The paper is drawn upon the findings of our research incorporating videostimulated recall as a research technique in stimulated recall interviews in order to explore Vietnamese teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding learner autonomy. Data, which included interviews, videotaping, and observation, were collected with four EFL teachers with at least 5 years of experience at four universities in Hanoi, Vietnam. Findings show that the technique produces a maximum opportunity for reflective thought for the teachers involved.
Chi n l c ngo i ng xu th h i nh p Tháng 11/2014 NGHIÊN CỨU ỨNG DỤNG KỸ THUẬT KÍCH THÍCH HỒI TƯỞNG KÝ ỨC BẰNG VIDEO TRONG DẠY-HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ Nguy n Thanh Nga Trường Đại học Sư phạm Nghệ thuật Trung ương Tóm t t: Video-stimulated recall (tạm dịch Kỹ involved to stimulate their thinking The use of the thuật kích thích hồi tưởng qua việc sử dụng video- stimulated recall technique has grown in popularity VSR) hiểu kỹ thuật kích thích hồi tưởng trí particularly in studies of teachers’ beliefs and practices nhớ qua việc sử dụng video Với kỹ thuật này, ñối However, there is little discussion on the utilisation of tượng nghiên cứu ñược xem lại ñoạn băng ghi hình lại video-stimulated hoạt động nhằm hỗ trợ, gợi nhớ cho ñối reflective thought in the classroom, especially in Asian tượng nghiên cứu suy nghĩ tình countries The present study investigated whether liên quan ñến vấn ñề nghiên cứu Kỹ thuật stimulated ñã ñược sử dụng số nghiên cứu giáo encourageVietnamese dục số lĩnh vực khác Tuy nhiên, việc ứng dụng practices in real-world context The paper is drawn kỹ thuật việc hỗ trợ giáo viên phát triển khả upon the findings of our research incorporating video- phản hồi việc dạy-học lớp cịn ít, đặc stimulated recall as a research technique in stimulated biệt nước châu Á Việt Nam Bài viết báo recall interviews in order to explore Vietnamese cáo nghiên cứu tác giả việc ứng dụng teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding learner kỹ thuật VSR với 04 giảng viên tiếng Anh 04 trường autonomy Data, which included interviews, videotaping, đại học cơng lập địa bàn Hà Nội Phương pháp thu and observation, were collected with four EFL teachers thập số liệu vấn, quan sát vấn ứng with at least years of experience at four universities in dụng kỹ thuật VSR Kết nghiên cứu cho thấy việc Hanoi, Vietnam Findings show that the technique ứng dụng kỹ thuật VSR mang lại kết khả quan produces a maximum opportunity for reflective thought việc hỗ trợ giáo viên phát triển khả phản hồi for the teachers involved However, attention should be trình dạy-học Tuy nhiên, ảnh hưởng paid to develop creative and flexible solutions to the số yếu tố văn hóa, xã hội, người sử dụng kỹ challenges that teachers may face due to the cultural thuật phải linh hoạt cần có chuẩn bị kỹ influence on the reflective process The article Bài tham luận ñưa số chia sẻ gợi ý ñể concludes with a summary of implications for future sử dụng kỹ thuật hiệu research and practices recall recall to encourage could EFL facilitate teachers’ teachers’ and reflective Abstract: Video-stimulated recall is a technique in Key words: video-stimulated recall, reflection, which the participants are invited to watch video- language education, Vietnamese teachers, higher recordings of particular events in which they are education VIDEO-STIMULATED RECALL IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY INTRODUCTION Researchers have recognised stimulated recall as a valuable technique for exploring the reflections on decision-making processes, especially for capturing teacher thought in the classroom (Calderhead, 1981) While previous research has explored the use of video stimulated recall (VSR) technique as a research technique (Dempsey, 2010), there is a lack of research that explores the potential benefits of using VSR in promoting teachers’ reflection This paper draws on the author’s use of video-stimulated recall interviews in her PhD project on exploring teachers’ beliefs and behaviours regarding learner autonomy in Vietnamese education contexts This 715 Ti u ban 5: ng d ng công ngh thi t b gi ng d y nghiên c u v ngo i ng article offers an account of incorporating stimulated recall technique for the practice of teacher reflection in teaching It first discusses the potential benefits of utilising video stimulated recall technique in teaching; and then presents implications for successful implementation of this technique in helping teachers promote their practice of reflection LITERATURE REVIEW Stimulated Recall Technique Since Bloom (1953) first described stimulated recall (SR) as a research technique in psychology, SR has also been used extensively in teaching and learning research (Dempsey, 2010; Theobald, 2011) typically to explore teachers’ cognitive processes while reflecting on their teaching following a teaching episode While Bloom used audio recordings in his original