Doug Hamilton is a Professor in the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University, Victoria BC Canada (doug.hamilton@royalroads.ca).

Rationale

Articulating a compelling research problem to investigate is one of the key challenges that students face in designing an applied research project (Muganda, 2019; Juriševič, 2011; Booth et al. 2008; Bryman, 2007). Some of these challenges include narrowing the scope of the problem, making it personally and professionally meaningful to students, and relating it to their own sphere of experience (Juriševič, 2011). Furthermore, not devoting enough time and effort to suitably defining the research problem can have substantive consequences for the study’s design, outcomes, and significance (Thomas, 2013).

The Reflection Tree activity focuses on helping students appreciate the power of reflection as a tool in developing a cogent and defensible rationale for investigating a specific research problem in an applied setting. It helps students in applied research methods courses to pre-plan the process of engaging in an inquiry into the real-world problem they are hoping to address. This activity has been used predominantly in courses that feature an applied research requirement or in research methods courses which lead into action-oriented research undertaken as part of students’ capstone project or thesis requirements. By the end of the activity, students are able to generate a concise research problem statement and can use the supporting reflections to help craft the first draft of the ‘Background Context’ component of their research study proposal.

The Reflection Tree uses a living systems metaphor and guided triad-based exploration to help students determine the links between the issue under investigation, their own values and beliefs, the benefits and challenges to solving the “problem,” and their own capacity to use the inquiry process to affect change in the research setting. It has been adapted from Bailey’s (1996) work on designing and leading whole system change using living system metaphors. Ross et al. (2017) have observed the value in having students reflect on their own orientations towards research as a foundation for designing a research approach that is both personally meaningful and professionally relevant. Employing metaphors helps people see new ways of understanding themselves as well as the organizational milieus they inhabit (Morgan, 2006). As Kendall and Kendall (1993) have noted, “Metaphors are the cognitive lenses we use to make sense of all situations. Intimately interconnected with the way we think, metaphors are fundamental in shaping reality” (p. 149).

Previous researchers have noted that employing metaphors helps students to surface unconscious perspectives, articulate assumptions, and explore connections related to their conceptual understanding of a phenomena (Pitcher, 2011; Steger, 2007; Moser, 2000; Lackoff & Johnson, 1980).  Furthermore, using metaphors can be an effective tool for helping professionals better understand the need and opportunities for change in organizations (Morgan, 2006) which is one of the primary purposes of the action-oriented research assignment. Living systems metaphors provide a particularly powerful way to appreciate the opportunities for change because of their emphasis on inter-relationships, networks, and adaptive cycles of growth and evolution (Fryer, 2015; Westley et al., 2006; Bailey, 1997).

Overview

The Reflection Tree activity involves a number of stages of participation augmented with clear instructions from the facilitator to guide students’ engagement in each stage. The overall activity takes between 90 and 120 minutes to complete; it can also be divided into two shorter sessions with Stage One being completed in the first session followed by Stage Two and Three in the follow-up session. The following steps are taken to plan, organize, and implement the activity:

Stage One: Triad Activity

1. Participants are informed that they will be participating in several sequential activities aimed to help them clarify their research problem and to better understand the organizational context in which the problem is imbedded.
2. Participants are invited to group themselves into triads for Stage One. They are informed they will serve in three different roles within an hour-long period: (a) the applied researcher; (b) the interviewer; and (c) the recorder. They rotate through these roles so that each person has a chance to experience being interviewed, honing their interviewing skills, and developing their listening and recording skills.
3. The participant ‘interviewer’ will ask the ‘researcher’ a series of questions related to the topic they have chosen for the study. These questions, found in Appendix A, require learners to draw on their own life experiences in understanding the context of their research as well as examining their own beliefs about the value and potential of applied research in their own professional setting.
4. The ‘recorder’ summarizes the researcher’s reflections on the response sheet found in Appendix B.
5. After the interview is completed, the roles are shifted to enable participants to assume a different role. By the time all three interviews have taken place, each participant will experience all three of the different roles.

