This will be our last chapter event of the year. Doors open at 1:00 and we'll start by socializing and discussing our impressions of the National JALT conference in Shizuoka, held Nov 21-23. What impressed us and what did we learn?
From 2:00 to 5:00, Greg Sholdt and Tim Greer, of Kobe University, will lead us in an interactive workshop designed to sharpen our research skills, entitled "The Joy of Action Research: Goals, Principles, and Methods"
Getting started in action or classroom-based research can be a bewildering endeavor; however, the benefits include a better understanding of students and teaching practices, a rationale for making changes in classrooms, and even a renewed interest in teaching. Furthermore, teacher-researchers are able to contribute their findings to the community of language instructors, enhance their professional skill-set and employability, develop a fuller understanding of the research process, and better understand published research. In this interactive workshop, the presenters will review the fundamental principles of action research and discuss quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and techniques for ensuring project success. Participants will then work in small groups to develop their own personalized action research projects. In the first part of the workshop, the presenters will review the goals, benefits, and methods of classroom-based or action research. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches will be discussed in terms of methods of data collection and analysis and appropriateness for research goals. In the second part of the workshop, participants will work together in small groups to develop research studies that can be tailored to their specific language learning classrooms and research interests. The workshop will provide a relaxed and fun setting to discover the joys of action research and enable participants to leave with concrete plans for conducting their own projects.
Greg Sholdt is a short-term associate professor teaching English for the School of Languages and Communication at Kobe University. He has a background in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on quantitative methods for educational research. His interests center on extensive reading, English for academic purposes, and action research as a means for professional development. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the JALT Journal and has experience teaching Introductory Statistics at the University of Hawaii and an online course on quantitative research methods for language teachers in Japan.
Tim Greer is an associate professor in the School of Languages and Communication at Kobe University, Japan. His research interests focus on naturally occurring interaction in Japanese and English. His doctoral dissertation looked at the accomplishment of identity by so-called “half-Japanese” teenagers in bilingual interaction and he is currently investigating the way Japanese students make use of various interactional practices in English. His research combines ethnography and qualitative approaches with micro-discourse analytic approaches such as conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis.
Afterward we'll head to a nearby restaurant for our annual bonenkai.
