Developing a collaborative model of research using digital video

Digital video can play an important role in reconfiguring educational research methodology that challenges the perceived distinction between teachers and academics – the former normally positioned as ‘users’ of research that has been designed, interpreted and theorised by the latter, usually the ‘producers’ or academics [Triggs, P., & John, P. (2004). From transaction to transformation: ICT, professional development and the formation of communities of practice Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Special Issue 20(6) 426–439]. In this paper, we report on a collaborative project between university researchers and four teachers within the Primary and Secondary Sectors that has sought to develop new ways of asking questions about the classroom experience through the use of digital video. By each contributing their expertise and experience, teacher practitioners and researchers work in partnership to interpret and jointly construct new knowledge, understanding and classroom practice. The first part of this paper reports on the methodology, examining the role of digital video in facilitating research collaborations, while the second part provides an account of one of the participating teacher’s experiences of the process.