Data Collection
In the following section, I will describe the data collection strategies we used
for the project: autobiographical writing, journaling our daily practice, guided
conversations with each other, and interviews with instructors. Other forms
of data that were used for the project are the tapes of the research team meetings,
the minutes of the research team meetings and teleconferences, and
hundreds of electronic messages and other written materials like applications,
presentations, initial coding essays and personal notes.
Autobiographical writing as data
The first data the practitioner researchers generated was autobiographical.
We decided to write about our lives for at least four reasons. People's childhoods
and life experiences do affect who they are and may affect whether or
not they become effective instructors. We had a sense that where we came
from and what past experiences we had encountered had somehow made us
the kind of people that we called effective instructors. The ABE/Literacy careers
of four of the practitioner researchers11 in this group span much of the
development of the ABE/Literacy field in BC. They participated in articulation
committees and in the Adult Basic Education Association of BC
(ABEABC) and assumed leadership roles within their colleges. That was
worth capturing. Finally, autobiographical writing allowed our voices to be
heard. Some of us wanted a chance to write about ourselves concerning our
learners, our work, and our passion for teaching, despite how uncomfortable
that made us. Writing from an autobiographical perspective gave us, the
practitioner researchers, a chance to explain who we are and what we have
witnessed as ABE/Literacy instructors.
The practitioner researchers started by discussing how life experiences on
their own were not what we were after. What we were seeking was what they
have in common; autobiography is about more than the person, it's about a
larger context in which the person existed, a culture, a mentality. We were
interested in articulating the stories about coming to ABE/Literacy and what
we found there. The assumption we worked with is that there is something in
our lives, how we became who we are, and how we interpret the world
around us, that can lead to answers to the question about effective practice,
and hence to effective instructors.
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