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ACTION RESEARCH IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION 203in an honest and direct way.They have found them a rich source of ideas and valuablefor informing their own practice. Thc warts and all descriptions (including failuresand successes), thc research techniques used, the analTsis of' results and the contextualdetail are all rlcments hvhich readers relate to and understand. As such they posscssa validity which derives from the detailed narration of classroom ecology. Thecxpcriential reports giw other practitioners models and ideas for their ow-n practice.They also suggest topics and procedures for classroom investigations in diffcrcntcontexts.(Mickan, 1 99 1 )Table 16.4 The insen icc programme in outlineSession IaI)An introduction to classroom olxc.rvation and rcscarchA series of reflective activities dcsigncd to gct tcachcrs thinking about their o\vn teaching stylr.Rcllccting on the teaching of others: teachers examine anti critique cxtracts from a range ofclassrooms identifying those aspects olthc extracts thcy liked and tlislikctl.c Identification of ideological beliefs and attitudes underlying critiques.Rctwccn session task: teachers record and rcllcct on their o\vn teaching.Session 2 An introduction to action researcha Teachers I-cport back on the hetween wssion task.I> Introduction to issues and methods in action rrsearchcIntroduction to thr action research pro'Session 1 Focus groupc antl action plansaI-,cRefining qucstions.lop a draft action plan.Brt%vc.cn session task: baseline ohscr\ation, focus group meetings, preliminary data collection.Session 4 Analysing dataaIictwcrn session task: ongoing data collcction antl analysis, focus group meetingsSession 5 Writing upahFormation of focus groups antl appointment of facilitators.Sharing of draft action plans.Participants devclop ways of analysing and making scnsr of thcir (lataI'articipants rcccivc input on prcscnting their research.Development of draft rrporting outlines.tlctwccn session task: production of draft reportsSession 6 Rching reportsParticipants rcccivc fccdback on anti discussion of their reportsSrssion 7 EbaluationParticipants c\ aluatc thc LIPT process and provide fccdback on how their involvement changcd them.An evaluation by Lewis (1 992) is also favourable. She reports on a study conductedwith a group of teachers of French immersion programmes in British Columbia.The focusof hcr research was the effect on the professional practice of the teachers of engaging inAK. She drew the following conclusions from her research.