study, video recordings are now commonly used in SR research (Lyle, 2003) Video-stimulated recall (VSR) then is a research technique in which participants view video-recordings of themselves participating in a particular event, e.g a lesson The video acts as a prompt to help individuals recall their thoughts in relation to their observed actions as much as possible as they occurred during the event observed (Calderhead, 1981; Dempsey, 2010; Theobald, 2011) It is posited that video technology provides a form of scaffolding that allows for self-analysis of observed behaviours by providing a graphic stimulus for individuals to measure what they perceived they did to what they observe themselves doing Video-simulated recall (VSR) has been used in a variety of ways For example, VSR has been used to explore the instructional and organisational practices of elementary school teachers and the beliefs that guide their practices in their classrooms (Hoffman, 2003).VSR techniques have also been used for scaffolding student-teachers’ developing practices (Rich & Hannafin, 2009) and to support classroom teachers’ professional development and teaching practices (Stough, 2001) For example, Stough (2001) investigated whether VSR could facilitate the reflective thoughts of special education 716 student-teachers in real-world contexts In this study, Stough (2001) compared the effectiveness of VSR on two groups The intervention group received additional training that would assist them to reflect on classroom interactions or supervision consultations while on school practicum whereas the control group did not; both groups however engaged in VSR sessions Stough found that student-teachers from both groups became comfortable with the VSR technique but those from the intervention group became more quickly familiar and comfortable with the technique, they seldom relied on prompts from the researchers for recall when observing themselves on video, and they readily and prolifically expressed their thoughts concerning the targeted teaching sequences While there are benefits of using VSR as a research technique, there are some limitations that should be considered Previous research, for example, Gass and Mackey (2000) posited that one cannot assume that research participants can articulate their internal processes of an event as these behaviours are observed after the fact That is, there is a distance of time and place between when the observer recalls their thoughts about their behaviours and the time and place of the actual event Further, Gass and Mackey suggest that individuals, in their recall, may very well create explanations of their actions whether or not these can be justified rather than engage in deep reflection on their actions Lyle (2003) concurs that an individual may, in fact, be reacting to or describing their feelings to what they currently see or hear instead of recalling the thoughts or feelings they had at the time of an actual episode or interaction Another concern is whether tacit knowledge can be verbalised (Calderhead, 1981) In this, teachers’ behaviour may be automated and thus difficult to access and explain at a conscious level, particularly after the event Thus, it is important to acknowledge the distinction between the recall of an event and reflection on an event and what it is individuals are being asked to Teachers’ reflection Reflection has been essentially conceived as a “cyclical and recursive process that at least Chi n l c ngo i ng xu th h i nh p includes problem-solving which coincides with awareness-raising in order to construct professional knowledge” (Marcos & Sanchez &Tillema, 2011, p 22).The notion of teacher reflection has been discussed widely in teaching practice (Marcos & Sanchez &Tillema, 2011) Killen (2014) stated that: No matter how well you teach, there is always room for improvement One way to continually improve is to adopt a systematic approach to learning from your day-to-day teaching experiences By looking at how you teach, thinking about why you it that way, and evaluating how well it works, you can identify your strengths and target things to improve This process is referred to as critical reflection and it is a vital part of effective teacher planning, decision-making and teaching” (p 111) The practice of reflection is said to provide teachers with several benefits including scaffolding teachers’ critical thinking, providing a source of knowledge construction in teaching, promote teachers’ self-regulation (Marcos & Sanchez & Tillema, 2011) Killen (2014) stressed that “experience alone is insufficient for teachers’ professional growth; but reflection on experience can be a powerful tool for improving teaching” (p 117) Hence, teachers’ reflection is believed to be the “key strategy” in many professional development programs (Marcos & Sanchez & Tillema, 2011) Killen (2013) classified reflection into two main kinds: reflection-on-action and reflection-inaction