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The Work of Improvement

Item

Title
The Work of Improvement
Alternate name
Chapter 2
Abstract/Description
In this chapter, we summarize key stances and insights from studies of work and workplaces that can inform improvement research in education. First, we make linkages between studies of work and vital features of CER [community-engaged research] such as the building of trust and relationship structures in partnership work. We provide illustrative examples of how research that foregrounds work systems and infrastructures inform the ways in which we can approach CER. Second, we highlight how design methods such as human-centered design, participatory design, and related methodological extensions can help CER practitioners more clearly see the key targets for improvement work from the perspective of community members. Finally, we illuminate how critical and equity-focused lenses help us push beyond assumed values, goals, and work processes to understand when CER projects must radically shift in their approach, or when research itself may not be beneficial for a given community’s needs. These frameworks are vital to help practitioners develop deeper practices of reflexivity, to bound CER work in situations where values and aims are aligned, and to continuously monitor the potential harms one might enact (often unintentionally) without a critical CER practice.
[Quoted from pp. 29-30 of Chapter]
Author/creator
Ahn, June
Van Steenis, Erica
Penuel, William R.
Date
2022
In publication
The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education
Editor
Peurach, Donald J.
Russell, Jennifer Lin
Cohen-Vogel, Lora
Penuel, William R.
Pages
29-46
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Resource type
en Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
en Published Text
Scholarship genre
en Methodological
en Synthesis/Overview
IRE Approach/Concept
Community-Engaged Research
Human-Centered Design
Participatory Design
Social Design Experiment/Social Design-Based Experiment (SDBE)
Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)
Equity
Infrastructure
Infrastructuring
Design-Based Research
Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR)
Politicized Trust
Featured case/project
Impact
Learning in Places
Chicago City of Learning (CCOL)
Middle-school Mathematics and the Institutional Setting of Teaching (MIST) Project
Open access/full-text available
en No
ISBN
978-1-5381-5234-8
URL
Publisher Webpage
Citation
Ahn, J., Van Steenis, E., & Penuel, W. R. (2022). The Work of Improvement. In D. J. Peurach, J. L. Russell, L. Cohen-Vogel, & W. R. Penuel (Eds.), The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538152348/The-Foundational-Handbook-on-Improvement-Research-in-Education
Item sets
The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education

Linked resources

Items with "Cited in: The Work of Improvement"
Title Class
Developmental Work Research: Expanding Activity Theory in Practice Book
Equity of Learning Opportunities in the Chicago City of Learning Program Conference Paper
Expansive Learning at Work: Toward an Activity Theoretical Reconceptualization Journal Article
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Freedom of Movement: Defining, Researching, and Designing the Components of a Healthy Learning Ecosystem Journal Article
Guest Editors' Introduction: Rethinking Methodology in the Learning Sciences Journal Article
Human-Centred Learning Analytics Journal Article
Human-Computer Interaction and Education Book Chapter
Implementing Learning Analytics to Foster a STEM Learning Ecosystem at the City-Level: Emerging Research and Design Challenges Conference Paper
Learning Theory in Practice: Case Studies of Learner-Centered Design Conference Paper
Mapping and Modeling the Abundance, Diversity, and Accessibility of Summer Learning Opportunities at the Scale of a City Presentation
Negotiating Problems of Practice in Research–Practice Design Partnerships Journal Article
Not Just a Blip in Someone’s Life: Integrating Brokering Practices Into Out-of-School Programming as a Means of Supporting and Expanding Youth Futures Journal Article
On the Theoretical Breadth of Design-Based Research in Education Journal Article
Organizational Routines as Coupling Mechanisms: Policy, School Administration, and the Technical Core Journal Article
Organizing for Teacher Agency in Curricular Co-Design Journal Article
Organizing Research and Development at the Intersection of Learning, Implementation, and Design Journal Article
Items with "Cited in: The Work of Improvement"
Title Class
Elements of the Theory of Structuration Book Chapter
Heritage: Having a Say Book Chapter
How to Infrastructure Book Chapter
Infrastructuring and Participatory Design: Exploring Infrastructural Inversion as Analytic, Empirical and Generative Journal Article
Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction Book
Making Work Visible Journal Article
Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence Book
Nurturing Affinity Spaces and Game-Based Learning Book Chapter

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