes that it might add to the overall picture of the complexities that either assist or hinder the development of effective pedagogies for students with dyslexia.

Background to the Study

A Differentiated Pedagogy and Dyslexia

In a differentiated classroom, pedagogies are established that ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve success. What constitutes success is different for each student. A teacher who crafts a differentiated classroom pedagogy is concerned with ensuring each

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of student experiences school as being both positive and enriching. To do this, the core elements of teaching and learning must be configured so that they are flexible and responsive to the particular learning requirements of each student. Each student’s learning requirements must be conceptualised and then woven into a cohesive educational net that effectively encompasses the entire cohort. These elements include all aspects of classroom pedagogy: including the physical and emotional environment, curriculum development, assessment procedures, and classroom management (Tomlinson, 2014). A rich and valuable educational experience should enable every student to celebrate their particular individual abilities and achievements as well as encourage further learning. Mechanisms should be in place that allow each student to demonstrate their particular gifts and intelligence(s). This can only be achieved if teaching and learning structures can be developed that are fully individuated, interesting, challenging and relevant.

In order to effectively differentiate pedagogy, an accurate ‘roadmap’ of assessment needs to be developed in relation to any given task that can show where a student is: currently situated; possible routes moving forward; and the intended outcome. This is the purpose of assessment in a differentiated classroom (Tomlinson, 2014). Therefore, some measure of assessment must occur before a task is given, during the implementation of the task, and afterwards. As Tomlinson and Moon explain in their text Assessment and Success in a Differentiated Classroom:

Effective differentiation requires teachers to assess student status before a unit of study begins (pre-assessment), throughout the unit of study (formative or ongoing assessment), and at key ending or wrap-up points in a unit of study (summative assessment). Pre- or diagnostic assessment helps determine a student’s starting point with learning targets … as well as with prerequisite knowledge, understandings, and skills that are essential to continued progress in a content sequence. Pre-assessment is also useful in developing awareness about students’ interests and learning preferences. (Tomlinson, 2014)

In the context of this study, it is essential to consider how teachers are mapping out the text literacy teaching and learning requirements for students with dyslexia before, during and after each learning task. This is pertinent when the epidemiology of dyslexia is taken into consideration: as much as 17.5% of any given student cohort might experience some significant degree of dyslexia (Shaywitz, 1998).2 It is therefore certain that almost every class of average size in Victoria will include at least one or two students struggling with dyslexia. Identifying such students should therefore be a core element of any effective teaching paradigm.

Throughout this study, the focus will be upon developing teaching and learning strategies for those students who are specifically identified by their teacher as being probably dyslexic.3 It is outside the scope of this study to actually test whether or not this might be an

2 It is important to conceptualise the experience of dyslexia within the context of a continuum. Therefore the impact the disorder might have upon each individual is unique and therefore sometimes difficult to quantify. 3 It is fair to say that no student should ever be pathologised. It is clearly not acceptable to label a student in any sense. However, there can be a temptation for us as teachers to sometimes frame our understanding of

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accurate way of describing some of the learning challenges experienced by each student. In fact, this is not necessary for the purposes of this study. What is being examined is the effect the intervention literacy program has upon each teacher participant in the study and how this alters their approach to teaching.

It is important to foreground what dyslexia actually refers to, especially in the context of this study. Dyslexia is a cognitive processing disorder that interferes with the decoding of text rendered as a series of alphabetic glyphs (Gabrieli, 2009) and especially as representations of oral language. It is described as a learning difficulty that impairs the individual from being able to effectively decode text to sound representations of meaning. The British Dyslexia Association describes dyslexia as:

…a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded intervention. (The British Dyslexia Association, 2015)

Schools can be difficult places for any student to negotiate. For those students with specific learning challenges, the experience of school can be demoralising, fatiguing and emotionally and psychologically compromising. Learning challenges such as dyslexia can manifest in a number of negative ways, including diminished life opportunities, lower-than-average educational standards, reduced time spent at school as well as reduced literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge (Gabrieli, 2009). In order to circumvent this, it is important to celebrate what a student can achieve, rather than identifying what the student is unable to accomplish. The participants will be asked to develop better teaching strategies for a specific student with symptoms of dyslexia. This will allow the teacher to develop better teaching strategies for a student who has not necessarily been officially diagnosed with dyslexia.

It fair to say that students with dyslexia have traditionally been significantly marginalised within conventional teaching paradigms (Gabrieli, 2009). Such learning challenges more often than not result in diminished life opportunities, particularly in contemporary information-rich Western societies.

