Tallis Action Research -Expansive Education Network |
Several systematic research reviews about the contribution of research to effective continuing professional development (cpd) activities and their impact on teachers’ professional learning and outcomes for pupils are summarised in the BERA Paper 5. It starts with a review of how teachers engage in and with research as part of cpd, how teachers and researchers shape professional learning activities and identifies key processes linked to positive outcomes. finally it explores how different research contributions can be developed to make a more visible contribution to cpd.
What should inform the decisions made by teachers about how to develop their practice? If teachers are to make informed decisions, we need to ask - informed by whom? How can teachers inform themselves and each other about good ideas for developing teaching, and reflect more critically on the skills they use everyday in their own classrooms? Part of the professional role of the teacher involves keeping up to date with developing ideas about learning and teaching and being critically informed about developments in practice. Being a ‘professional’ includes developing the capacity to research for increasing numbers of teachers. This means developing the skills and knowledge to be able to lead the development of their own practice through research. Becoming a teacher-researcher is not something to undertake alone however and this article sets out ways forward for teachers to get started with the support of colleagues. |
|
Some resources to help with the research methods
|
|
|
|
Jon Nicholls - If I encourage my Year 12 and 13 photography students to inhabit the role of artist/photographer with a practice of their own will they become more independent and resilient?Stimulus: I'd like my A level photography students to be better able to generate their own ideas and be more independent learners.
Hypotheisis: I suspect they haven't yet made the leap from considering their work as belonging to school, in their role as students, rather than to themselves as artists. Research: I'm interested in ideas like Mantle of the Expert, design thinking, studio schools and 'How to be an artist' by Michael Atavar. |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch Report |
Hossein Mansour - If I plan for more student led learning will it result in greater retention of information by students?Stimulus: My interest in this area was prompted more by circumstance than any notion of foresight. During my time at a grammar school, as my first taste of teaching, I became somewhat misled by the standard of behaviour one is to expect in a secondary school. Although there were minor incidents of low level disruption, the amount of skill required by the teacher to implement behaviour for learning was also low level.
Research: There are two very distinct elements to this investigation. One element could fall into the ‘scientific paradigm’ of research where there is an attempt to quantify findings through a clearly defined parameter for data. The other element is the more realistic attempt at a qualitative and very much interpretive approach to research making subjective judgements on the outcome of structured conversations with teachers. |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |
Robin Morgan - If I give students different materials to create initial ideas will they produce more imaginative outcomes?Stimulus: I
Hypotheisis: I Research: I |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |
Daniel Talbot - If I withdraw from whole class discussion with my Year 13 Literature group will it impact on their inquisitiveness?Stimulus: I’d like my year 8 students to be more prepared to persist with difficult tasks, dare to be different and tolerate uncertainty.
Hypotheisis: I suspect that many of the students have internalised the view that they are ‘less able’ and that English is ‘too difficult.’ I also suspect that the use of setting has had a negative effect on the students’ ‘habits of mind.’ Research: I’m interested in the nature of English as an academic subject taught to students and the way in which students perceive it. It is my belief that one large factor in the underperformance of certain groups of young people is the misrepresentation of the place of English in the curriculum. The Cox report (1989) suggests that we can identify five main views of English; personal growth, cross-curricular, adult needs, a cultural heritage view and a cultural analysis view. I would suggest that these distinctions, whilst not exhaustive, do highlight the divergence of ideas, and variety of attitudes, towards the teaching of English. |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |
Greg Rodwell - If I introduce a particular teaching pedagogy will it improve the confidence of students to contribute to small and whole class discussion in lessons?Stimulus: An area of interest for me is developing students’ confidence, this area interests me both personally but also professionally. I believe confidence links hugely with an individual’s well-being, their happiness in life and their approach to life, but that is another project for another time.
Hypotheisis: I suspect that my Year 9 ICT students will continue to adopt their role in the class as either someone who says very little or someone who always contributes. I believe that these characteristics will stay with them through the majority of their classes and throughout their education, potentially stunting their knowledge growth and experience, this could have a more permanent and long term impact on their confidence. I want to see if I introduce a particular teaching pedagogy will it improve the confidence of students to contribute to small and whole class discussion in lessons? Research: As mentioned above, the CBI are keen promoters of students’ developing soft skills to boost employability skills, but they aren’t the only stakeholders with a lot of influence who are concerned. In Scotland, a large investment was put into a government initiative called ‘HeadsUpScotland’ established in 2004, which was a National Project for Children and Young People’s Mental Health, a bi-product of which was ‘HandsOnScotland’, this venture had numerous organisations from the NHS to universities involved to produce resources which “encourage children and young people’s emotional wellbeing”³. A fundamental part of the toolkit is a focus on confidence, which starts with the following statement; |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |
Diane Minnicucci - If I explicitly encourage pupil awareness of different habits of mind with my Year 8 Art class, will it encourage them to become more independent learners?Stimulus: I
Hypotheisis: I Research: I |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |
Tony Hier - If I encourage my students to persist and reflect thoroughly in a collaborative classroom environment in the immediate aftermath of a mock exam, will it impact on their level of confidence and hence create more disciplined independent learners?Stimulus: I’d like my GCSE History students to be encouraged to persist with difficulty and reflect on their own performance in a collaborative classroom environment and work toward becoming more confident and disciplined independent learners.
Hypotheisis: I suspect that once they have done a mock exam that they just compare grades and do not reflect deeply on the skills they were practising and how theses could be improved. I also suspect that when the initial performance was particularly weak, that it can leave a legacy of failure and create the impression that thjs is a subject which the student is not very good at and cant really improve too much. Research: I’m interested in developing a buddy system within the history classroom, with lead buddies coaching partners on areas which they feel they need support on in order to make progress and monitoring the impact. |
Enquiry Action PlanEAP ChecklistResearch & Evaluation |