Session Information
22 ONLINE 25 B, Discussing Teaching and Learning Strategies
Paper Session
MeetingID: 994 1078 0263 Code: s5Gfdy
Contribution
The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways collage as an arts-based teaching strategy enables students and teachers of qualitative research to deepen their understandings of research topics they seek to investigate. Developing research topics and questions is key to research design, yet the way students develop their questions and teachers facilitate student exploration of their areas of interest has received limited attention in scholarly literature (Agee, 2009; White, 2009; 2013). Drawing on arts-based qualitative pedagogies, reflective practice and social constructivist theories, we show how engaging students in reflecting on the collages they created for their research topics led students to deeper insights about their research interests, their own roles, and qualitative methodologies.
One of the biggest challenges in research is the initial stage which involves selection and development of a research topic (Holliman & Jones, 2018; Kernan et al., 2018; White, 2009). Many students tend to choose their topic hastily, often with a superficial understanding of the research problem. We find students are rarely prepared to fully engage in the topic development process and take all the necessary steps, such as challenging previously held beliefs and preparing themselves for identifying and understanding a research topic (Luse et al., 2012). A teacher can engage students in a thoughtful, guided process to help them organize their thoughts, identify their interests, and prioritize the options (Kernan et al., 2018) for their research topics.
The reflective turn in teaching research methodologies calls for instructors and students to engage in shared reflection about the teaching and learning of research (Kilburn et al., 2014; Kuby & Christ, 2020). One way to do this is through arts-based pedagogy, which in recent years has gained popularity in teaching research (Dickinson & Telford, 2020; Kranke et al., 2016; Mulvihill & Swaminathan, 2019). Collage is one arts-based technique professors of research can use to engage students creatively and reflectively in analyzing their research interests and understandings of research methodologies (Katz-Buonincontro, 2015). Collage is an arts-based technique "where stories are shared graphically" (Butler-Kisber, 2018, p. 114). Collage has the potential to help collage artists and viewers look at phenomena from different perspectives, combine cognitive and emotional reactions, disclose unconscious experiences, create new meanings through the juxtaposition of images, and provide alternative insights (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2010).
Method
This study is driven by arts-based research methodologies which emphasize creativity, reflection, and multimodal explorations of many possible perspectives (Mulivihill & Swaminathan, 2019; Leavy, 2018). We focus on the use of collage as a visual method which requires layering of multiple images and materials to construct a representation of an idea (Butler-Kisber, 2018; Scotti & Chilton, 2018). The study was conducted by two professors in Lithuania (Dr.L and Dr.R), in consultation with a qualitative research methodologist from the U.S. (Dr.A). All three professors teach qualitative methodologies to doctoral students and have previously discussed the challenges of helping students develop deeper understandings of topics and phenomena students wanted to study. Data collection for the study took place in January 2021, during the course Social Research Methodology in the Ph.D. program in Educational Sciences at a state university in Lithuania. In order to explore how the collage techniques might contribute to the student development of the research topic, we dedicated our first meeting with the doctoral students to the presentation of collage as a research and learning technique. At the end of the class, we gave students handouts with recommended readings and tasks for the next meeting: to prepare a collage using at least 15 pictures to illustrate their research topics. We emphasized that the artistic aspects of the collage were insignificant, as the main focus should be on the presentation of their potential dissertation ideas. In the next meeting a week later, students presented their collages to teachers and peers, discussed their research topics conveyed in the collages, reflected on the process of creation, and asked each other questions. At the end of the session, we initiated a discussion about learning through creating and presenting collages. The classes and collage presentations took place online using the Zoom platform. The recordings of the meetings and their transcriptions, which we made manually after the meetings, became the basis for data analysis. Data selected for the analysis included: the teaching materials (handout, powerpoint), the transcript of a 1.5 hour-long teaching/learning activity of presenting and discussing collages; 1.5 hour-long doctoral students' reflection activity; and student written reflections.
Expected Outcomes
Reflecting on work with the collages, students talked about the "eureka moment" of enlightenment, when they discovered something new and unexpected about their research topics. After all students presented and discussed their collages, Dr. L. concluded the session by expressing an appreciation for the engaging and moving nature of their presentations. Several days later, the students sent Dr. L. their reflections on the learning experience. Isla said she did not have any new insights; her standpoint did not change, however, she realized how strongly undecided she was about the research participants and the research focus; she was at the crossroads of options and decisions. For Isla, the initial decision on the research topic was more relevant than its development. Meanwhile, other doctoral students had more or less formulated research topics and took another step towards the topic development. In all cases, due to the presentations through collage, the doctoral students gained new insights into the diversity of the research topic development techniques, into the focus of the research topic, as well new insights for further research topic development. This study demonstrates the potentials of using collage as an arts-based teaching method to create opportunities for teachers and students to gain new and unexpected insights into their research topics, reconsider the research focus through visualization, anticipate further research development directions, understand the uniqueness of the research topic, reduce self-criticism, and build self-confidence. Making time to explore research topics in depth and from multiple point of view can lead to better developed research questions, designs, and contributions to knowledge and practice in education (Luse, 2012; White, 2009).
References
Agee, J. (2009). Developing qualitative research questions: a reflective process. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), 22(4), 431-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390902736512 Butler-Kisber, L. & Poldma, T. (2010). The power of visual approaches in qualitative inquiry: The use of collage making and concept mapping in experiential research. Journal of Research Practice, 6 (2), M18. http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/197/196 Butler-Kisber, L. (2018). Qualitative inquiry: Thematic, narrative and arts-based perspectives. Sage. Dickinson, S., & Telford, A. (2020). The visualities of digital story mapping: teaching the “messiness” of qualitative methods through story mapping technologies. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 44(3), 441–457. Holliman, A. J., & Jones, T. (2018). Identifying a topic for a psychology dissertation: A process map for students. Psychology Teaching Review, 24(1), 82–90. Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2015). Decorative integration or relevant learning? A literature review of studio arts-based management education with recommendations for teaching and research. Journal of Management Education, 39(1), 81–115. Kernan, W. D., Basch, C. H, & Cadorett, V. (2018). Using mind mapping to identify research topics: A lesson for teaching research methods. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 4(2), 101–107. Kilburn, D., Nind, M., & Wiles, R. (2014). Learning as researchers and teachers: The development of a pedagogical culture for social science research methods? British Journal of Educational Studies, 62(2), 191–207. Kranke, D., Constantine Brown, J. L., Danesh, S., & Watson, A. (2016). Ideas in action: Teaching qualitative analytic methods in social work research through the analysis of song lyrics. Social Work Education, 35(2), 229–235. Kuby, C. R., & Christ, R. C. (2020). Speculative pedagogies of qualitative inquiry. Routledge. Leavy, P. (Ed.), (2018). Handbook of arts-based research. Guilford Press. Luse, A., Mennecke, B. E., & Townsend, A. M. (2012). Selecting a research topic: A framework for doctoral students. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 7, 143–152. Mulvihill, T. M., & Swaminathan, R. (2019). Arts-based educational research and qualitative inquiry: Walking the path. Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315143361 Scotti, V., & Chilton, G. (2018). Collage as arts‑based research. In P. Leavy (Ed.), Handbook of arts-based research. (pp. 355-376). Guilford Press. White, P. (2013). Who's afraid of research questions? The neglect of research questions in the methods literature and a call for question-led methods teaching. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 36(3), 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2013.809413 White, P. (2009). Developing research questions: A guide for social scientists. Palgrave Macmillan.
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