An initial difficulty in learning to read has wide and prolonged consequences. Difficulty in reading discourages children with dyslexia to practice their reading outside of the classroom, and lack of

how a student learns within the context of a specific learning challenge. By conceptualising students within the context of dyslexia, we risk judging the student only in their proximity to our notion of academic achievement. Such a situation inevitably blurs the holistic picture we might have of the student as an individual.

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practice alone can impede the growth of reading skill and the acquisition of vocabulary and world knowledge. There are massive reading practice differences between good and poor readers: Outside of school in 5th grade, a good reader may read as many words in 2 days as a poor reader does in an entire year. Dyslexia is persistent: A student who fails to read adequately in 1st grade has a 90% probability of reading poorly in 4th grade and a 75% probability of reading poorly in high school. Thus, difficulty in early reading limits reading comprehension in the later years of education, as students shift from learning to read to reading to learn. (Gabrieli, 2009)

Effective text literacy is essential if a person is to have complete access to all of the functions and resources in contemporary western hegemonies. It is therefore absolutely essential that schools make it their business to impart as much print literacy skill and knowledge as possible across their entire student cohort.4 It is therefore incumbent upon every teacher and every school to identify those students experiencing learning challenges such as dyslexia and to develop an effective and systemic approach towards helping these students to learn key text literacy skills and knowledge.

If a theoretical position can be developed that would assist teachers and schools to more successfully adapt their text literacy instruction to cater for students who exhibit symptoms of dyslexia, this would then necessarily improve the educational experience of many students. Such a theoretical understanding would also inform the development of individuated pedagogy specifically catering for the requirements of students with dyslexia, thereby reducing the negative life consequences the disorder might have upon the dyslexic learner. An effective intervention program might significantly improve the educational experience of many students: for example, recent neuroscience research into the effects of dyslexia upon the brain would suggest that an effective early intervention program might significantly improve the actual severity and impact of the disorder upon the child (Gabrieli, 2009). On the other hand, the consequence of not acting is significant. For the dyslexic learner, conventional teaching and learning patterns may be far more damaging than non-attendance at school.

Children with dyslexia … perceived a significantly stronger association between ability at reading and intelligence … children with dyslexia believe that when one is good at reading, one can be considered intelligent and vice-versa. Thus, given that children with dyslexia are generally poor readers, they are more likely to perceive themselves as unintelligent. (Humphrey, 2002)

What a student with dyslexia most likely learns at school is about their personal limitations, inadequacies and academic failures. Such children learn more about what they cannot do, than about what they are actually good at. This in turn feeds into their sense of self-esteem, with many children with dyslexia forming the opinion that they are not as clever as their

4 It is also a pertinent question, though outside the scope of this inquiry, to ask where the boundary of the teaching sphere of a school should begin and end. It might be that a school should be serving its community, rather than attempting to develop a skill and knowledge set across its official student cohort. Taking such a community orientated approach to teaching and learning alters the dynamic of a school from a site of inculcation to that of an institution of teaching and learning.

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peers (Humphrey, 2002). This research intends in some way to help improve the overall school experience for students with dyslexia.

The Research ProposalAs mentioned above, the data collected for this study will primarily be derived from three in-depth interview/PD sessions with each of the participants. This is basis for the dialectic process informing the study. It is envisaged that between three and five teachers will be sought to participate in the study. These will be drawn, where possible, from different locations. Interview data will be transcribed using voice recognition software and samples will be tested for veracity. Other material, drawn from a number of disparate sources, may include observations from the field, ancillary written documentation such as emails or social media comments as well as intuitive explications of data taken from the field. As mentioned above, abductive reasoning will be a feature of this study. However, it is significant to note that the data developed for this study is merely a part of the overall process: a heuristic study is first and foremost a subjective interpretation of material developed as an attempt to interrogate and respond to the question. The study will develop data to assist in the cognitive process of understanding the question and formulating a response to that question.

Part of this research includes the development and implementation of a study to examine the effect that a PD program might have for teachers who wish to develop individuated teaching strategies within their classroom pedagogy. The purpose of this is to assist in the development of an individuated curriculum for students with dyslexia. While this research has some universality in its intended findings in relation to the development of more effective ways to differentiate pedagogy in a general sense, the purpose of this study will be to measure a program designed to help develop individuated pedagogies for students with noticeable learning challenges related to text-literacy. These same students are reasonably described as being located somewhere on the dyslexic continuum. The participating teachers will therefore be asked to develop strategies to successfully individuate their classroom pedagogy for those of their students who appear to be struggling with text literacy.

The PD program itself will consist of an initial 1-2 hour in-depth interview, a curriculum development session and a follow up interview a few months down the track. A Facebook (FB) page will be constructed to provide a mechanism for collegial support during the course of the PD program and will allow respondents to communicate with each other, (using suitable pseudonyms), and to the primary investigator. The purpose of the FB page is provide a forum where participants can discuss and hopefully resolve problems related to the PD project. It is envisaged that a small number of participants, (perhaps three to five), will be required for the study to effectively develop pertinent data for the research.

