I continued my research on methodology. I found some useful articles on action research and reflective practice. Apparently these two are quite similar, as they both involve the improvement of practice through reflection on the process and experience. But action research embodies strategic action, which is the attempt at solving issues and problems by means of systematic and purposeful approaches. In that sense, action research is a deeper level of reflective practice. I believe that I am employing reflective practice now, as I am not addressing any particular issues at the moment; though it may be necessary to present a problem in the future to invoke further and deeper discussion around this topic. In my findings I discovered that reflective practice seems to be methodology employed by many educators, as there were numerous papers surrounding teaching and this method together. I also read a journal article that discusses some philosophical backgrounds of action research. Mary Brydon-Miller et al. argues: "Action research challenges the claims of positivistic views of knowledge which holds that in order to be credible, research must remain objective and value-free. Instead, we embrace the notion of knowledge as socially constructed and, recognizing that all research is embedded within a system of values and promotes some model of human interaction..." (from "Why Action Research?") I like this description and Brydon-Miller et al.'s belief's surrounding action research. I enjoy learning about the human interaction involved in this methodology, since most things we do is regarding humans. We are humans, and therefore it is in our nature to see ourselves in everything. There must be some deep philosophical idea here that I am not well-read enough to address, but I can connect this to narratology in some way. Narratology is wholly based on human experience, and probably originated from the oral communication of stories to pass on that experience; and therefore it makes it appropriate for me to utilize these methodologies as I am working towards a narrative will evoke certain emotions in the reader.
There were other ideas concerning action research, like Tim McMahon's statement: "Thus, learning is seen as the creation of knowledge through'the transformation of experience'. This emphasis on transformation creates a more active concept of learning than being merely the acquisition of information or skill." (McMahon, 1999) I have alluded this idea with the process of reading comics, which leverages on the cognitive knowledge of the reader.
I also looked up active documentation. Here is a quote from Mario J. Silva et al.: "Good documentation promotes reuse of design objects and processes, as well as providing a deeper meaning of the understanding of design." I am uncertain as to where to apply this statement to, but I do agree with it. Personally I believe active documentation supports the exegesis, and provides materials for future reflection, which in turns upholds the concept of reflective practice and action research.
I might begin to write about methodology within this week.
Dark fumes and gloomy clouds.
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