Defining my Research Space - Motivational Interviewing
Starting my journey as a post graduate researcher has been something of a shock to the system. It's changed the way I see myself and may change the way others see me in time. But a question I get asked all the time is, "Why? Why would you devote such large proportions of your time to a Doctorate? It's a big commitment and it's expensive." All of that is true.
The answer lies in my research. I'm planning to look at the impact of hybrid learning and hybrid pedagogy. But I don't want to investigate the impact on the student-teacher relationship - there's already a lot of work going on in that area. My interest relates to the impact of hybrid learning and hybrid pedagogy on the teacher-teacher relationship within educational communities of practice. I was struck recently by a tweet where the author commented that, "Online learning has no impact! I know because I've looked. There's nothing in the literature." I'm not sure who wrote that and, to be honest it doesn’t matter. My point is, what if there is an impact that hasn't been documented yet? It seems an obvious gap in the literature and a bit of a gift for any researcher.
In reading about motivational interviewing and the Decisional Balance Framework (Matulich, 2013 as cited by Brunzell and Norrish, 2020) recently I realised there are four key questions I need to answer.
While this framework is designed to help students consider the consequences of maintaining/changing their behaviours, I think it's also a good framework for professionals to use for reflections on their behaviours, decisions and actions too.
So starting with question 1: What are the benefits of continuing with my behaviour? What are the benefits of pursuing this research, investigating the impact of hybrid learning and hybrid pedagogy on teaching communities?
First, if there has been an impact (and I'm not assuming that there has been) on communities of practice, then it's important to understand the nature of that impact. Leaders within such communities can only make informed decisions when armed with evidence. Unfortunately, there does seem to be a lack of evidence or at least a lack of interest in researching this area. I'm not sure if there's a fear that pointing out the problems with online learning will somehow turn more people against it. But surely studying the impact, if indeed there is any, allows a fuller picture to be developed and better inform the implementation of hybrid pedagogical strategies?
The thought did occur to me as to whether the lack of research in this area reflects wider priorities across the sector? While I agree it is entirely appropriate to research the teacher-student relationship, it's equally important to pay attention to the impact of hybrid learning on communities of teachers, the very same communities which have been such a support to so many educators through some very challenging years.
In addition, for me, a huge part of my motivation for pursuing this research is in giving a voice to teachers. I'm not trying to position myself as some kind of spokes person. That's not a reason to do research. Nor am I making the assumption that teachers don't have the power to express their own voice. But my aim is to perform this research with my fellow teachers, not on them and thereby tell a story of the challenges currently being faced by lecturers in the Scottish further education (FE) sector.
But then I arrive at question 2: What are the disadvantages of continuing with this behaviour? What are the disadvantages of pursuing this research?
I suppose I'm just starting to realise that in pursuing my research I may be drawing attention to the fact that throwing technology at teachers and students while making sweeping changes to the learning environment in an expectation that all will be fine might not be the best way to go.
Don't get me wrong, the pandemic emergency response was necessarily rapid and I don't think everything went well. Moreover, it's probably tainted people's view of proper online education. But this isn't about the pandemic any longer. Moving forward we have to do better. But will this argument paint me as an outsider? A nay-sayer? Maybe. Will it impact my reputation? Yes, I think it will. But I think there comes a point where you have to stand up and be counted I suppose. That's what I'm learning about educational leadership. You don't need to be a manager in a hierarchical position of power to exhibit leadership.
So then we get to question 3: What are the disadvantages of changing my behaviour? What are the disadvantages of not doing this research?
If I don't do this research then the literature gap remains. I don't get the title of Doctor McIntosh (which I have to say is kind of growing on me). The stories that I want to help others to share simply won't get told. And the naive status quo remains unchallenged.
I say that in the light of having recently read that a clear advantage of hybrid learning is the capacity to generate commercial income. While I understand the need for organisations to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic, I predicted some years ago that some institutions would capitalise on the learning at scale model in order to increase their capacity. Economies of scale don't work when increased capacity is implimented without the prerequisite staff development and infrastructure... but that's an old story now.
And finally question 4: What are the advantages of changing my behaviour? What are the advantages of not doing this research?
I save money. I save time. I save energy. It's way easier for me. I go to work, do my job, get paid and come home. I get to live a quiet life.
But where's the fun in that!
You can follow me on twitter @McintoshMclean
References
Brunzell, T. and Norrish, J. (2020) Creating Trauma-Informed, Strengths Based Classrooms: Teacher Strategies for Nurturing Students Healing, Growth and Learning [ebook reader]. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
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