The first kind of reflection refers to teachers’ reflection on their teaching as it happens and the latter refers to teachers’ reflection on their teaching after it has happened (Killen, 2013) It is also important to pay attention to the depth of teachers’ reflection (varying from non-reflective to highly reflective) and the nature of the things they reflect on (varying from technical to ethical issues) The literature contains many suggestions for ways in which teachers, or teachers education students can learn to reflect on their teaching, on themselves as learners and on education in general It is found that stimulated recall and collegial reflection increases self-reflection, and the stimulated recall is useful in assessing and Tháng 11/2014 understanding their teaching practices However, there are few studies on how to help teachers promote the practice of reflection in the teaching process using VSR A different approach to VSR that does not adhere to building on a cognitive recall model explores individuals’ perceptions of their observed cultural behaviours and practices This sociocultural approach allows participants to express their own understandings of what they observe about their actions rather than their actual thoughts and/or feeling for, and during, their observed behaviour In other words, rather than trying to have participants recall what they were thinking during a particular task, this approach allows individuals an opportunity to review their behaviour in a holistic way and so describe their actions within a relevant context, not as something isolated as a ‘thinking’ process It is this sociocultural approach that was taken for the current research which explored Vietnamese English-as-aforeign Language (EFL) lecturers’ beliefs about learner autonomy in a Vietnamese higher education context However, it is critical to note that the possible tension may arise from utilising SR within both an Asian (Vietnamese) and Western (Australian) context Zhang, Lin, Nokata and Boem (2005) have suggested that it is common for Asian people to present ‘desirable’ opinions rather than their own personal views This cultural characteristic presents a methodological issue when using stimulated recall as this technique relies on the participants to think reflectively and to articulate their personal thoughts and feelings A further cultural concern of Asian participants in crosscultural research is the notion of saving ‘face’ Face here refers to self-image and feelings (Ho &Crookall, 1995) In communicating, it is very important for an Asian person to protect the other person’s self-image and feelings (face) It may prove challenging when using VSR techniques for participants to comment or reflect critically without losing face The need to protect selfimage may over-ride the need to provide an accurate portrayal of thoughts or feelings in relation to watching oneself on a video 717 Ti u ban 5: ng d ng công ngh thi t b gi ng d y nghiên c u v ngo i ng Participants may believe it more important to ‘save face’, and modify their thoughts and views rather than present their true views or feelings Hence, this study aims to investigate whether this technique could facilitate teachers’ reflection, especially with Vietnamese teachers The following section details the use of stimulated recall procedures we have used to obtain data on teacher cognition THE STUDY: Case study: Teachers’ beliefs about learner autonomy in language education This paper is drawn upon the findings from our case study research which was a mixed method study of Vietnamese EFL University teachers’ beliefs about learner autonomy, and their subsequent teaching practices in using strategies to promote learner autonomy To achieve the objectives of the research, the researcher incorporated VSR as a research technique to collect data on teachers’ beliefs and practice regarding learner autonomy in their classroom The following sections present how VSR was utilised and lessons drawn from the research As Borg (2003) explained, beliefs are based on evaluations and judgments and inferences of what people say, intend, and An individual’s beliefs often must be inferred from statements and actions (Borg, 2003) Therefore, the researcher deemed that stimulated recall interviews, along with observations and field notes would be an appropriate data collection technique to understand the nexus between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices, in relation to learner autonomy Learner autonomy is a relatively new concept in Vietnamese education but one that is stressed as important for teachers to incorporate in their teaching The teachers in this study were university lecturers who taught English as a foreign language (EFL) Thus, the study aimed to explore the teachers’ subjective beliefs without having a theoretical foundation of learner autonomy Data collection for the study occurred in three phases: an initial interview, three