Supporting Practitioner Enquiry

Practitioner Enquiry Raising attainment happens through quality learning experiences for all students Quality learning experiences come from quality teaching and learning Schleicher , OECD in press 25-11-15 “the quality of a nation’s education system cannot outstrip the quality of its teachers” Professional update

Practitioner Enquiry: what’s the point? What do you believe is the purpose and potential impact of Practitioner Enquiry on: you as an individual? the profession? young people? What is your/our understanding of enquiry? How can we support enquiry? Emphasise the importance of PL and impact on thinking and practice Supported by effective PRD

Practitioner Enquiry ‘The most successful systems invest in developing their teachers as reflective, accomplished and enquiring professionals who are able not simply to teach successfully in relation to current external expectations, but who have the capacity to engage fully with the complexities of education and to be key players in shaping and leading change.’ (Teaching Scotland’s Future, 2010)

How can GTCS support enquiry? Practitioner Enquiry How can GTCS support enquiry? Professional Update (PU) Professional Standards Professional Learning Practitioner Enquiry PRD (professional dialogue)

Practitioner Enquiry Standard for Registration Professional Knowledge and Understanding Professional Skills and Abilities / Professional Actions Professional Values and Personal Commitment Standard for Registration Standard for Career-long Professional learning Standard for Leadership and Management

Practitioner Enquiry Practitioner Enquiry is evident in the GTCS Standards The Standard for Full Registration expects the following: 2.3 Pedagogical Theories and Practice 2.3.2 I have knowledge and understanding of the importance of research and engagement in professional enquiry 3.4 Professional Reflection and Communication 3.4.1 I read and critically engage with professional literature, educational research and policy Practitioner enquiry is reflected in the GTCS suite of Standards as it a mode of professional learning that benefit can personal, school and systems learning.

Practitioner Enquiry Practitioner Enquiry is evident in the GTCS Standards “Enquiry and Research” within the Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning includes : 2.2 Professional Skills and Abilities 3.3 Enquiry and Research The Standards for Leadership and Management reflects this expectation in: 3.2 Develop coherent approaches to professional learning which build and sustain teachers’ practice 4.2 Develop staff capability, capacity and leadership to support the culture and practice of learning Practitioner enquiry is reflected in the GTCS suite of Standards as it a mode of professional learning that benefit can personal, school and systems learning.

Practitioner Enquiry What is Practitioner Enquiry? Practitioner enquiry, as defined by Menter et al (2011), is a ‘finding out’ or an investigation with a rationale and approach that can be explained or defended. The findings can then be shared so it becomes more than reflection or personal enquiry. Menter, I. and Hulme, M (2011) Teacher education reform in Scotland: national and global influences. Journal of Education forTeaching, 37 (4), 387-397

Practitioner Enquiry What is Practitioner Enquiry? Practitioner Enquiry was highlighted in Teaching Scotland's Future (Donaldson, 2011) as a way forward to support teachers to become more engaged with research which could support their own learning and ultimately improve pupil experiences. The concept of the Enquiring Practitioner is now at the heart of teachers’ professional learning in Scotland, it is founded in the notion of a ‘being and becoming ‘ a professional. There is now an expectation that Practitioner Enquiry is an integral aspect of the day to-day practice of teachers and other education professionals. CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

Practitioner Enquiry Why Practitioner Enquiry Practitioner enquiry should come from the day-to-day practice of the practitioner. However, we do work within a system for improvement and so any practitioner enquiry should link to one or more of the following Personal improvement Stage/department /faculty improvement School improvement Local Authority improvement System improvement We are not autonomous, we work within improvement systems and as such we have to ensure that our Practitioner Enquiry does relate to the improvement agenda but that can take many forms CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

Practitioner Enquiry Why Practitioner Enquiry “By linking enquiry into student learning to teacher learning, teachers can gain an understanding of what it is they need to learn , to improve outcomes for students and have a compelling reason to engage [in practitioner enquiry]” Timperley, H.S. Parra, J.M. Bertanees, C. (2009) Promoting professional inquiry for improved outcomes for students in New Zealand Professional Development in Education Volume 35, Issue 2 pp227-245) The benefits of practitioner enquiry rely on it being carried out in a way that empowers teachers, and other education professionals. It has been shown to achieve considerable and far reaching impact and be ‘practice-changing’. Practitioner enquiry is about promoting a process-led, capacity building, enquiring approach to professional learning and school development. CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

Practitioner Enquiry The Cycle of Professional Learning The benefits of practitioner enquiry rely on it being carried out in a way that empowers teachers, and other education professionals. It has been shown to achieve considerable and far reaching impact and be ‘practice-changing’. Practitioner enquiry is about promoting a process-led, capacity building, enquiring approach to professional learning and school development. CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

