Who we are:
Di Laycock
By day (and often by night) I’m a teacher librarian in the Senior Library at Barker College, Sydney. In 2005, my experience as a member of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition Action Research Team really whet my appetite for action research and drove home the importance of basing one’s practice on authentic and reflective research. I’m continuing my work this year with the IBSC as the coordinator of its Action Research Program. During my time with the Coalition, I have come to appreciate the benefits of undertaking action research within a community of energetic and enthusiastic colleagues. My experience has given me the inspiration and confidence to leap a foot or two into the air and now feeds my enthusiasm to work with the equally passionate Linda Gibson-Langford to coordinate a community of action researchers for teacher librarians. I don’t think there’s a limit to how high or how far we can fly!
Linda Gibson-Langford
By day and sometimes by night, I too am a teacher-librarian in the Centre for Learning and Leadership at The King’s School. I came to research in my Masters years when I had to submit a literature review as part of my coursework. I found the entire experience stimulating as I probed the books, journals and Internet for evidence focussed on information literacy. I didn’t know that soon this research would be published online (fno.org), in a book and a journal and then eventually into French. The research journey has some wonderful surprises as you follow the twists and the turns and it can be very satisfying to an inquiring mind. I eventually undertook and completed a PhD with a focus on knowledge-oriented cultures and am still craving to continue the research bug. So let’s get started - the journey will be fantastic - we promise!
Di's comments are in this colour
Linda's comments are in this colour
Opening gambit
In the creation and development of CAR-TL as a knowledge-creating, knowledge-sharing and knowledge-using community, Linda and Di see a wonderful opportunity to research the researchers. This will be the focus of our action research project.
Our purpose
We will be investigating how members of a community such as ours can support one another through the principles of collaboration.
Literature review notes
Di, how about we begin reviewing the literature on collaborative cultures, community growing and literature that reflects how people can work effectively in dispersed geographical settings.
Yes, here's an interesting article for starters. In A survey of current research on online communities of practice byChristopher M. Johnson, the author surveys current literature on communities of practice and their potential development using networked technology and remote collaboration, specifically with respect to Web communication tools.
Conversation pit
I thought Di we should have a spot where we are musing and wondering and need to talk...heck we have Skype for that anyway. True Linda, but there are also some benefits of having our major ideas here in the one place. Skype chat is great, but it can throw a few wobblies. We could start throwing down some possible research questions. Good idea Di and as you point out, this is a good place to put our major ideas into one place.
The research question - possibilities
1. How can knowledge be created, shared and used within a learning community that is geographically dispersed? (sounds a bit narrow to me, but it's a starting point). Great start Di... we will toss some ideas around here - narrow is good because narrow can be complex when analysed. Hmmm I think we will toss this one around for some time as we need to probe a question that will lead to deepr analysis.
2. How can a community of practice enhance professional growth?
Holidays coming soon Linda... time for us to commit a few more ideas here... yes? Not that we haven't talked (via skype) about a lot of things.
Unfortunately Di we have spoken so much in Skype that we have failed to write up our ideas and thoughts here in our research wiki. I have been aware of this but with the crunch of time as teachers and editors and writers and speaking at conferences, hmmm... and our Uni Syd Action Research Study and our IBSC Action Research Study... ok squashing time in is something we can do. I still think we have some interesting first steps in our research the researchers idea... and the second of the questions is what I have focussed on...