Mediating the Message of Action Research

Abstract

In this paper we argue that a multimedia composition of various data sources is an ideal and appropriate medium for conveying the contextspecific, teacher-directed, flexible and cyclical (non-linear) nature of collaborative action research (CAR). This compilation also expresses four main process outcomes of eight CAR studies in southwestern Ontario during 2007-2008: bridging the school-university gap, meaningful professional development, the "catch-22 of time," and complexity.Almost a half-century since Marshall McLuhan (1964) first coined the phrase, "The medium is the message," his most quoted dictum continues to be routinely acknowledged and just as routinely ignored. While technologies of the 21 st century enable unprecedented levels of creativity and variety in presentation media, most scholars still "give papers" aurally, often alongside visual, textbased, projections. Though graphics and photographs appear more frequently through such programs as Power Point, users may remain unconscious to the reality that these programs come with their own sets of aesthetic and semiotic templates (Van Leeuwen, 2008) with conservative, predictable appearances and limited choices. It appears that by focusing almost exclusively on the central, obvious figure or "content" of the message, the "ground" or medium of the message is still often ignored (Federman, 2004;McLuhan). This being the case, researchers may be unknowingly limiting the "impact" of findings by limiting the medium of expression almost exclusively to text.We propose that, while text-based presentations may effectively convey some academic ideas, for other messages, they are inadequate and perhaps even misrepresentative in their relatively simplistic, predictable, linear format. To elaborate the latter case, this paper relates the rationale behind choice of medium to communicate findings about the process of a collaborative action research (CAR) project undertaken by eight teams of teacher-researchers in Southwestern Ontario. By integrating conceptually our research findings and medium of presentation, we offer a format that explains our findings in a more holistic manner and comes closer to expressing the essence of our findings than could be affected through text-only presentation. Finally, we invite readers to experience our multimedia presentation online and then, if suitably provoked, to join in the

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