Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
Professor of Education
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Professional learning, primary/EY, democratic ed, voice, visual methods & pedagogies for thinking. #StrathSTL #StrathEdD #StrathEduPGR
Education
58%
Psychology
18%
Enquiry answers are usually partial and temporal: will that thing work in same way for same content for similar class in 5 years? Almost definitely not. And so enquiry breeds enquiry. We need to strive to understand by asking questions but accepting the non-simple answers/8
So we need to take the pressure off ourselves that worthy research has simple yes/ no answers and admit education is almost defintely more complex than that. We need to report areas of clarity in enquiries, but also the caveats we have observed and what we are not sure about /7
Rather we're looking for part of a jigsaw puzzle. Enquiries tend to lead to partial answers at best. But they will always lead to more questions to fuel your next cycle(s). You may get your jigsaw piece but where it fits and what it is next to will remain worthy of exporation /6
Therefore when engaging in an enquiry project we need to accept our question (if useful) is unlikely to have a simple or definitive answer. Its just unlikely to work the same for all children, for every time or across all curriculum learning. Share the doubt and the complexity /5
Learning is a complex, non-linear process where sometimes learners need to go back to go forward. Some children will be going forward at pace, while others are stuck or unravelling concepts, all at the same time, and with the same input. Neat processes are few and far between./4
One of the joys (and challenges) of being a teacher is that we're constantly having to dance on our toes and react to the unexpected. Things sometimes go to plan, but often they don't. Sometimes the learning is predictable and sometimes its not. Enquiry has to acknowledge this/3
Last week I talked about the importance of the outlier and this is part of why simple answers don't work. Yes, that thing might have worked for the majority on that day in February when it was raining, but did it work for all equally and would it work again in the same way?/2
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: simple answers. I know it is frustrating but the complexity of education, of classrooms, and even of one conversation between teacher and child, is so complex that simple answers to any enquiry are unlikely. /1 🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
Be wary of thinking that 'proper' research only speaks to big ideas that work for most of the population. We also need to share those groups and individuals or even subjects or times of day, when it doesn't work so well and normalise it. These are where next questions come from/7
One of a teacher's most fundamental and important skills is being able to differentiate and support all learners in their classroom. This is often done thoughtfully and carefully with deep seated social justice aims. So when sharing your practitioner enquiry do the same. /6
Similarly, when you're reporting enquiry outcomes, be wary of just talking about majority big findings to detriment of the ones for whom it didn't go as expected. We need to report warts and all. For another teacher to take your approach into their classroom they need to know/5
Practitioner enquiry is useful for finding out about that thing that Prof What's-her-face suggested as having an impact but in the context of your group of learners. Your purpose is to find out what elements of the approach are useful in your classroom and for whom. /4
I am wary of one size fits all approaches, of people who think they've THE answer, of rolling out and scaling up. The real educational world is more complex. Even the best ideas need to be adapted to context, to learner need. That's why we need practitioner enquiry to explore /3
Obviously the learning of majority is important and I'm not discounting useful research with generalisable outcomes. But as teacher researchers who work in real classrooms, we know that for every trend or big idea, there is a group or individual for whom it doesn't work as well/2
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: don't discount the outliers. A lot of research focuses on finding commonality, themes, averages and generalisable trends, but as teachers we deal with more than the majority. We also have to focus on the outliers/1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
Use terms that work for you and don't be crippled by a feelings of what might be 'proper'. But don't brush this aspect under the carpet, consider quality in a way that speaks to your type of enquiry, remembering you're a teacher first, so addressing learner need is priority/8
So quality is a contested term and too often I see it used to undermine teachers enquiry activity. You do need to consider quality in your work - why is that the best evidence for answering that question? But quality is not something you have (or not), rather it is a dynamic/7
In practitioner enquiry realm then context and pedagogical appropriateness are just as important as these other research terms. How does the research process fit with target learners' needs (capabilities/ experiences/ understandings)? How does it evoke a real life context?/6
Within practitioner enquiry, which is different again, the close to practice nature of teacher-researchers requires further considerations of quality. Teachers with expertise, insight and access that others don't, as well as responsibility to prioritise children's outcomes/5
Even in research world generalisability, validity and reliability are not universally agreed as they miss importance of trustworthiness associated with credibility, reflexivity, dependability, and transferability. It is a contested space and you can consider what works for you/4
It's therefore impossible to apply a single set of quality terms to all types of enquiry. We need to be careful about presuming, especially if applying unthinkingly the words from research to the other types of activity. Practitioner enquiry is multifaceted and so is quality/3
Enquiry encompasses a lot of different research activities for the purpose of professional learning: small scale research projects (quant, qual and mixed method), reading literature, scholarship on teaching and learning, as well as maintaining an enquiry stance to your practice/2
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: assessing quality. A lot is written in research textbooks about what makes quality research with words like generalisation, validity and reliability often banded around. But it does depend on what you are doing/1 🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
If you like my Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week, then come join us on the @strath-ioe.bsky.social PG Cert in Supporting Teacher Learning with GTCS Prof Recognition. Engage in enquiry with like minded peers teaching across a range of contexts #StrathSTL #PractitionerEnquiryTotW
The deadline for applications for the PG Cert in Supporting Teacher Learning with GTCS professional recognition is the end of January. If you are thinking of applying then get in touch and we can advise you through the process. @strath-ioe.bsky.social
Come join us!
Come join us!
That issue for that group of learners connects to how I teach that content, which connects to a whole school agenda, which brings it back to the specific needs of so and so on Tuesday. Keeping enquiry aware means connections are more likely and hopefully makes the job smoother/7
Indeed I do think enquiry can create helpful connections between all the stuff. Once the process of asking questions and finding out potential answers is part of practice then you can use it to your benefit, not just discrete projects, but as a way of bringing things together /6
It does get easier, once you get into the habit of keeping aware, small pockets of enquiry reflection/ planning becomes second nature and means it'll tick along in the background. It still doesn't take over and it still isn't extra, it becomes part of normal practice and useful/5
School leaders can help teachers do this by scheduling time in staff meetings or professional learning time, again it doesn't have to be long, but enough for people to check in on where they are at. This has the added value of showing you place importance on enquiry activity/4
Therefore, when in the swing of a busy day or week, finding time to reflect and check in on your enquiry progress is a useful practice to make a habit. It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be formal or written down, its just about keeping it current in your brain/3
Balance is needed as research can't take over. You are a teacher first. That's why any model of practitioner enquiry should be embedded in teaching and learning, connected to practice, and not be 'extra'. We need to stay enquiry aware, but not let it take over /2