Each teacher participant will be asked therefore to identify a student who they feel might experience some of the characteristics defining the dyslexic continuum and for whom they

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would like to develop a more effective individuated pedagogy. The respondents will be asked to put together their own program drawn directly from, or at least influenced by, the ideas and/or material that is developed between themselves and the primary investigator. This introduces an element of self-direction, choice and professional discretion into the individual teacher’s engagement with the study and is in keeping with a collaborative approach to social research. The elements that will be provided for the PD program are already available to the teacher, although these might not have been thought about beforehand. The respondents will be asked to specifically design an individuated response for a student who they feel exhibits some of the leaning challenges associated with dyslexia. The experiences of the respondents as they engage with this task form the basis of the data collected for this study.

The PD program follows the concept of individuated curriculum planning and development. The process for developing the PD program itself is differentiated for each of the participants is so is an example of individuated pedagogy in itself.

Each participant will be asked to participate in three, 1-2 hour sessions. The first of these sessions will include a formal, in depth interview that focuses upon the existing knowledge and methodology employed by the teacher in the context of their text literacy instruction. In this interview, the teacher’s knowledge of individuated planning and delivery, understanding of the dyslexic continuum, and the processes they employ to encompass these concepts will be discussed. The teacher will be asked if they have a student who they think might be considered to be experiencing learning challenges associated with dyslexia. This will provide a benchmark against which the progress of the PD program can be measured. This pre-assessment will provide an indication of the teacher’s understanding of, and ability to respond to the particular teaching and learning requirements of the particular student. This forms the primary phase of the PD program. It is important to note that this is not simply an exercise in measuring the effectiveness or otherwise of the participant as a teacher: this is a collaborative exercise and is designed to be both informing and informative. Furthermore, the identity of the student should not be revealed to the primary investigator, nor should the teacher-participant feel obliged to alter the way they interact with, or develop curriculum for that student as a consequence of his or her involvement in the study.

The second session will envelop the development of a specific teaching and learning technique that will assist in the development of individuated curriculum. This will be a negotiated strategy developed in consultation with the teacher. As such, it will be carefully tailored for the particular situation explicated by the participant. This is an individuated response to the requirements and capacities of the participant. Consequential assistance will be available via a Facebook page which will be set up for the respondents to chat to one another, (using suitable pseudonyms), and to communicate with the primary investigator. Assistance implementing the individuated learning program will be done either through the Facebook page, or via individual emails or FB messaging. This phase of the research will

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provide a mechanism for ongoing assessment. This is the secondary phase of the program and will run for approximately four months, although the quality of data collected is to take primacy over chronological considerations.

The final phase of the PD program will include another 1-2 hour long interview with each respondent in which they are invited to comment on the success or otherwise of the PD program, or about anything else they feel they would like to articulate. The success of the program will be evaluated by the respondents themselves, who will either vouch for, criticize or even repudiate the effectiveness of the program. This is best characterised as the post, or summative assessment of the program.

There are two areas of significant interest that underpin this study: the first is to measure the relative success of the PD program as a vehicle to motivate and initiate changes in the participant’s literacy instruction for their specific student. This would indicate whether the PD program led the participants to develop their capacity to identify students with text literacy learning challenges and to consequently adapt their curriculum to accommodate the particular learning needs of this group of students. The second is to develop a better understanding of what factors within the teaching and learning environment might assist or hinder teachers from achieving their goal of developing individuated student learning structures and procedures.

The PD program will utilise already existing technologies and/or ideas. This might include the possible utilisation of voice recognition voice-to-text software, such as Dragon by Nuance, or social media such as Facebook to assist the respondents to develop better models of literacy instruction for their chosen students. The idea is not to introduce some new kind of wonder-technique or product, but to work with the participating teacher to co-design a way of using what is already in existence in a deliberately strategic manner to effect the pedagogical change desired. The emphasis is therefore upon empowering the participant to develop enterprising and adaptive skills to whatever materials and techniques are already available to bring about desired pedagogical change.

A feature of this study is the core belief that when a teacher feels that they are supported and encouraged to develop their teaching practice with a specific goal in mind, tangible benefits will naturally occur independent of the support mechanism and to a degree spontaneous and adapted to both the teacher and the environment.

Material from interviews, the instruction session, documents such as the FB page and emails, field notes and memos will form the bulk of the data collected for this study. The data will then be evaluated using a heuristic methodological framework. This process is explicated in the next section: Explanation of the study.

Methodology

Qualitative or quantitative?