stimulated recall interviews, and a follow-up in-depth interview The purpose of the initial interview was to collect background information and data about teachers’ 718 espoused beliefs (Borg, 2003) about learner autonomy This data was analysed and provided the framework for video-recorded observations on teaching activities in the teachers’ EFL classes These recordings were the basis for the stimulated recall interviews (SRI) In the SRI, teachers watched videos of their teaching practices, and were asked to discuss their thinking and subsequent behaviours as they carried out their role in assisting students to be autonomous learners Verbal prompts were used where needed to encourage the participants to reflect more deeply about what they were watching themselves doing The purpose of using SRI in this study was to gain insight into why the informants chose to act/teach in certain ways (Calderhead, 1981; Dempsey, 2010; Lyle, 2003), and so was designed to bring beliefs-in-actions (Borg, 2003) In-depth interviews were also carried out on completion of all the stimulated recall interviews to understand further possible reasons affecting teachers’ translation of their understanding of learner autonomy into actual teaching practices The following sections describe the use of stimulated recall interviews in more detail It is interesting and critical to notice that the participants for this study were Vietnamese who were depicted as shy in communication (Pham, 2008) Such techniques are not generally used in Vietnamese classrooms for research and so the researcher explored some limitations when conducting the trial stimulated recall interview with the participants in the training sessions For example one participant focused on her physical appearance and rather than recalling the observed teaching event, while another participant kept talking about something else not related to the event The third participant just described her activities without further explanation of her thinking processes while teaching The fourth teacher only talked when she was given questions, otherwise she silently watched her teaching practices While participants became familiar with the method and better understood the requirements of recalling from the training sessions, the researcher found that the participants tended to be passive and dependent Without prompting from the researcher, they did not talk about their Chi n l c ngo i ng xu th h i nh p teaching when they viewed the videos Thus, the researcher decided not to use the pure version of SRI technique, instead to use some excerpts with a developed interview protocol for the stimulated recall interview Having prepared questions as prompts is not unusual for SRI protocol (Dempsey, 2010) Such questioning during the viewing of the videos has been identified as a significant issue, since inappropriate probing could lead to additional reflection and analysis (Dempsey, 2010; Lyle, 2003) Therefore, the researcher developed open-ended probes that would help participants remain focused on the issue of watching how they included learner autonomy in their teaching practices Samples of the interviewing questions in relation to viewing episodes of including learner autonomy included: What were your thoughts of doing this activity? What were you thinking when you decided to this? Why did you decide to that? Tháng 11/2014 As suggested by O’Brien (1993), in order to record the teachers’ practices, two cameras were set up in the classroom One camera was used to video the teacher and any other major instructional resources (such as slides, blackboard, etc.), and the second camera was used to video the general dynamics of the classroom activities The photographs below outline the positioning of the cameras in the classroom Camera one was positioned at the front of the class where the teacher generally stands to teach the lesson Camera two was positioned at the back of the class to gain an overall sense of the whole classroom dynamic During the lessons, the researcher was the video operator O’Brien (1993) stated that “the number of video lessons is largely dependent upon the availability of resources, time” (p 217) In the current study, sixteen videotapes (including four dry-run videos and 12 videos for interviews) were recorded with three lessons videoed with each teacher Camera Camera After each recording, the researcher viewed the video and developed the interview protocol for each stimulated recall interview The purpose of the stimulated recall interview was to allow teachers to give their thoughts on their teaching 719 Ti u ban 5: ng d ng công ngh thi t b gi ng d y nghiên c u v ngo i ng behaviours as they viewed their lesson Previous researchers (Gass& Mackey, 2000; Lyle, 2003;) emphasized that the researcher must minimise the time delay between the event and the recall to increase validity Therefore, all the stimulated recall interviews were conducted one day after the