Jingyu EDUC500

Walking with video is a phenomenological research method that entails walking with and recording participants as they experience, talk, and show their material, immaterial, and social environments. In Pink’s case, she walked with her participants around a community garden on several occasions. She also video-recorded their walk as her participants guided her through the site and explained to her their involvement and experiences in the garden project. Her participants’ experiences of the place are socially negotiated, and yet the interactions and behaviours are individualised and personal. Pink’s participants showed and told her about the community garden as they experienced it together. It gave Pink the opportunity to use her own sensory embodied experience, for example walking in the rain on wet grass or feeling the texture of brickweave path, to empathise with her participants’ experiences. With “place” being the central concept, the research would be able to “sensing place, placing...

This study explored users’ interaction with a chatbox interface in language learning. The interactions were videotaped, accompanied with individual interviews afterwards. What surprised me: The author started the introduction with conversations he/she had with the students about CSIEC, a chatbox system used in language learning. It is an interesting way to draw the audiences into a discussion about the user experience of a computer programme. I was intrigued by the way the author presented it and wanted to read more about it. Things to take away/questions The author used abbreviation from the start and did not explain what CSIEC is until the third page. I wonder what type of audience we should have in mind while writing our own thesis? Are we writing for someone with specific knowledge? If not, how might it affect the way we write? The author explicitly differentiated ethnographic methodology (whole process of research) and ethnographic research methods (an approach or technique to col...

This interview is unique in a way that Fidler interviewed another radio interviewer. The conversation can be roughly divided into the following three sections. Part 1 1. What was your first job in radio? Did you sort of accidentally backed into it in public radio? 2. How long did it take you to get good? 3. You're impersonating. It leaves you to feeling authentic. Is that what you think you were doing in this clip? 4. So who knocked that out of you? Did someone come along and just say ‘knock it off'? Did someone do that? Or did you just realise yourself that to actually start talking like a normal person? 5. Theory -- 10,000 hours to spend at anything to be seriously good. Do you think there's a similar kind of lesson there to you? 6. It's worse though if she's not mean, isn't it? The two of them were able to build on their shared experience, both being experienced interviewers, and eased into a conversation about Glass's journey as a radio interviewer. Usin...

I like how she developed from the research questions in her Master’s thesis to the ones in her PhD. I wonder if it would make a difference had she not fostered a relationship with the children during the learning experiences? Coming from a science background without teaching experiences, it is amazing that she could work with a large number of children in interviews. As Katie mentioned in the QnA, what impact would it have on her interaction/experiences with the children? Were there any ethical consideration/restrictions that potentially hindered her interaction with the children? If so, how did she cope with them?

Proposed question: I am studying the move to mass higher education in China,  because I want to find out its impact on marginalised groups such as pupils in rural areas and children of migrant workers,  in order to better understand their barriers to accessing higher education and the effectiveness of higher education policies,  so that we will know more about ways to improve fair access. The reading I'm using for this week's reflection: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-010-9384-9#citeas Marginson, S. (2011). Higher education in East Asia and Singapore: rise of the Confucian Model. Higher Education , 61 (5), 587–611. The author studied the phenomenon of massive growth of post-secondary students in the Asia-Pacific region since the 1990s, with a focus on China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam, since 1990s. Except for Vietnam and Japan, these systems exhibit a distinctive model of higher education more effective in so...

Bavelas’s chapter presented a number of dos and don’ts in the research process, each with interesting examples. Essentially, research comes in stages, and researchers need to do the appropriate at each stage. The process goes as follows: assume something is there; explore one’s own thoughts and the phenomenon; generate examples that have the same quality; actively selects events/phenomena to form a class; express yourself in analogues; discover proof of a model; check procedure details with pilot work; check the results through testing. A few quotes stood out. “Creativity in the early stages of science is a way of thinking that can be learned and practiced” (p.308).  However brilliant the initial idea, if one cannot build on it, the research isn’t going anywhere. This is a big “stop” moment for me and made me reflect on how I approached it so far. As a newcomer to the field of Education, there is so much to learn and every topic seems fascinating and worth pursuing. The diffic...

With my niece and nephew, although they were constantly moving, I was able to follow them and noticed things in detail, such as clothing, facial expressions, and what they said and did. Having said that, I didn't remind myself as an observer. I interacted with them and the details were there in my head. I was able to notice changes, and make assumptions based on information I already had.  When it came to strangers, I was more aware of my role as an observer. T here was a lot going on at the same time, and I had to make a choice either following a specific person or switching between different people.  Partly because they were only in sight for a short period of time, people with distinctive features stood out, and I wasn’t able to give everyone the same level of attention.

