A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Teaching and learning credentials
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Case study 1: Using action research to enhance practice
The Postgraduate Certificate for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at
the University of Plymouth includes a module focused on developing
professional practice specific to individual disciplines. This module is assessed
by a small research/development project in which participants demonstrate some
aspect of their own practice in the context of their discipline with a view to
enhancing their students’ learning experiences. An underlying principle is to
encourage practitioners to be aware of their own practice and, by using selfcritical
reflection, facilitate a process of change and improvement of practice. In
our experience, this was best achieved through action research.
There are many definitions of action research to be found in the literature.
McKernan (1991: 5) suggests: ‘Action research is systematic, self-reflective
scientific enquiry by practitioners to improve practice.’ Action research is often
described as strategic, sequential and cumulative, each step informing the next.
Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) see it as a spiral activity where the researcher
plans, acts, observes and reflects, whereas Stringer (1996) refers to action research
as a model of ‘look, think, act’, an iterative process carrying the researcher
forward. Whichever model is chosen it is complex, and therefore the teacherresearcher
needs to be flexible in approach.
At Plymouth over the years, a wide range of action research projects have been
undertaken across different disciplines, focusing on various aspects of teaching
practice. The titles below provide a flavour of this:
• Using video teaching to prepare students for the objective structural clinical
examination in extended nurse prescribing
• Improving the learning experience of biosciences students on a first-year field
course
• Improving provision of postgraduate generic research skills training
• A study of health visitor student community practice placements that critically
analyses and evaluates their effectiveness in promoting student learning
While many of the participants felt overwhelmed by an approach that was, for
them, very different to anything they had done before, once they embarked on
the project they found it rewarding and insightful. They felt the participative
nature of the action research project had led to more informative and applicable
outcomes because stakeholders were involved in the data-gathering exercises.
The action research made a difference to them and was rewarding and of benefit
to their teaching practice.
(Dr Rachael Carkett, now at University of Teesside)