The Role of Scholarship of Teaching in Faculty Development: Exploring an Inquiry-based Model

This paper describes a study in which professors explored and refined their perspectives about pedagogy and university teaching. Results show that collaborative, inquiry-based faculty development influenced their growth as effective educators. More frequent feedback from students and colleagues was seen as a major factor in helping professors improve, while a sustained focus on professional inquiry was seen to contribute to professors’ deeper understanding of the intricacies and complexities of effective university teaching

Review and evaluation of the Inquiry to Implementation Project final report 2014

The inquiry based professional learning project, Inquiry to Implementation was developed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) as a key professional learning resource to support implementation of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) For all Children Birth to Eight Years. The VCAA and the Department of Education and Training (DET) work together to support VEYLDF implementation. This review and evaluation report provides an account of early childhood professionals\u27 experience of inquiry based professional learning in multidisciplinary networks across Victoria. Drawing on project data and focus group interviews, in the Report, Monash University deliver research findings on key trends in assessment practice and network relationships and engagement: changes in practice are described for individual practitioners, service types and the nine networks involved in the Inquiry to Implementation Project four dominant themes are identified across all networks and a further seven which are evident for particular networks case studies profile the contribution each of the nine networks and highlight the unique nature, trends in practice over time, evidence of participants learning, promising practices, key successes and barriers along with overarching themes a relational agency framework provides a model that can be used to describe practitioner experiences and professional relationships in networks. Monash University researchers developed the framework as a tool to support growth in inquiry based professional learning at the level of a multidisciplinary network. This report draws out learning from the networks that all early childhood professionals, policy makers and researchers will find useful in building assessment practice and research to support learning and development outcomes for children. &nbsp

Teacher educator professional inquiry in an age of accountability

‘Teacher educators’ are teachers of teachers and may typically be based within schools or within university departments. In this chapter we argue that all teacher educators should adopt ‘inquiry as stance’ and should be actively engaged in ongoing professional inquiry or practitioner research. Within a team delivering initial teacher education programmes we argue that there needs to be a range of expertise but with all teacher educators active in professional inquiry. We define professional inquiry as distinct from pragmatic evaluation which is everyday quality assurance procedures. Beyond that we propose that at least some members of a teacher educator team should be engaged in ongoing classroom practice whilst others need to be engaged in practitioner research. The content of teacher education programmes needs to include critical engagement with cutting edge research evidence and with learning theory as well as enactment, experimentation and evaluation of core practices in classrooms. Teacher education, both initial and advanced, needs to equip teachers with the essential skills and knowledge of educational research literacy so that they have the professional tools required to contribute to curriculum development and develop research-informed practice. Teacher educators based in schools and universities need to model professional inquiry and practitioner research

Engaging in and engaging with research: teacher inquiry and development

The connection between teacher inquiry, professional development and school improvement was recognised 30 years ago by Lawrence Stenhouse. Stenhouse contributed many valuable insights into the role of practitioner enquiry in creating and utilising knowledge about teaching and learning, much of which is still to be applied systematically in teacher education and professional development. This paper draws on the Learning to Learn Phase 3 Evaluation, a three-year-action research project in which teachers in primary and secondary schools across the UK completed three cycles of practitioner inquiry to explore tools, pedagogies and other innovations which would promote dispositions of 'learning to learn' (L2L). The paper focuses on identifying those aspects of being involved in L2L that support teachers' learning and the way that the teachers themselves understand the impact on their professional development. Data from over 60 semi-structured interviews undertaken over the three years of the project, the case study reports compiled by teachers at the end of each year of the project and collaborative workshops involving teachers and university researchers as co-inquirers are used to explore teachers' learning. Qualitative methods are used to develop a thematic analysis of the interviews, case studies and the teachers' understanding of the relationships between inquiry, research and continuing professional development (CPD) in order to identify categories and generate key concepts that can inform a theoretical understanding of the impact of professional inquiry on teachers' learning. The findings contribute to our understanding of the role of inquiry and research in schools in supporting professional learning by suggesting how tools and models of working are developed

Being and Becoming: The Heart of Teacher Education

Teacher education is of critical concern to a nation’s well-being. Scripture clearly identifies that the predominant narratives in a nation’s education are directly linked to its citizen’s behaviour (e.g., see Psalm 78, Judges 2). Literature which claims that teacher education has little influence on beliefs that pre-service teachers bring to their initial teacher education may unnerve Christian teacher educators who seek to equip teachers to make a difference in the lives of children and parents in a nation (Berry, 2004; Fletcher, 1997; Hatton & Smith, 1995; Lowery, 2003). For example, Berry (2004, p. 1302) observes that: There is little doubt that student teachers’ prior experiences as learners serve as powerful templates for the ways in which they practice as teachers. Their beliefs about teaching are informed by the accumulation of experience over time and, once formed, these beliefs are extremely resistant to change, even when they are shown to be inconsistent with reality

Self-study: a developing research approach for professional learning

In this article the authors consider the ‘self-study’ research approach that has been used particularly in teacher education contexts in North America and Australia. They explore the concept of self-study and its use as a research approach for practitioners. They identify its limited, but growing use in Europe and focus on developments in the field of teacher education at the University of Hertfordshire, UK

Leading professional inquiry to develop students' research skills.

This study describes my leadership of a professional inquiry, with two secondary teachers, to implement a new strategy for teaching student research skills. Our Teacher Learning Team used Mill's (2004) action research process to implement Brown, Klein, and Lapadat's (2009) student research platform with cycles of action, observation, and collaborative reflection to support further action. Secondary students were introduced to the process of gathering information in a carefully controlled way, so that their progress could be monitored and instruction could be differentiated to help them gain independence. I report the challenges and successes that led to teacher and leadership learning. My analysis revealed that persistent use of this strategy enabled these teachers to shift from a product to process orientation that led to enhanced engagement in learning for students. With carefully sequenced skill instruction, problems with plagiarism were no longer evident and students gained a sense of discovery that increased their interest in course content. --P. ii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b180549

Teachers and teacher educators learning through inquiry: international perspectives

This text focuses on the issue of teacher knowledge and expertise and demands that teachers and teacher educators must be engaged in professional inquiry or practitioner research. Teachers are expected to lead curriculum development through inquiry. Teacher educators, based in school or in the university, are all expected to engage in professional inquiry and be able to support the inquiry-based learning of student teachers and beginning teachers. University-based teacher educators are expected to engage in practitioner research related to developing their practice in teacher education. The text brings together teacher educators from across Europe and beyond to share their studies of inquiry-based learning by teachers and teacher educators

Facilitating collaborative reflective inquiry amongst teachers: what do we currently know?

Collaborative teacher learning is thought to improve teaching practice and student outcomes. Key to such learning is Reflective Professional Inquiry (RPI); seen as vital if practitioners are to engage effectively with new knowledge and ideas. Yet RPI is under-conceptualised and little is known about how to facilitate effective RPI. With this study we engage in a meta-narrative literature review, covering a range of disciplines (including education, medicine, and psychology), in an attempt to fill these knowledge gaps. Findings indicate that there are no existing interventions designed to foster RPI that have been rigorously evaluated. Consequently, there are no approaches that could be employed as part of collaborative teacher learning, with the expectation that practice or student outcomes will subsequently improve