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All research methodologies are attempts to reduce irrelevancies so that salient features of the study are made accessible for observation and interpretation. Of these, two distinct approaches are commonly employed to effect this outcome: a quantitative approach, that generally attempts to deal with data in a positivist or empiricist manner (almost exclusively employing deductive reasoning); or a qualitative methodology which may employ deductive reasoning, but which might also seek to develop knowledge using methodologies that utilise, though not necessarily exclusively, abductive or inductive reasoning. Although there may be some confluence between these two approaches, it is fair to say that the first is a consequence of the reasoning that characterised the age of enlightenment and the second, an attempt to introduce a systemic way of dealing with data that is “not easily tested using statistical measures” (Ezzy, 2002). Either of these approaches are erstwhile attempts to develop an artificial screen to quarantine the background noise of superfluous data. This is so that the study might narrow the primary investigator’s gaze or viewpoint to something that can be measured and assessed against the overarching question guiding and informing the study. Removing irrelevant data is essential to enable the study to move forward towards answering or at least, interrogating the research problem. What is essential is that the primary investigator(s) choose, and utilise a methodology that is congruent with their stated aims. This should not be chosen arbitrarily, but should be justified within the context of the study itself (Creswell, 2014).

It was decided that a qualitative methodology best suits this particular study. This is because much of the data that is expected to be generated throughout the course of the study will be derived within the social fields of the subjects themselves. These include the highly subjective opinions, ideas, interpretations, learned experiences and beliefs of the participants of the study. The interpretation of data is in itself a “political process” (Ezzy, 2002). Whilst there exist techniques that might successfully (or otherwise) reduce these socio-political complexities to suit a quantitative methodological frame, such methodologies necessitate the development of a rationalist, deductive paradigm. An excellent example of this can be found in the Seven Nation Study, where the medical data of thousands of participants across a field of seven different nations form a comprehensive base from which statistically derived interpretations of causality and effect can be measured against a hypothesis - like that found in medical research examining heart failure and mortality (Menotti, 2013). From such it can be seen that in order for a deductive study to be successful, a firm hypothesis must first be written, against which the data is measured and evaluated. However, if a question is concerned more with values, meanings or “interpretations” (Ezzy, 2002), then a quantitative methodology is almost certainly not practical: a deductive methodological frame would not be recommended for a study that is so intrinsically wedded to a social field. A project that employed a methodology that was based upon a quantifiable positivist paradigm would restrict the study from being responsive to the data, even if conducted post hoc.

Because it has been hoped from the outset that this project might generate new theory, of a kind as yet unknowable, it was obviated that a qualitative methodology would best suit the parameters of this study.

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When theory generation is limited to deductive methodologies it restricts the possible interpretations of the observed data. Deductive theorising is useful, but it is limited because it typically does not produce new understandings and new theoretical explanations that may contradict the initial theory. (Ezzy, 2002)

Because this study explores a field in which there exist many subjective variables, locking in a set hypothesis from the start – even if that hypothesis was structures as being no more than a general principle to be tested - could restrict the ability of the primary investigators to successfully adapt the study problem and question to fit the data. Developing a flexible outlook that is responsive to the data means that the study cannot easily be reconciled to a positivist paradigm. What is needed for this study is to employ a more adaptive and responsive methodology that could allow for the shifting variables found in the dynamic social fields that characterise the study: such fields, it is noted, are always subject to change. Such considerations therefore required that the study be framed within a qualitative methodological paradigm, and one that is responsive to these concerns. After much deliberation, a heuristic methodological frame was deemed most appropriate for this study. The reasons for this are canvassed in the next section.

Heuristic methodologyHeuristic methodology has a strong ethical and humanistic overtone and is deliberately conceived to be both supportive and adaptive to the changing requirements of both the study participants and the studied human environment (Moustakas, 1990). A detailed web search seemed to suggest that heuristic research methodology is not a commonly utilised paradigm for studies in education in Australia; it is seemingly more commonly used as a methodological frame to understand human social fields in disciplines such as psychology. However, like the discipline of psychology, studies in education also deal with inquiry conducted within a bracketed social field. It stands to reason then, that any study in education can also benefit from the utilisation of a methodology that is deliberately constructed to explicate new knowledge within a social context. One of the features of this study is that is in part an exercise in developing a better understanding of how the heuristic methodological paradigm might be an underutilised methodology for inquiry in the Discipline of Education.

Heuristic methodology “…aims at discovery” (Kleining, 2015) and is designed to explicate material derived from a social field and develop theoretical concepts from out of that data. It “begins with a question or a problem”(Gray, 2004) and seeks:

“…through open ended inquiry, self-directed search and immersion in active experience, to get inside the question by becoming one with it. (Gray, 2004)

In this, heuristic methodology is akin to grounded theory (GT), where theory is “allowed to rise out of the data” (Charmaz, 2014; Glaser, 1967). However, unlike GT, a heuristic methodology is deliberately and consciously designed to allow for a highly subjective and abductive reasoning paradigm. This is of significant value in the context of this study, due to the highly subjective and unpredictable nature of the data that is intended to be generated.