The Enquiring Professional The Enquiring Professional as a way of being is presents a particular vision of what it means to be a teacher. This visual goes some way to capture what this looks like. Practitioner enquiry: the nature, purpose and dispositions Practitioner enquiry should lead to deep transformative learning which significantly informs and influences professionals' understandings, practice and subsequent impact. However, for any sustainable change and impact on professional practice, enquiry must be understood as a process and not as disconnected acts, events and isolated 'projects'. Being an enquiring professional is not simply about teachers learning the research skills, techniques and methods of enquiry and conducting enquiries into practice on a regular basis. Instead it is much more about developing the knowledge, skills, dispositions and understanding required to become the kind of professionals who are able to question, challenge, understand and know deeply about teaching and learning. Individuals who adopt this enquiring stance as the core of their professional practice will critically question their own educational beliefs, assumptions, values and practices. This locates the education professional as career-long learner, critical knower and knowledge creator. The enquiring professional is: adaptive open to change engages critically with their context and practice This is recognised as a flexible, evolving and on-going process of 'becoming'. Therefore, enquiring professionals will need to develop the necessary knowledge, research skills, processes, understandings and practices. They will continually ask critical questions about what they are doing, why they are doing it, with what impact and for whose benefit. This will ultimately impact on the quality of learning, teaching, attainment and achievement in Scottish education/schools.

Inquiry as stance is perspectival and conceptual - it is a worldview, a critical habit of mind, a dynamic and fluid way of knowing and being in the world of educational practice, that carries across professional careers and educational settings. enquiry is so important to teacher identity and prof learning because: Enquiry is about knowing deeply: knowing what, knowing why, knowing how Teachers doing enquiry should always be asking: what am I making problematic and why? And what am I not questioning? what knowledge will I gain/what can be known from this enquiry? for whose benefit am I doing this enquiry? for what purpose(s)? who is/should be involved and why? Teachers and other education professionals who adopt an Enquiry as Stance position and engage in practitioner enquiry, as outlined above, ensuring their enquiries are robust, will become critically informed, be adaptive and open to change and this will likely lead to transformative learning, sustainable change and impact. (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009:120)

Am I just asking ‘what’ or am I also asking/understanding ‘why’? An Itch! A problem A crisis A conundrum An ongoing pattern A provocation A hunch A puzzle A curiosity A critical incident Am I just asking ‘what’ or am I also asking/understanding ‘why’? What is itching you?

Practitioner Enquiry How to carry out Practitioner Enquiry? What’s the problem? Define then redefine your problem – make sure what you think is the issue is the issue! How does it fit in? How does it relate to local and national curriculum and assessment policies? What’s already known? Using Education Source - EBSCO – literature review How will you tackle it? What are we actually going to do? Fearghal Kelly (Biology teacher/Pedagoo.org. creator)

Practitioner Enquiry How to carry out Practitioner Enquiry? How will you know what happened? How do you measure a change? What’s the plan? What’s the situation now? Implement the idea What happened? What data did you collect? what does that tell you? Fearghal Kelly (Biology teacher/Pedagoo.org. creator)

Practitioner Enquiry How to carry out Practitioner Enquiry? What have you learned? How are you going to change your practice? How will you share? Who needs to know/Would like to know?/Can also learn from your enquiry? Fearghal Kelly (Biology teacher/Pedagoo.org. creator)

Sharing Practitioner Enquiry What and why of practitioner enquiry Skills and Knowledge Dispositions Challenges Content, subject and pedagogical knowledge input Structures and support Expert other/External partners Policy Leadership Culture and ethos Critical Considerations Personal considerations Other considerations Practitioner Enquiry

Using research GTCS Online access to Education Journals via MyGTCS To access these areas of the website you have to login to MyGTCS Education Source - EBSCO Education Source - EBSCO is a collection of over 1,700 journals, a selection of eBooks, and additional research resources in the field of education Leadership and management Centre The Leadership & Management Learning Centre provides content specifically aimed at the field of leadership and management and draws on resources from industry, as well as education. eBooks A selection of relevant eBooks chosen by the GTCS are also available. A full list is available from our downloads section. These resources are all available on the GTCS website to support practitioners to access appropriate literature to support their enquiries. Education Source – EBSCO has 17000 journals Leadership and management centre Links to Education Source and so allows access to 17000 journals Ebooks Can be loaned on a a basis similar to a library – there are around 30 books with more being added CLICK ON HYPERLINK FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

Sharing Practitioner Enquiry GTCS Supports to Share Practitioner Enquiry To access the Education HUB you have to login to MyGTCS Education HUB EducationHUB is an interactive online platform that provides an opportunity for education practitioners to share, discuss and review unpublished practitioner produced research and enquiry. Research network If you have used an article from Education Source -EBSCO, write a brief summary to share your learning on the GTCS website. Thought piece Write a short article to share your findings or thoughts on a particular issue Education HUB allow practitioners to share theri enquiry in a ‘safe’ way, it is not peer reviewed but folks can leave comments which may stimulate a discussion. The Research network is a grassroots network where all practitioners are invited to share resources they have used via the Education Source – EBSCO and support others to link with research Thought pieces are commissioned to stimulate ideas or share practice that is interesting and may form the basis of a slow chat on twitter CLICK ON HYPERLNK FOR LINK TO GTCS SITE

Sharing Practitioner Enquiry What are our next steps in… Helping teachers engage in research and enquiry Developing our understanding of enquiry supporting enquiry Leading practitioner enquiry

Getting in touch E-mail: Professional-Update@gtcs.org.uk Web: www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update Twitter: #gtcsPU #gtcsPL