What Does Critical Action Research in Large Online University Courses Involve?

• In Event: 69.056 - Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 69.056-16 - Putting Research in Action: Collaborative Action Research and Action Learning for Transformed Practice

Abstract

In this presentation, employing the paradigms of critical action research and practitioner inquiry, the teachers of a large online undergraduate English grammar course (700 students) report the attempts of the instructors of the course to employ critical action research in order to answer the following questions: Does the online nature of the course alienate the students? How can we accommodate students’ backgrounds, interests, cultural legacies, and first languages? What actions can we take to create an online critical pedagogy? The presenters explain how they systematically documented moments of dissonance and reflected upon their uncertainties and anxieties when facing pitfalls and challenges caused by the online structure of the course. They finally talk about resultant interventions and initiatives.

Authors

• Amir Kalan, University of Toronto

• Michelle Troberg, University of Toronto