Confirmation of Candidature - Candidate : Marnie Wirth

The purpose of this research is to explore the facilitation process and discourse features of a small informal and inclusive PD discussion group at a tertiary-based English language college in Sydney. This responds to a need to better understand how facilitation-in-action occurs, and its discourse features within informal small group PD discussion. An explanatory single-case study using a qualitative interpretive approach is proposed. Facilitator-researcher and teacher-participant reflective journals aim to capture insights of the facilitation process. It is envisaged PD sessions will be video and audio recorded for close and repeated observation of members' behaviours using a checklist. Recordings will be transcribed and viewed repeatedly for a deeper dive into discourse features using principles of Conversation Analysis. The study aims to inform professional knowledge and the research field of how facilitation can occur in practice, and the relationship between social interaction in small group discussion and facilitative discourse. 

Key words: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), facilitation, dialogic, teacher-led, professional development (PD)

For more information, please email the Graduate Research School or phone 0746 31 1088.