REACHing Beyond: Conversations on Language and Literacy Research Methods and Methodologies

Research as Relational Praxis: Duoethnography in Language and Literacy Studies

Guest Speakers: Dr. Brian Morgan is a senior scholar at Glendon College, York University. His current areas of interest include critical affective literacies and their adoption in Applied Linguistics and Language Teacher Education. He is also interested in postmemory and supportive research methods such as duoethnography. Dr. Anwar Ahmed is an Assistant Professor of Language Education as Anti-oppressive Transformation in Multilingual Settings in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC’s Faculty of Education. He completed his PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. He previously served as an Associate Editor for Curriculum Inquiry and currently serves as a Co-Editor of the journal Critical Inquiry in Language Studies. Host: The Research Engagement and Collaboration Hub (REACH), the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Host in This Episode: Aika Ishige is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, the University of British Columbia. Her dissertation project examines the majority-group students’ awareness of privilege in the context of multicultural education in Japan. She has worked as a lecturer at a university in Japan for several years before her Ph.D. This episode builds on our earlier REACH workshop, “Research as Relational Praxis: Duoethnography in Language and Literacy Studies,” where Dr. Brian Morgan and Dr. Anwar Ahmed shared their stories and insights about the methodology in a 'duoethnographic' way! We are grateful for their contributions in co-designing and leading that session, and are honored to host this dialogue that continues and expands their conversation.

Research With, Not On: Collaborative Action Research in Language & Literacy Education

Guest Speakers: Dr. Kathryn Accurso is an Associate Professor of Teaching in Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. She is an applied linguist and former English teacher, which has shaped her research interest in literacy, equity, and teacher education. She uses action research to explore how to support K-12 teachers in developing beliefs, knowledge, and practices for teaching disciplinary literacies to multilingual students in the face of structural inequities. Host: The Research Engagement and Collaboration Hub (REACH), the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Host in This Episode: Dr. Melanie Wong is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the University of British Columbia Department of Language and Literacy Education. She is a former K-12 educator. Her research explores the experiences of K-12 English Language Learners in technology-enhanced settings. This episode builds on our earlier REACH workshop, “Research With, Not On: Collaborative Action Research in Language & Literacy Education,” where Dr. Kathryn Accurso shared further insights into the themes we explored together and offered her perspective on action research in relation to her work in teacher education. We are grateful for her contributions in co-designing and leading that session, and are honored to host this dialogue that continues and expands the conversation.

Beyond Either–Or: Conducting and Disseminating Mixed Methods Research

Guest Speakers: Dr. Guofang Li is a Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Transnational and Global Perspectives of Language and Literacy Education of Children and Youth at the University of British Columbia. Her research examines the language and literacy development of multilingual children and youth in transnational and immigrant contexts. She focuses on bilingualism, biliteracy, digital literacies, technology-supported language instruction, and equity-oriented teacher education through longitudinal and cross-cultural studies. Dr. Lee Gunderson is a Professor in Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. He focuses on second-language literacy, multilingual learning, and academic achievement of multilingual and immigrant students through longitudinal and large-scale studies. Dr. Gunderson has published widely and has earned major honors in the field, including induction into the Reading Hall of Fame. Host: The Research Engagement and Collaboration Hub (REACH), the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Host in This Episode: Dr. Melanie Wong is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the University of British Columbia Department of Language and Literacy Education. She is a former K-12 educator. Her research explores the experiences of K-12 English Language Learners in technology-enhanced settings. Aika Ishige is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, the University of British Columbia. Her research interests encompass race, identity, multiculturalism, and critical pedagogy. Her dissertation project examines the majority-group students’ awareness of privilege in the context of multicultural education in Japan. She has worked as a lecturer at a university in Japan for several years before her Ph.D. This episode builds on our earlier REACH workshop, “Beyond Either–Or: Conducting and Disseminating Mixed Methods Research,” where Dr. Guofang Li and Dr. Lee Gunderson helped deepen the themes we explored together and shared personal stories about how they entered the world of mixed methods research. We are grateful for their contributions in co-designing and leading that session, and are honored to host this dialogue that continues and expands their conversation.

Conundrums in Case Study Research

Host: The Research Engagement and Collaboration Hub (REACH), the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Host in This Episode: Dr. Melanie Wong is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the University of British Columbia Department of Language and Literacy Education. She is a former K-12 educator. Her research explores the experiences of K-12 English Language Learners in technology-enhanced settings. Aika Ishige is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, the University of British Columbia. Her research interests encompass race, identity, multiculturalism, and critical pedagogy. Her dissertation project examines the majority-group students’ awareness of privilege in the context of multicultural education in Japan. She has worked as a lecturer at a university in Japan for several years before her Ph.D. In this episode, hosts and the facilitators of the REACH workshop “Conundrums in Case Study Research,” Dr. Melanie Wong and Aika Ishige further explore the themes that emerged during the session and reflect on their work on the case study research. We’re grateful for the active engagement of the participating audience during the workshop. ** There were no guest speakers in this session.

Nothing, Anything, and Everything: Introducing Postqualitative Research through Conversation

Host: The Research Engagement and Collaboration Hub (REACH), the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia. Dr. Kristiina Kumpulainen is a Professor and Head of the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. Her research scholarship is grounded on relational and cultural-historical inquiries into communication, learning and education to better understand how social, historical, political, cultural and material contexts open and/or disclose educational opportunities for diverse learners. Dr. Melanie Wong is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the University of British Columbia Department of Language and Literacy Education. She is a former K-12 educator. Her research explores the experiences of K-12 English Language Learners in technology-enhanced settings. Dr. Zhen Lin recently completed her PhD in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include bilingual and biliteracy education, early bi/multilingual development, heritage language maintenance for immigrant children and youth, and multimodality. Especially, inspired by materialism, posthumanism, and post-qualitative research methodology, her recent SSHRC-funded doctoral research investigates resources and practices for the heritage literacy development of young immigrants in and outside home contexts. Ziwen Mei is a Ph.D. Candidate in Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. Her work focuses on multilingual and multicultural education, particularly with children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. Her doctoral research examines family language policy, deterritorialization, and the intersections of social class and rural–urban labour migration in China. This episode takes shape from the earlier REACH workshop, “Nothing, Anything, and Everything: Introducing Postqualitative Research through Conversation,” during which Dr. Kristiina Kumpulainen, Dr. Zhen Lin, Dr. Melanie Wong and Ziwen Mei (Ph.D Candidate) helped advance the discussion and deepen the ideas we explored together. We are excited to extend this conversation.