Open to Course 6 participants and the Kanda University academic community
Tuesday 4 April (15.00 – 16.30)
Action Research for Language Teachers and advisors (Hayo Reinders and Amelia Yarwood)
The purpose of this workshop is to introduce action research (AR), and to explore how it can be hugely beneficial to improving language education in a wide range of contexts. We will first explore the action research cycle, which involves planning, acting, observing, reflecting and revising plans. We will also explore what resources you may be able to draw on and the ethical consideration involved. Next, we will reflect on way that action research could be implemented in your teaching practice. By the end of the workshop, you will have composed the beginnings of a potential action research project.
5 April (16.00 – 17.00)
Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining for Language Teaching (Hayo Reinders)
The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the topics of educational data mining and learning analytics, and to explore how they may be relevant to improving learning and teaching, as well as enable new types of research. We will first explore the increasing range of data available to teachers and researchers about our students’ language learning journeys, the types and frequency of language input they receive and output they produce, as well as the various types of engagement data we now have access to. Next, we will look at ways in which such data can be gathered, analysed and put to use to improve language learning and teaching.
Hybrid talk, open to participants of Course 6 and the KUIS staff and students.
Members of the public are welcome to attend online (register first)
6 April (16.00 – 17.00)
Narrative Inquiry for Language Teachers and Advisors (Amelia Yarwood and Hayo Reinders)
Narrative inquiry brings together storytelling and research, often in one of two ways: using stories as research data, or using storytelling as an analytical method. With a focus on how individuals make sense of their experiences, narrative inquiry emphasises the importance of individual perspectives in understanding phenomena. In this workshop we will look at examples of what narrative inquiry involves in practice and how it contributes to an understanding of language teaching and learning. The workshop will begin with an overview of key principles and theories, questions of objectivity vs. subjectivity, and approaches to collecting, analysing and co-constructing narratives. Participants will leave the workshop with experience in applying select narrative inquiry methods to a sample set of data.
Presenters
Dr. Hayo Reinders (www.innovationinteaching.org) is TESOL Professor and Director of the doctoral programme at Anaheim University in the USA as well as Professor of Applied Linguistics at KMUTT in Thailand. Hayo is Editor of the journal Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching (published by Taylor & Francis) and edits a book series on “New Language Learning and Teaching Environments”. He founded the Institute for Teacher Leadership. His interest are in teacher empowerment, learner autonomy, and educational technology.
Amelia Yarwood is a part-time visiting lecturer at the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) at Kanda University of International Studies and a full-time doctoral student at Kansai University’s Graduate School of Foreign Language Education and Research in Japan. She is a qualified Advisor Educator and has been teaching and advising in the tertiary sector since 2018. Her interests are in learner autonomy, identity, emotion and motivation, which she generally explores using action research and narrative inquiry methods.