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For this reason, heuristic methodology was preferred over GT, although it must be said that as a methodological paradigm it would almost certainly be as useful. However, the popularity of GT as a qualitative methodology has tended to overshadow other qualitative paradigms (West, 2001), and as a consequence heuristic methodology might be unfairly neglected by social scientists and educationists in Australia. Nonetheless it is the preferred option for this particular study and it is felt that it is best suited to explore the research problem.

The term heuristic means “to discover or to find” (Moustakas, 1990) and is therefore from the start provocatively searching for the novel and the new:

It refers to a process of internal search through which one discovers the nature and meaning of experience and develops methods and procedures for further investigation and analysis. (Moustakas, 1990)

Heuristic methodology is primarily concerned with the investigation of “human experience” (Moustakas, 1990). The actual process of knowing becomes foregrounded in the study and the methodology therefore assumes a metacognitive dimension. It is for this reason that heuristic methodology might best be conceptualised within Eastern philosophical traditions, where the first step towards understanding a phenomena is to understand the position of the self in relation to that phenomena. This is very different from Western philosophies, which in general position the world externally to the viewer. The dialectical nature of heuristic methodology as a technique to develop new theory and knowledge is highly appealing and rests heavily upon this understanding of nature as being subjectively interpreted by the individual. This dialectic method is capable of bringing tension and discord to the study and from this, original notions may be uncovered. However, heuristic methodology involves a fundamentally subjective process of dealing with information or data, and as such is purely abductive in nature. Logic plays a significant role in this methodology, but logic is necessarily based upon an interpretation of knowledge which, whether a priori or a posteriori is a notoriously slippery concept to deal with and has provided the living for more than one professional philosopher! In order to accept this methodology as a valid tool for conducting inquiry, there must therefore, be a deliberate suspension from the Western academic preference for positivism and empiricism: those creatures of the enlightenment that understand phenomena as being made of discrete and concrete existence occurring outside and independent to the mind of the observer. It is for this reason that the dedication at the top of this paper refers to the Eastern philosophical tradition that instructs all phenomena is perceived through the filter of the mind: nothing exists independent of the mind’s eye. This Eastern philosophical perspective seems a deliberately and considered element of the heuristic methodological paradigm.

The heuristic process is a way of being informed, a way of knowing. Whatever presents itself in the consciousness of the investigator as perception, sense, intuition, or knowledge represents an invitation for further elucidation. What appears, what shows itself as itself, casts a light that enables one to come to know more fully what something is and means. In such a process not only is knowledge extended but the self of the researcher is illuminated. (Moustakas, 1990)

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In Heuristic methodology an overarching concept is that the “…research process involves seeing dialogue as a specific form of dialectic” (Douglass, 1985; Kleining, 2015; Moustakas, 1990). A dialectic method is used to interrogate the data and to reduce it to something understandable and meaningful. This dialectic interrogation can be between people or part of an inner dialogue (Moustakas, 1990).

The data generated from this study will therefore be primarily drawn from the transcribed interviews between the primary investigator and the participants. These interviews or PD sessions will be largely unstructured and free-flowing.

Dialogue involves cooperative sharing in which the researchers open pathways to each other for explicating the phenomenon being investigated. This means receiving the other as a partner, accepting and affirming the other person. The persons in the heuristic interview must be willing to say freely what they think and feel relevant to the research question, and what emerges in their awareness when the phenomenon becomes the focus of their attention and concentration. (Moustakas, 1990)

This free-flow of information is a foregrounded method of interview technique within the heuristic methodological frame. The dialectic interrogation of the question is seen to help in the intuitive process of encouraging theory to develop naturally from the data.

…the conversational interview or dialogue is most clearly consistent with the rhythm and flow of heuristic exploration and search for meaning. Dialogue is the preferred approach in that it aims toward encouraging expression, elucidation and disclosure of the experience being investigated. (Moustakas, 1990)

The process of conducting three interview/PD sessions with each participant is entirely congruent with a heuristic research process.

