A Topography of Collaboration: Methodology, Identity and Community in Self-study of Practice Research

Source: Studying Teacher Education, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2013, pages 74-89

In this article, two educational researchers explore the development of their understanding of collaboration in self-study of teacher education practices research using of the metaphoric tool of topography. The researchers communicate their perceptions through the presentation of four topographic moments. Each topographic moment is represented by a poem and the analysis of the poem.

The four moments explored include the self in collaboration, the positioning of the self and the other on the landscape of collaboration, the way in which collaboration impacts research methodology, and the role of representation and community. The poems stand as landscape markers used to metaphorically capture and communicate the authors' understandings. The way in which collaboration influences the layers of methodology contributes to the identity of teacher educator/researchers and establishes a community of scholarship in self-study research.