lesson was recorded in the participants’ workplace On the day of the interview, the interviewer/researcher reminded the participants of the recalling process from their training sessions These instructions included details about the purposes of the research and the protocol for the interviews Subsequently, the interviewer and the interviewee watched the video together, and the SRI was conducted Figure below outlines the procedure used for the stimulated recall interviews Figure 2: Procedure of using stimulated recall interviews in the study Dry-run Participant Training Video observation Interview Protocol SRI Video observation Interview Protocol SRI Video observation Interview Protocol SRI Calderhead (1981) states that, SRI “can by no means provide a complete account of teachers’ thoughts, nor is the method likely to be of use entirely on its own” (p 216) Having acknowledged the potential limitations of SRI, the researchers conducted an initial interview before the SRI and a follow-up in-depth interview after SRI for each participant The purpose of conducting these interviews was to explore teachers’ espoused beliefs In addition to this, the 720 researcher collected further data in the form of field notes and observations DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION It is noteworthy that from the case study, VSR was utilised as a research technique but due to the impact of cultural features of the participants, the researcher utilised different kinds of methods to collect data for the research and develop a specific procedure for the research The case study adhered to the use of the adapted procedure of SRI in an Chi n l c ngo i ng xu th h i nh p efficient manner The data from SRI and the video observation indicated that the teachers had significant control in their classroom, and they did not think about learner autonomy in their practices However, it is found that VSR is a good means for teachers to use to promote their reflection in their teaching practice VSR and VSR interview can help teacher develop the reflection by looking at how you teach through video-recordings These can be seen clearly through all the four cases of the study Although they were distracted by their physical appearance at first or being too shy to communicate, they reflected on their teaching practices in the right way that could help the researcher achieve the objectives of the study as to explore teachers’ beliefs about learner autonomy fully The data from the initial and follow-up interviews suggested that the teachers understood and tried to foster learner autonomy in their current teaching practices The study indicates that in order to incorporate VSR technique to help teachers develop reflection, it is important for VSR users to develop an interview procedure with the focus on developing interview protocol This helps teachers think about why they in that way After three sessions, it is advised that in-depth or final interview should be conducted to help teachers reflect deeply and evaluate how well they teach and what to improve This can help them identify the “strengths and target to improve” This paper has demonstrated that there are significant benefits of incorporating stimulated recall interviews into teachers’ practice of reflection, particularly for Vietnamese teachers It is interesting to acknowledge that it is possible to help teachers promote their reflection through the use of stimulated recall technique, particularly VSR Given the strengths and the potential limitation of the technique, the presented SRI procedure with the focus on interview protocols can help using this technique effectively for professional development purposes The paper has contributed to the literature with a detailed procedure for utilising stimulated recall interviews in understanding teachers’ cognitive processes and behaviour, providing useful insights on the strengths and limitations of using this technique Tháng 11/2014 REFERENCES Borg, S (2003) Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, and Language Teaching, 36, 81-109 Calderhead, J (1981) Stimulated recall: A method for research on teaching British journal of educational psychology, 51, 211-217 Dempsey, N P (2010) Stimulated recall interviews in Ethnography Qualitative Sociology, 33, 349-367 Gass, M S., & Mackey, A (2000) Stimulated recall in second 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Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, and Language Teaching, 36, 81-109 Calderhead, J (1981) Stimulated recall: A method for research... feeling for, and during, their observed behaviour In other words, rather than trying to have participants recall what they were thinking during a particular task, this approach allows individuals... the training sessions For example one participant focused on her physical appearance and rather than recalling the observed teaching event, while another participant kept talking about something