Abductive ReasoningWhilst many qualitative methodologies make use of deductive or inductive reasoning as ways of making sense of data, Heuristic methodology incorporates an abductive reasoning paradigm. Abductive reasoning is particularly favoured for this research as it is expected that the participants of the study will be acting spontaneously and largely independently to the primary investigator. In fact, this is to be encouraged: the less control the primary investigator has over the data field, the more confident he or she can be about the external validity and authenticity of the data generated. The unpredictability of the data means that a paradigm that can respond and adapt to changes in the social field is required. This is clearly facilitated within a heuristic methodological paradigm, especially as it employs abductive reasoning to develop theory from the data. Furthermore, a heuristic paradigm can facilitate the development of new theory in a manner that is both intuitive and logical without needing to develop this knowledge in a positivist or empirical manner. In his text Qualitative Analysis: Practice and innovation,(Ezzy, 2002) Douglas Ezzy makes the following observation:

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Abduction makes imaginative leaps to new theories to explain observations. The difference between induction and abduction is that abduction makes this leap to a general theory without having completely empirically demonstrated all the required steps. (Ezzy, 2002)

He goes on to provide the well attested example of the literary character Sherlock Holmes who famously exploited this form of reasoning:

Holmes was the master of abduction. Holmes compares possible explanations against a few facts and then through an abductive leap arrives at the larger picture that has explained what has happened. (Ezzy, 2002)

Abduction is, at its most basic, a line of reasoning that seeks to exclude less likely causalities until a single cause is left: this is then deemed most likely. For example if, after a thunderstorm, a person was to see a freshly fallen branch, they would leap to the reasonable conclusion that the branch broke off as a consequence of the weather and not due to a preponderance of birds nesting on the bough or some other unlikely occurrence. This is abductive reasoning.

This study, therefore, is best described as being a longitudinal, qualitative research project that employs abductive reasoning framed within a heuristic methodology.

Phases of Heuristic ResearchIn his book Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology and Applications, Clark Moustakas lists the phases of heuristic research, which he terms: initial engagement; immersion; incubation; illumination; explication; and creative synthesis (Moustakas, 1990). These are briefly explained below.

Initial EngagementThe initial phase of heuristic research methodology is to “discover an intense interest” (Moustakas, 1990). This should be the basis of the research question. It is obvious that this is inevitably driven by the primary investigator’s prior knowledge, concerns and interests. This means that the researcher is not expected to be naïve about the topic or even merely a disinterested bystander.

Immersion The immersion phase of the research involves the researcher coming to be on “intimate terms with the question” (Moustakas, 1990). The immersion phase is spent becoming as knowledgeable as possible about the question. It is only when satisfied that this phase is complete may the researcher move onto the next.

IncubationDuring this phase of the research, the researcher allows subconscious or unconscious associations across the data to form in his or her mind. The researcher leaves the study and allows the knowledge gleaned in the immersion phase to percolate in the back of the mind.

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During this process, the researcher is no longer absorbed in the topic in any direct way or alert to things, situations, events, or people that will contribute to an understanding of the phenomenon. Nevertheless, growth is taking place. The period of incubation enables the inner tacit dimension to reach its full possibilities: for example, the house key that one has misplaced often evades ones’ recall of its location while one is totally preoccupied with finding it. Almost as soon as one is absorbed with something else, however, the key suddenly appears in consciousness and draws its owner to it. (Moustakas, 1990)

This phase of the research is important because abductive reasoning works on associations and comparisons across the field of data. These are not always obvious. The phase of incubation is thought to facilitate this dynamic and creative process. Incubation is therefore primarily an intuitive process (Moustakas, 1990).

IlluminationThis is the Aha! moment when “new awareness” is manifested in the mind of the researcher (Moustakas, 1990). This is the moment when the research suddenly hoves back into view, and the researcher is surprised by the appearance of the research vista. It is exactly for this reason that heuristic research can never be molded within a positivist paradigm. The heuristic research is inviting the unexpected and the surprising to feature in the process of developing new theory. This is not to say there is a lack of robustness, rigor or of logic underpinning the Aha! moment. But the logic is derived abductively and as such is best described after the moment of Eureka.

ExplicationIn this phase the researcher re-enters the field and there is a re-immersion into data. However, unlike the immersion phase, the researcher is now armed with the illumed holy grail of new knowledge. The researcher must “fully examine what has awakened in consciousness” (Moustakas, 1990). But this needs to be treated artfully. The inherent subjectivity of the researcher may make the illumination seem more significant than it is. It must conform to an abductive reasoning paradigm even though much of the Illumination phase has involved tacit and intuitive leaps of understanding. These must be explored and understood conceptually and logically. This process is referred to by Moustakas as “indwelling” (Moustakas, 1990) and is a process of concerted and “concentrated attention” (Moustakas, 1990).

Creative SynthesisBy now the researcher is “thoroughly familiar” with the nuances of the research question. Each phase of the heuristic process has led the researcher to the moment where all of the subtleties of the data are understood holistically and thoroughly. This is the moment where the researcher finally has some sense of “mastery over the subject” (Moustakas, 1990). This includes all of the intuitive and tacit knowledge brought to the field of inquiry.

