Learning From One Another Internationally: Case Studies From the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching, 3

• In Event: 25.043 - Learning From One Another Internationally: Case Studies From the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching

Abstract

This contribution revolves around a self-case study about my research experience as a member of the ISATT. Self-study provides useful learning opportunities to understanding practices, theorizing, and nurturing own professional development (Fraser & Wilson, 2010). The experience is based upon a reflective inquiry about how belonging to the ISATT contributed to actively engage with international researchers by means of a Collaborative Research Grant awarded back in 2015.
The ISATT Collaborative Research Grant Programme is aimed at supporting the development of new researchers by fostering professional relationships between new members and senior members. The themes of the proposals should be aligned to the ISATT’s main scope and purposes. According to the association, the program is a way of promoting “relationships between the beginning and senior researchers that exhibits equality, mutuality, respect and integrity, and care for the development of the other, at the same time that the organization’s mission is realized” (ISATT EC, 2015, p.2).

In this research, the self was examined within the context of an international collaboration between two senior scholars from Canada and Australia and myself. The project was entitled “teacher mentoring knowledge and supervisory strategies: The use of the Mentoring Profile Inventory (MPI) as an online resource in the practicum setting”. The MPI is an online questionnaire that was applied to a sample of 40 cooperating teachers in Spain. During that year we had online conversations, one face to face meeting, and regular email interchanges to accomplish the programmed tasks.

As a result, I learnt the specifics on how to conduct primary research in schools, deal with theoretical dilemmas, face commonplace methodological problems, and improve ways of reporting results. Most importantly, each research collaborator equally participated in designing and executing the research project phases which grew a feeling of authenticity and trust that is not always present in the academia.

The interpretative view on the project emphasized the importance of examining ourselves as researchers (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2004) and, thus, to challenge our best-loved self-conceptions by facing complex situations. But it also gave us an excellent opportunity to engage reciprocal learning since each other’s approaches were shared, mutually constructed, and reshaped along the process.

The main learning from this experience is that building community among international ISATT members paves the way for new researchers to step into international research collaboration and realize about the importance of connecting and networking. The cyclical process of examining and refining practice encompassed not only mutual intellectual effort but also drew upon personal, social and ethical considerations. Ultimately, the experience served to expand my knowledge of and for my research practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999).

Author

• Juanjo Mena, Universidad de Salamanca