Welcome to Research in ILT!

This course is designed to acquaint you with the process of doing participatory action research. Action research is:

• Based on a real-life problem
• Done by participants in the setting
• First use: Local
• Usability more important than rigor (although both are important)
• Involves reflection and professional development
• Usually collaborative
• Moral and professional values enter in

Over the course of the semester, you will engage in various inquiry activities that will help you reflect upon and improve your professional practice.

This class Web site contains information vital to your success in this course. At the top of each page of the site are links to the main sections of this class Web site. The compass graphic at the top left of each page will return you to this page.

In the Class Documents section, you'll find the syllabus and course policies. The syllabus contains instructor contact information, course objectives, instructional strategies, short project descriptions, and assessment and evaluation criteria. The course policies outline the expectations for student conduct during the course.

The Research Process section provides details of the steps involved in action research. This section will be vital to you as you design and implement your own action research project.

The Projects & Activities section provides the specifics for various graded assignments you will do and contains examples of the project papers you will write.

Links to a variety of relevant literature can be found in the Research Readings section. These readings will connect the steps of the Research Process to the Projects & Activities you do during the semester.

Since CUOnline will serve to facilitate all collaboration for the course, a section on Using CUOnline is included. You will have access to a course shell through CUOnline. This will be where online discussions of the readings will take place, where rough drafts of papers will be posted and critiqued by members of the class, and where the final drafts of your project papers will be submitted.