Once the researcher has mastered knowledge of the material that illuminates and explicates the question, the researcher is challenged to put the components and core themes into a creative synthesis. This usually takes the form of a narrative depiction utilizing verbatim material and examples, but it may be expressed as a poem, story, drawing, painting or be some other creative form. (Moustakas, 1990)

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Finally, once the creative synthesis is complete, and the researcher has checked and rechecked the vision of truth put together as a consequence of the heuristic process, this is often verified with the participants of the research. Their validation gives some weight to the researcher’s erstwhile conclusions. These conclusions are then put forward as findings that respond to the research question. Abductively derived, there can be no proofs to verify these findings. At the end of the day, the researchers must accept responsibility for the validity of their findings. The reasoning that has led to these conclusions must seem logical and appropriate. The more people that attest conviction in the findings, the more these findings may be seen to respond effectively to the research question.

From all of this, it can be seen that a heuristic research methodology is congruent with the philosophy undergirding this study: that research in any social field should be collaborative and reflexive enough to accommodate the unexpected and the unforeseeable. It incorporates a subjective interpretation of the field (Douglass, 1985; Moustakas, 1990) within its methodological frame. It is for these reasons that heuristic methodology is the preferred methodological paradigm for this study.

The Cohort

Ethical Issues and Risks Associated with the Study

The greatest ethical issue related to this study is to ensure the anonymity of the participants and their students. It is for this reason that neither the names of the schools, nor of the participants will be referred to in the research document. A pseudonym will be invented for each respondent, as well as for each site. The real identities and names of schools will be kept in a secure, locked location and will only be known to the primary investigators involved in the study.

As a further measure of protecting the anonymity of the respondents, all tapes, notes and transcripts that refer to each participant will be labelled with a pseudonym, the key to which will be kept separate from the data.

It is a priority of this research to ensure that the ideas, values and beliefs of the participants cannot be unfairly tampered with, or influenced by the primary investigator. Each participant will be given the opportunity to read and amend the data arising from their interviews so as to ensure the accuracy of the transcripts as well as to ascertain that the participant was not misrepresented in any way.

A letter that explains the purpose and structure of the study has been written and will be given to each participant prior to their agreement to participate. This can be found in appendix 2 to this document. Furthermore, a participation-release agreement form can be found in appendix 1.

Approval to conduct the study will be sought through the ethics committee of both La Trobe University and the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

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Description of the cohort This study requires the active cooperation and support of a number of professional teachers, currently employed within the Victorian public education system. It is envisaged that the participants will be drawn from disparate sites if at all possible so as to reduce the risk of a single environmental factor unduly skewing the findings.

It would be advantageous if a number of salient factors are addressed in the study. These include:

How does the teacher individualise their instruction? Is there a specific literacy program in the school? If so, what does this look like? Is there a deliberate attempt to individuate the curriculum for specific learning

needs? How does the teacher adapt their curriculum for the student identified as being

dyslexic? How is the student being measured against this curriculum? What is the school and the teacher doing to address the perceived learning challenge

of the student(s) with dyslexia?

It is important to establish what the overarching philosophy of the school is in relation to students with a significant learning challenge because this will influence what the teacher feels that they can and cannot achieve. A teacher’s support of a student is crucial to their development and is of far more consequence than the curriculum itself (Hattie, 2009). The initial interview with the participant will need to establish answers to some or all of these questions. It is clear that established teaching and learning values and practices need to be evaluated at the commencement of the study. The principles that shape these inform curriculum development; therefore the curriculum will reflect the school’s pedagogical philosophy. As far as an individuated curriculum is concerned, a very tangible example of this can be seen in the way students identified as dyslexic are included in, and perhaps marginalised in the classroom.

All of these ideas and questions are relevant in that they impact upon the way in which the research problem can be unpacked and interrogated. Ultimately, however, it is the interpretation of these that will influence the study’s outcome.

ConclusionThe study takes the form of a professional development program designed to assist teachers to utilise existing technologies and strategies to help improve literacy instruction. The respondents will be asked to develop individuated learning strategies for those students they identify as being ‘possibly dyslexic’. This is therefore a project designed to consider how teachers might best be assisted to respond to the specific needs of students exhibiting the learning challenges associated with dyslexia. By asking the participants to make an assessment of how their teaching has changed as a result of their involvement in the study,

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a clear indication can be developed as to the effectiveness of the PD program. This will be entirely reported by the respondent: no measurement of the student will take place in any sense.

