2 minute read
2021-22 IBSC Action Research Cohort of Educators from Leading Boy’s Schools
Suzanne Hill Head of Languages - Senior School
As a Languages Educator and Head of the Languages Department at The King’s School, I was excited to be involved with the 2021-22 IBSC Action Research Cohort of Educators from Leading boys’ schools across the world. Being inspired by the 2020 IBSC theme, Boys and Technology: New Horizons, New Challenges, New Learning and across two years of work with the IBSC Action Research team, I was able to explore the methodology of action research to implement a project to ultimately benefit my department. This culminated in presenting my action research project, La Realité Virtuelle: Using Immersive Technology to Engage Year 7 Boys in Learning French at the 2022 IBSC Conference. in Dallas, Texas.
My action research project took place with a class of Year 7 boys to explore the potential of using virtual reality in the Languages classroom. It involved using the platform of ‘ImmerseMe’ in the Year 7 French program and analysing its effect on the motivation and fluency of my students. The research took place in Term 3 and 4 of 2021 in the classroom and also through online learning.
The final results of my project were: ImmerseMe[™]motivated my students to improve their fluency in more ways than I expected. It provided a transitive factor for my students, which made the repetitive language practice required more interesting and engaging. Many facets of the platform were motivating for my students, including the real-life context, relative safety of communicating in a virtual environment, the necessity for accurate pronunciation, and gamification elements. Conducting the project with my class in 2021, in both the distance learning and face-to-face teaching environment, allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of the boys’ learning as they became experts in the development of a good French pronunciation and the concept of fluency.
Collaborating with a group of teachers from different schools in Adelaide, New York, Toronto, and the UK, who were also conducting action research in their own schools, under the guidance of a team of advisors, allowed me to make international connections as well as ensure that my project was grounded in educational research and best practice. The experience of synthesising the action research journey and our findings into sessions at the IBSC Conference allowed us to present and discuss our projects with a wider audience of educators from like schools.
The IBSC Conference in Dallas also allowed me to experience professional development from both Languages Educators and professionals in boys’ education in wider contexts. Since returning from the conference over the Term 2 holidays, I have been able to share my research, not only with the Languages Department and the Heads of Department at ‘The King’s School’, but also through conference presentations with Melbourne Catholic Schools and the NSW Association of French Teachers.
I found the whole process invaluable and would highly recommend the action research process to any teacher who wishes to improve their practice, make international connections, and engage in further professional learning.