In preparation for Stage Two, after all researchers have been interviewed, the completed response sheets are handed to each of the participants who originally provided the responses.

Stage Two: Reflection Tree Activity

1. Participants are asked to review their responses on the sheet. Then, they are instructed to provide their response to each question in the appropriate place on the Reflection Tree template found in Appendix C. They can use the prompts provided on the Reflection Tree graphic found in Appendix D to guide them. Each of these prompts is aligned with one of the original interview questions found in the Appendix A interview guide.
2. After completing the Reflection Tree template, participants are requested to reflect on the following three questions and to record their own notes about their reflections:

• • What have you noticed about your own understanding of your project?
  • What part of completing the Reflection Tree was most surprising?
  • What was the most challenging?

Then, participants re-form their triads and share their perspectives on the three questions with their two classmates.

Stage Three: Debrief

The final stage focuses on a class-wide discussion of students’ reflections on the activity and the new insights they have gained about their own projects. I also invite students to share questions or any unresolved dilemmas about their projects that emerged from their reflections during the session.

The Reflection Tree is followed by another activity in a subsequent session that is designed to help students draft a research question that relates to the problem they have articulated. Eventually, students re-draft versions of the research problem and the research question and integrate these into a research proposal outline which serves as one of the course assignments.

Reflection

The Reflection Tree is a reasonably complex activity with a number of distinct stages, so it is important to clearly describe these stages to the students. Care must be given to ensure sufficient time is allocated to each stage of the activity. It is not an activity that can be truncated or shortened because each stage is equally important to the overall outcome. A three-hour block of time is usually sufficient, but I have also split this activity over two shorter sessions when necessary.

I have made limited modifications to this activity because it has proven to be very successful in its original form, but two additions have been helpful. The first modification is to allow class time for students to complete the Reflection Tree template after participating in the triad activity. Originally, this task was left for participants to do on their own time. Integrating the completion of the template into the overall process has given the activity more continuity and a better flow. As well, it now leads more smoothly into the subsequent component which is also newer refinement to the activity. This second addition involves having the students re-join their triads in Stage Two to discuss their responses to the three questions I posed about their experiences in completing the Reflection Tree template. This additional step helps students share their perspectives within a small group and also brings closure to the triad experience.

I have used versions of the Reflection Tree in research courses for over 24 years, both in domestic courses as well as in translated form for courses I have taught in China. I have also adapted this activity for use in an online course by setting up the triads as separate discussion forums and having the students post their completed Reflection Trees to a Padlet board. The benefit of this process is that students are able to view and comment on the Reflection Trees posted by their classmates.

I enjoy facilitating this activity. It has become one of the highlights of the research course for me because I am always energized by students’ reactions to their participation. They consistently share that they find the reflection process to be illuminating and insightful. Being ‘interviewed’ and ‘recorded’ in the triad activity helps them to focus on thinking about their projects and their own research settings without having to do this reflection on their own. When I use this activity in face-to-face classes, I am able to do a ‘walkaround’ during this stage of the process to see how students are responding to the interview questions and provide any coaching needed to help them articulate their reflections. In the online course, I can check in with all the triad discussion forums to monitor their progress. Finally, having students use the Reflection Tree graphic in Stage Two to record their revised thoughts is a useful means of helping students view their projects through a systems lens by understanding how the answers to the different questions relate to one another.

References

Bailey, S. (1997).  Designing and leading whole systems change. Bailey Alliance.

Booth, W., Colomb, G.G. & Williams, J.M. (2008). The craft of research (3rd Ed.). University of Chicago Press.

Bryman, A. (2007). The research question in social research: What is its role? International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 10(1), 5-20

Fryer, M. (2015). Living systems as guiding metaphors. From https://margofryer.ca/reflections/learning-exchange-as-social-innovation/living-systems-as-guiding-metaphors/.

