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embodied knowledge. For education research to be of practical value forteachers, they needed to experience the research process themselvesthrough the data collection and analysis of their own teaching practice sothat it became educational and not just about the disciplines of education.Then, they would be more inclined to read, think about and integrate theresearch of others into their practice.My action research continued with the emerging recognition that twovalues became transparent in my thinking about improving education:through valuing the other and through building a culture of inquiry,reflection and scholarship (Delong, 2002). This emergence came about byanalyzing the nature of my relationships and influence with colleagues asI went about the work of being Superintendent of Education and askingothers to help me with answering the question, ‘How can I improve mypractice as a Superintendent of Schools and create my own livingeducational theory?’ It encompassed, as well, my respect for the role ofmodelling and my value of integrity. If I was asking teachers andadministrators in the district to engage in research to improve theirpractice, it was incumbent on me to model the process. ‘Walk the talk’ asthe saying goes. As Covey (1990) explains in his book, The Seven Habitsof Highly Effective People: the real key to your influence is yourexample, your actual conduct. Your example flows naturally out of yourvalues and your character, or the kind of person you truly are-not whatothers say you are or what you may want others to think you are (p. 238).Delong’s practice can be understood as an evolution of her earlierresearch on creating a culture of inquiry (Delong, 2002) and in supportingteachers’ action research outlined in Passion In Professional Practicehttp://schools.gedsb.net/ar/passion/pppi/1_Into_TOC.pdf. Director ofEducation for the Grand Erie District School Board, Peter C.Moffatt,wrote in page 3 of the first volume (2001):The highest form of professionalism is the on-going, selfgeneratedpursuit of improvement and excellence. Teachers andadministrators who are involved in action research demonstrateand develop that professional passion. The rewards of thisprofessional activity are improved student learning and personalengagement and growth. Through the posing of importantquestions, the collection and analysis of classroom and schoolbased data, the articulation and presentation of results, thesharing of those results and the posing of new, importantquestions, teachers and administrators take control of their ownjob satisfaction. They can support their classroom practices and
they improve classroom learning.It is with a great deal of pride that I congratulate theprofessionals of Grand Erie who have contributed to thiscollection. I congratulate them for their writing, for the influencethat they have had on education, and on their achievement of thehighest professional status. Their passion makes a difference!It seems to me that describing and explaining the nature of your influenceon yourself, on others and on social formations, particularly forleadership positions where evaluative information is not always readilyavailable, can be a challenging task. The critical feedback required todetermine your effectiveness can only be acquired through the assistanceof others, of critical friends, of willing evaluators. Before that criticalinformation is forthcoming, I believe, a culture of inquiry is required.Time must be invested in order to establish trusting relationships, moretime than at first seems necessary and reasonable. It also requires regularchecking amongst the participants that assumptions of comfort areconfronted. In 2010, while I was teaching the Research methods course tothe Bluewater masters cohort, I asked the group of 19 to provide anevaluation of my teaching. I sat in the middle of the circle with the videocamera on me and they provided me with some very concrete suggestionsfor improvement. It was a difficult process to experience but I had spenttime preparing myself as much as I could. Being able to absorb thesuggestions afterward by reviewing the videotape of the event wasessential to retaining all of the information and making significantchanges in my practice. Once again, I was modelling a process that Ihoped might be adopted in their own way by the members of the group. Afull description and explanation of the process is contained in Jack’s andmy 2011 AERA paper: Transforming educational knowledge throughmaking explicit the embodied knowledge of educators for the publicgood:Critical Evaluation part two 15:00 minuteshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9pU95EgXeIImage Four: Place the cursor at 6:45 minutes:NEEDS VIDEOCLIP P.4
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Page 28 and 29: Then Cathy Griffin will share her l
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Page 46 and 47: DELONG’S RESPONSE TO THE FOUR VID
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Page 62 and 63: Whitehead, J. (2008) Using a living
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