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This purpose of this article is to explain action research as a cyclical process through the ideas and work of French philosopher, Gilles Deleuze. Although the article primarily focuses on the idea of Deleuze, it does begin with by describing Lewin’s initiation of the term and process of “action research” The purpose of action research, according to Lewin, was to generate knowledge and bring about change in social systems. These two characteristics of action research have influenced the present-day cyclical approach of action research.
The article then begins to focus on the Deleuzian aspects of the cyclical process of action research. The authors do this by using a hypothetical example, which includes a small rural village proposing and receiving approval to use an empty land site for a market garden. For the sake of relatability and reflection, I will be using examples related to the education field and my own practice as an educator when explaining the Deleuzian aspects.
The basis of the Deleuzian aspects focuses on the “interactive dimensions of reality.” The dimensions described are actual and virtual. The actual is what we might refer to as concrete nouns- actual objects, people, or places. The virtual are considered ideas, feelings, or representations of the actual. The virtual has the ability to change the way we see or think of the actual, although the actual is still the same. For example, there is a student in another class that I agree to tutor. I see this student every day, but as I begin to tutor the students I notice the student’s creative ability and love for reading scary stories. The student, herself, has not changed (the actual), but the way I begin to see the students changes (virtual). When the two dimensions are combined that is what Deleuze believes creates something new and creative. Using the two dimensions of reality, four Deleuzian aspects, which are all dependent of each other, are explained further in detail.
The first aspect mentioned is majoritorian and minoritorian. Majoritorian refers to a conventional process, or something defined by specific restrictions and/or characteristics. Minoritorian is used to describe something that has “no fixed standard or norm.” The cyclical process of action research should lead to be minoritorian but can be majoritarian if restrictions and procedures are places on the action research. I am curious as to how “free-natured” Deleuze believes action research should be. If I were to write out an action research plan, would that be considered majoritarian because I have developed specific steps/plan to follow? Or would it be the implementation of the plan itself to be considered majoritarian or minoritorian?
The next aspect is that of problems and solutions. The idea of Deleuze is that problems encourage thinking, which is positive. As related to the dimensions of reality, problems are the actual and solutions are the virtual. Solutions change the nature of the problem and encourages further problems and thinking, which supports the cyclical process. I honestly wish the idea was emphasized more in schools and the world of education. In so many instances problems are negative and are often given a “quick fix.” For example, students struggle with reading in our school overall. I feel as though pushing the implementation of a reading problem was a quick solution to fix this negative problem, which really has not proven to be that beneficial. I can only imagine what would be different if we thought of this as an opportunity to really think about and create solutions based on our students and what we know about them.
The third aspect was the apprenticeship to signs. Apprenticeship means the educative aspect of the action research, while signs refer to the unfolding of virtual and actual events. What this means is that as action researchers we should purposely searching for opportunities to engage in curiosity and educate ourselves. The fourth and final aspect is the “reciprocal dialectic of continuous becoming.” This aspect stresses the importance of the bonding of the action research project and the action research. Both should act as one, continuously developing throughout the process. I believe both of these aspects really tie into the importance of self-reflection as a teacher. It is my duty to purposely and carefully pay attention to my students and reflect on my instruction. Both of these result in my growing as a teacher and enhancing and improving whatever aspect of my class I am aiming the focus on.
Although I found this article to be quite confusing in my first read due to the severe abstract nature, I also found it to be very interesting and thought-provoking. As seen in my examples above, I was able to create several connections to my practice as a teacher. I believe all the aspects presented are worth considering and purposefully implementing when conducting research. My biggest takeaway is the reiteration of self-reflection throughout the process of action research, and how critical it is to ensure that you are not only changing and action as an action researcher, but also developing and improving yourself as the practitioner.
While reading this article I kept returning to this idea or “interactive dimensions of reality” and it finally clicked that all it was talking about is how a person’s reality is made up of all these, concrete and virtual, things. The reality of people is cyclical, which in turns makes this type of research cyclical. People adapt their thinking based on questions, answers, and experiences, so it would make sense that action research is cyclical. The research itself has created a life, which is affected by both the virtual and actual. With the theory of majoritarian and minoritorian, all research and life has a list to follow. In life this plan is broader in terms of the, what and how, so in research the beginning plan is still broad enough to make it less of a norm. As this class has progressed, I wonder how I haven’t applied purposeful action research into my teaching already. I as a teacher may complete parts of this process but the ideals of action research so closely relate to how humans live their lives, that it should just become second nature for educators to question and then find an answer.
Charity,
From what I could understand, I think you did a great job of describing the 4 Deleuzian aspects of action research discussed. I also had to read this article a few times due to some of the language and abstract ideas discussed. I appreciate how you broke down each aspect and were able to reflect and connect it directly to your own practice. I personally was not able to do this myself. Unfortunately, I do not think this article helped to increase my understanding of action research and its cyclical process. Instead I have found myself conflicted, asking even more questions, and questioning what I thought I already understood about action research. What is the difference between the two realities? Is action research always going to be considered minoritarian because it is not a fixed process? I am not a fan of how the author chose to use a hypothetical scenario but overall this article and blog experience has been very thought provoking.
Charity,
I felt that you hit the major points of the article. You also sufficiently described the 4 characteristics of Deleuzian action research. I never considered action research broken down into the components of the action research: minoritorian/majoritorian, relation between problems and solutions, apprenticeship to signs, reciprocal diabetic of continuous becoming. Though the article gave an interesting background in the characteristics of action research, I was more intrigued by the interactive dimensions of reality. The actual reality comprised of what is going on in the now and what exists. However as teachers, I feel that the virtual holds a great deal of promise for our practice. What new teaching strategy can I use to reach this child? How will this new program aide students in developing executive functioning? Imaging all of the virtual possibilities helps to shape what can occur during actual reality.