Kendall, J. & Kendall, K. (1993). Metaphors and methodologies: Living beyond the systems machine. MIS Quarterly, 17(2), 149-171. https://doi.org/10.2307/249799

Juriševič, M. (2011). Postgraduate students’ perception of creativity in the research process. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal. 1, 169-190.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.

Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization (2nd ed.). Sage.

Moser, K. S. (2000). Metaphor analysis in psychology – Method, theory, and fields of application. Qualitative Social Research, 1(2), 21. R http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1090/2388

Muganda, N. (2019). What is your research problem? Discovering a research(able) problem and topic. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332108258_What_is_your_Research_Problem_Discovering_a_Researchable_Problem_and_Topic.

Pitcher, R. (2011). Doctoral students’ conceptions of research. The Qualitative Report, 16, 971-983.

Ross, K., Dennis, B., Zhao, P. & Li, P. (2017). Exploring graduate students’ understanding of research: Links between identity and research conceptions. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 29(1), 73-86.

Steger, T. (2007). The stories metaphors tell: Metaphors as a tool to decipher tacit aspects in narratives. Field Methods, 19, 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X06292788

Thomas, G. (2013). How to do your research project: A guide for students in education and applied social sciences. Sage.

Westley, F., Zimmerman, B., & Quinn Patton, M. (2006). Getting to maybe: How the world is changed. Random House Canada.

Appendix A: Reflective Questions (The Reflection Tree)

With the help of a critical friend, respond to the following questions:

1. From your perspective, what is the “problem” you hope to understand or resolve in your inquiry?
2. Why is the problem important to you?
3. What are your beliefs about effective teaching and learning that impact this problem?
4. What in your past experience has influenced these beliefs?
5. What do you hope will be different from understanding or resolving this problem?
6. What are the benefits of resolving this problem?
7. What are your worst fears about this problem?
8. What’s getting in the way of this problem being addressed or resolved?
9. Who else can benefit from the issue being addressed or resolved?
10. What gives you hope and energy to resolve the problem?
11. Who has similar views on the issue? What are these views?
12. Who has different or conflicting views on the issue?

Appendix B: The Reflection Tree Instructions

Enclosed is a graphical template for structuring the “problem” of your inquiry. It is based on Suzanne Bailey’s work on designing and leading whole system change through the use of living system metaphors. Reflect on the questions and then record your answers on the template provided.

1. The Problem of Your Inquiry—State the unresolved issue, challenge, opportunity, or performance gap that is at the center of your inquiry.
2. Energy—What motivates you to resolve the issue? What gives you stamina and keeps you focused on wanting to solve the problem? List your responses under the sun.
3. Beliefs and Values—Why is the problem important to you? How are your beliefs and values on effective teaching and learning related to the problem? Write three or four beliefs that support your efforts to resolve the problem beside the trunk of the tree.

• Fruit—What are the benefits of solving the problem? State what you think is the potential end result of your inquiry.
• Pests—What’s getting in the way of solving the problem? What are the obstacles and challenges that need to be overcome for the inquiry to be a success? Write this information under the rabbit.
• Roots—Reflect on the “roots” of your current perspective regarding the problem. What has influenced your view of effective teaching and learning that makes this issue a significant problem to solve? List the people, previous experiences, and literature that has influenced you under the roots of the tree.
• Other Trees—What other colleagues, friends, and mentors share your views of the problem? List these supporters under the “Other Trees”.
• Cactus—Who has different or conflicting views on the problem than you? What are their views on the issue? Write this information next to the cactus.
• Storms—What would happen if the problem is not resolved? Write down your worst fears by the storm clouds.

Review the reflections you have just listed on your template. What patterns are evident? What were the most difficult parts of the template to complete? The easiest? What are the implications of your entries for the next steps of your inquiry?

Appendix C: The Reflection Tree

Appendix D: The “Problem of Significance”