Oxford Brookes MA Blogs

Goodbye to all you lovely Amsterdam (Assen/Stavanger/Maastricht) students - hope the weekend was a successful for you as it felt for us - don’t forget to send Robin your working titles in the next 2 weeks…
and Hello to very exceptional Rome students!

The dissertation handbook is in the pages section to the right and there is a link to the new Gallery which contains a number of recent dissertations - you will need the MA password - Erica will remind you via email!

The Rome programme is attached here - see you Thursday 19th
rome-feb-09

Yes - it is Saturday!
Hope you managed to get your reading done?
A text we will be looking at today is ‘A Handbook for Teacher Research’, Lankshear and Knobel (2004) - maybe something you should get a copy of for Action Research, Educational Research module and your Diss.
The powerpoint for today and other resources can be found from the pages menu to the right under Action Research. The references and readings for this afternoon’s session on critical reading can be found under RPD.
Chicken and chips for lunch!
You might want to look at this Toolkit to inform your AR Project approach.
(See Educational Research page for more)

Welcome back to the programme.
This weekend we have the following in store for you:
Friday
5.00pm - Light tea at the Upper School BSA (same venue as November)
5.30pm - Outline of the weekend; General feedback on optional modules and RPD Opening Summary - discussion of issues arising
6.30 - On-line access and some further guidance and an article search task
7.30 - homework - read recommended McNiff article
Saturday
9.00 - coffee
9.30 Overview of specific features of and approaches to AR for this programme; identify a critical friend
10.30 - coffee with your critical friend and discuss areas of interest and focus
11.00 - Poster session; peer critique; reflection; re-group
12.30 - lunch
1.30 - RPD critical review task; review of AR articles; on being critical; pair/group activity
3.30 - feedback and emerging issues for the assignment and further study
4.30 session ends and homework task
Sunday
9.00 - coffee
9.30 - AR assignment workshop - presentations and written report
10.30 - Tea
11.00 - tutorials - assignments, focus for AR Project, collaborative discussions, critical friend activity
12.30 - weekend programme ends

Welcome to the final tutor-led sessions for this first year of the programme.
We will be joining at St George’s British International School in Malaga as agreed tomorrow, Friday December 5th at 5.00pm.
The first session will be your presentation of work in progress towards your Action Research Project.
We are anticipating 12 presentations - please refer to the guidance on the grid found here.
We have always found this session fascinating and very helpful in shaping your projects.
The presentations will take up most of this opening session - we anticipate finishing around 7.30pm.
Saturday sees the re-commencement of your option modules with Robin or Erica - we are aiming to finish by early Sunday afternoon - 2.00pm latest.
Handbooks and tutor slides will be uploaded onto the modules pages today if you want a preview.
Weather is dreadful here so hope Malaga has a few rays of sunshine to offer?!

For a great few days and hope you have a safe journey home.
Clarification of RPD:
Opening summary 800 words by January 9th 2009 (include appendix 1 - 6 things about me; appendix 2 me cg; appendix 3 learner profile)
Critical review of an article - we will discuss on February 6th - submit by June 19th;
Closing summary - submit by June 19th - more details in February.

Thank you all for a brilliant day - hope you are not too exhausted with all that reflective thinking.
I have added some further module pages which include your optional module power points.
Don’t forget your homework:
articles to read;
RPD Handbook to mull over
Check out the Learner Profile (Appendix in the RPD Handbook) and the example
Work on your ‘6 things about me’.
Bring some critical questions with you tomorrow
Consider being a student rep.
Why not leave a comment - click comments below

Happy Friday from us - see you for a 9.30 start tomorrow (conference ‘notes’ are usually at 9.15 and coffee/breakfast is available)

Welcome to those of you who have now signed up for Cohort 2 - we are delighted to welcome you to Session 1 at the British School of Amsterdam, Upper School Campus on Fred. Roeskestraat.
The sessions are as follows with further details at the welcome on Thursday 13th.
Thursday November 13th 5.00pm-7.30pm Session 1: Refreshments, welcome from the team and introduction to your first module (your choice of optional module - either curriculum studies or leadership and management);
Friday 14th 9.00-5.00pm Session 2: optional modules continued + RPD 2.00pm-4.00pm; 5.00pm cobis conference drinks party;
Saturday 15th 9.00am - 4.00pm Session 3: optional modules continued + RPD 2.00pm-4.00pm
End of first meeting but contact continues via distance learning.
Dates of follow up meetings to be confirmed with the group so please bring your diaries!
Further course joining materials, directions and some pre-reading will be sent via email on Monday 10th/Tuesday 11th November.

Want to join us? Send an urgent email to MA programmes Administrator -  wiecpd at brookes.ac.uk
Mark ‘Amsterdam - URGENT‘

Yes, you guessed, it’s us!
The second year of the Rome programme commences this week at St Georges British International School and it’s the Educational Research module. This is where we, and you, get serious about your dissertations and bombard us with proposals - well one anyway.
Erica and Robin will kick off on Thursday at 4.00pm in the library - see flexible timetable below.
We are leaving on Saturday afternoon at around 2.00pm, Friday night is the time to be sociable if you have any energy left.
rome-programme

Reminder that the new Amsterdam programme commences on Thursday November 13th 5.00pm at the British School and then works alongside the COBIS Teachers’ Conference until Saturday afternoon at 4.00pm.

Welcome to the Oxford Brookes University MA in Education based at the BSA.
I hope the information presented to you this afternoon is helpful and you will go on to join us for the next programme start on Thursday November 13th 5.00pm.
Should you requite any further information please contact  cpd.wie at brookes.ac.uk

In 2 weeks time, that is by Monday October 13th 5.00pm, send directly to Robin:
Your working title;
some brief notes about your research process - what you are going to do next, how you are going to go about it (some ideas from the Imagine and Implement sections);
any questions you have so far.

This is not an assessed piece - it is designed to help move you on quickly.
You may want to keep the A3 paper you worked on yesterday as evidence of your starting point - good to refer back to later - and this could be scanned or photographed for inclusion in your report, e.g. as an appendix.