I sat in my living room on the second floor in front of a large window overlooking the intersection of Wesbrook Mall and Birney Avenue, facing south.  The time was 9am on a Sunday morning, and the roads were quite busy with cars, not many pedestrians though. There were three cars parked on the left side of the road, one of them was a white Zipcar with a distinctive red logo. The sky was gloomy with some clouds. I heard someone in heels coming closer. I leaned over and saw a big blue umbrella. Under the umbrella, I could see a person in a black coat. I couldn't see her face. A Bus 41 came up Wesbrook Mall, it was quite empty without many passengers on. Another Bus 41 went the opposite way. It went away fast, and I didn't have a chance to look inside. Two joggers came east on Birney Avenue together. One of them was wearing a beanie, the other wasn't. They stopped briefly at the crossroad, looked both ways and carried on jogging in the same direction. There was a girl behi...

I was sitting at the desk, typing away, while watching my niece and nephew on the small screen via Facetime. It was 3pm in China. An, my niece, was up close to the camera, while Fei was pretending to be his favourite cartoon character Detective Black Cat, waving a wooden pistol and circling the living room. He was singing lines from the cartoon. I tried to have the attention of Fei. He ignored me. An had slightly messy hair. She was telling me about the snowman she built this morning while holding a Polaroid of it. While she was talking, I can see that she lost one of her front teeth. She looked comical without that tooth, and she sounded funny. She pressed the Polaroid to the camera. The screen went dark, and I couldn’t see a thing. I asked her to pull it back slightly. The snowman has a head and a slightly bigger body, two eyes made of buttons and nothing else. I asked if she would like to give the snowman some limbs. She declined and said that she likes to keep it simple. Fei ...

Red and white Islamic ceramic pattern at the back. The book has a jacket. Two smaller polyhedra objects to the right of the box. Still not sure what the large object on the right hand side is. Similar to the second time, I seek confirmation of objects I already noticed and remembered, before moving on to items that were overlooked. It is easier to remember things I already know.

Observation 1 Shumzzle boardgame, panda on the side Colourful puzzles Grey crocodile Green man Book at the back, King of Infinite Space, man on cover page Teacup and saucer, clock pattern Round shaped toys, big and small Brown feather on messenger box Observation 2 Panda on the front as well Lizzard puzzle Red*2, yellow*2, blue*2, green*2 and black*1 robot Statue behind the book Red and white puzzle at the back Football shaped toy Box with 精品风筝 on Another puzzle to the right Not a messenger box, not sure what it is For the second observation, I tend to confirm what I already know by giving it a second look. Then I paid more attention to things I missed at the first go.

Lester, F. 2011. Theories of Mathematics Education Research framework is a “basic structure of ideas that serve as the basis for a phenomenon that is to be investigated” (p.69). In other words, it is the foundation on which researchers build their research activities. According to the author, research framework serves the following purposes: 1) to conceptualize and design research studies, 2) to make sense of the data, 3) to look beyond common sense, and 4) to deepen understanding. Theoretical framework guides research with a developed theory. It is, however, not without its own problems: 1) some researchers make data fit the theory, 2) data is often stripped of context to serve the theory, 3) theoretical discourse not applicable to day-to-day practice, and 4) single theory does not allow room for theoretical triangulation. Two other types of research frameworks were also introduced, and as Lester put it, “have serious shortcomings” (p.70). Practical framew...

Seeing is believing. Ravens are black. Common sense. All ravens are black. An old Chinese saying "three (person) makes a tiger". Once an event is verified on numerous accounts, it becomes a fact. For example, 2 different sources of news.  Scientific research. Historical research and data indicate that ravens are black. Until proven otherwise.

Sun’s (2012) paper is a case study of a Chinese immigrant language teacher, Wenying, at a secondary school in New Zealand. The author argued that teacher’s identity and cultural heritage plays an important role in shaping her personal practical knowledge and teaching practice. Focus questions: 1) What are the characteristics of teachers’ personal practical knowledge? 2) What factors shape their personal practical knowledge? World view: Teacher’s identity and cultural background have an impact on his/her knowledge and teaching practice. Philosophy/ Epistemology: Humans, individually and socially lead storied lives. Through such stories, each person interprets his/her own experiences and forms personal knowledge. Theory: Knowledge and practice are inseparable from one’s identity and cultural belonging. Principle: Factors that influence teacher's beliefs, thinking process and classroom actions are complex. Concept: Teacher knowledge, person...