This research examines the effect of introducing a Professional Development (PD) program for teachers to assist in the development of individuated learning. While this research has some universality in its intended findings, it is primarily concerned with the ways in which teachers might be assisted to develop better pedagogies for students experiencing the learning challenges associated with dyslexia. A study to this effect is bracketed within this research and is best described as a collaboratively developed teaching strategy designed to help those students with noticeable learning challenges related to text-literacy.

The data generated from the study will be subsumed within a heuristic methodology and subjected to a dialectic process of developing new theory. This is a highly subjective process utilising abductive reasoning and tacit knowledge.

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Appendices

Appendix A: Participation-Release Agreement

I agree to participate in the research study How can teachers be assisted to develop individuated instruction models for students exhibiting signs of dyslexia? as described in the attached explanatory document. I understand the purpose and nature of this study and am participating voluntarily. I grant permission for the data to be used in the process of completing a Ph.D. degree, including a dissertation and publication. I understand that my name and other demographic information that might identify me will not be used.

I agree to meet at the following location _________________________________________ on the following date ___________________ for an initial interview of 1-2 hours, and to be available at two consecutive, mutually agreed times and place(s) for additional interview(s) as required.

I also agree that should I choose to participate further in the study, my work as a teacher remains unaffected by my involvement with this study and that any subsequent developments or teaching strategies I employ are done so at my own direction. I also acknowledge that if I choose to use any of the social media tools set up to facilitate this study, I shall do so at my own risk and discretion.

Mr Paul A Rudd MEd, BVA(hon), PGrad Dip, Grad Dip Ed, BA

__________________________ __________________________Research Participant (print) Primary Investigator (print)

__________________________ __________________________Research Participant (sign) Primary Investigator (sign)

__________________________ __________________________Date Date

* This document is taken almost verbatim from the book Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology and Application by Clark Moustakas, page 57 (Moustakas, 1990) except for the final paragraph which includes the section about social media and which is the product of the author of this study.

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Appendix B: Information for Participants

Aim

To examine how secondary school teachers can be helped to develop better teaching and learning strategies for students with dyslexia.

Who can participate?

You can participate in this research PD program if you are a secondary school teacher.

Outline of the Study: What will I be asked to do?

What is the study about? This research examines the effect of introducing a Professional Development (PD) program for teachers to assist in the development of better teaching and learning strategies for students with dyslexia, or dyslexia-like learning challenges.

Why do it?It is proposed that this research will help to develop a guiding set of principles for teachers who wish to develop individuated teaching strategies within their classroom pedagogy for students with dyslexia. It is also hoped that this research will ultimately help to develop policies to improve the school experience of those students who struggle with print literacy.

What will I need to do?The emphasis of the PD program is upon empowering you as the teacher to develop enterprising and adaptive skills to utilise whatever materials and techniques are already available to bring about desired pedagogical change. You will be asked to collaboratively develop a teaching strategy designed to help one student with noticeable learning challenges related to text-literacy. You will be asked to participate in three sessions with the primary investigator of approximately 1-2 hours each.

The development of a FB page that will be designed to provide support during the course of the PD program will allow you to communicate with other participants of the study, (using suitable pseudonyms), to both discuss and hopefully self-resolve problems related to the PD project. At no stage will your identity be made public and your right to privacy is respected at every stage of the study.

RisksThere are no expected risks with this study. Your anonymity is respected at all times. Your name will not be kept with the data generated for the study and you will be assigned a pseudonym that will be used for all publications associated with the study. You may withdraw from the study at any time. If, during the course of the PD sessions you experience any uncomfortable feelings, the session will be terminated and the researcher will assist you to access to external and independent counselling support. Your interview and session data will be kept in a secure, locked location for five years and your name will not be stored in the same location.

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BibliographyThe British Dyslexia Association. (2015). Retrieved from

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexic/definitionsCharmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory (2nd Edition). London: Sage Publications Ltd.Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M., (Eds.). . ( 2000). Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social

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Kleining, G. (2015). The Qualitative Heuristic Approach: A Methodology for Discovery in Psychology and the Social Sciences. Rediscovering the Method of Introspection as an Example. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1123/2495#gref

Menotti, A., Puddu, P. E., Lanti, M., Kromhout, D., Tolonen, H., Parapid, B., … & Adachi, H. (2013). Epidemiology of typical coronary heart disease versus heart disease of uncertain etiology (atypical) fatalities and their relationships with classic coronary risk factors. International Journal of Cardiology, 168 (4), 3963-3967.

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Shaywitz, S., E., M.D. (1998). Dyslexia. The New England Journal of Medicine, 338(5), 307-312. Tomlinson, C., Anne, & Moon, Tonya, R., . (2014). Assessment and Success in a Differentiated

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http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1123/2495#gref

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexic/definitions

web viewthis study is a longitudinal, qualitative research project that employs abductive reasoning...

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