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Kate Wall

@katewall.bsky.social

910 followers 890 following 550 posts

Professor of Education Strathclyde Institute of Education Professional learning, primary/EY, democratic ed, voice, visual methods & pedagogies for thinking. #StrathSTL #StrathEdD #StrathEduPGR

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Reposted by Kate Wall

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: no prizes for size. There's a temptation in research to think big is better - big samples over a long time with lots of data sources - but this isn't what quality derives from. Rather focus on targeting need/1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#EducationalResearch

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

As your enquiry develops don't be trapped by assumptions about what is better or worse. Focus on what you want to know about the learners in front of you, and ensure quality in a clear line of enquiry from question to evidence to analysis (next week's #PractitionerEnquiryTotW)/7

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Let's challenge the research assumption that big is better and small is less. Instead, enquiry communities should be accepting of all types of research; a need for all types of lenses focused on complexity of education practice: some targeting big picture & some tightly focused/6

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Therefore use the question rooted in your learners' needs as guide. You could target the whole school or class, but if it's a small group of learners or an individual then that's OK and a useful contribution to the enquiry community. Don't apologise for being focused on need/5

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Quality in research does not come from statistical significance. Therefore neither is a case study automatically less. There are good and bad examples of all kinds of research. These are research designs wielded by the researcher to answer questions and so fit is very important/4

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

If you're wanting to do statistical exploration then there are extensive guides in regard the size of sample needed and the types of evidence to collect. But if you are not intending on doing this kind of research don't be held to account by rules that as a result don't apply/3

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Assumptions about large samples come from research traditions using statistical analysis to explore causation in quantitative data sets. These tests need a certain sized sample to be valid. Yet these are mostly not the types of evidence or relationships found in real classrooms/2

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 22h

Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: no prizes for size. There's a temptation in research to think big is better - big samples over a long time with lots of data sources - but this isn't what quality derives from. Rather focus on targeting need/1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#EducationalResearch

Reposted by Kate Wall

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: to guide or not to guide. As a leader of enquiry communities and a coach to many teachers engaged in enquiry, I constantly grapple with how much guidance to give. Should I be telling teachers what to do?/1 🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

Trust the process. Enquiry with rigour and clear lines of enquiry, with opportunities to reflect and share, leads to learning that's sensible and useful. As enquiry leaders we need to know when to shut up and learn with other enquirers. You never know what you might find out/8

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

Classrooms are complex, we regularly find out the unexpected. So, enquiry leaders restrain yourselves. It's not up to you. You don't know that teachers' practice or the learners they're working with like they do. Trust them to be asking thoughtful questions. Just ask them why/7

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

The value for teachers of the process of authentically finding out for themselves is what makes useful prof learning. If I'd just said don't, would that have achieved the same end? Plus I might be wrong, for that context and that group of learners it might work (its happened) /6

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

In 20+ years of supporting practitioner enquirers I've seen fads come and go -brain gym anyone? Teachers' enquiries have usually confirmed my beliefs, but often not as I might have expected. It's almost always more complex than I thought. The process of finding out is important/5

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

Your enquiry is about asking questions about your practice, not mine. Therefore along with other enquiry leaders, I need to accept that. I can't know your practice and if that question is important to you with clear reasons connected to learner need, then who am I to say no/4

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

It would be easy for me to exert my perceived expertise and power and say 'I wouldn't do that', but where does that lead? I don't know your context, I'm a teacher and love teaching, but I haven't taught in your school with your children and young people with your curriculum/3

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

It's very tempting to give opinions - I have lots of them! To encourage teachers away from certain ideas or ways of thinking because my experience or my understanding of the research and practice evidence says that thing is not a good bet for progressing those learners/2

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 8d

Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: to guide or not to guide. As a leader of enquiry communities and a coach to many teachers engaged in enquiry, I constantly grapple with how much guidance to give. Should I be telling teachers what to do?/1 🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW

Reposted by Kate Wall

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: Engaging with the literature. As you go through the process of refining and defining your enquiry question then it is useful to explore what others have done in the same area in regard pedagogy and methodology/1🧵 #PractitionerEnquiryTotW

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Share the load. Talk about what you've read and recommend relevant reads to build capacity in your community and share the load. Listen to other people's enquiries and ask about their influences. Remember 'reading' is now multimedia and so normalise the range of types & sources/8

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

To ensure it's manageable, have clear intent (what do you want to know? Why?), be a critical consumer of all sources (what's reliable? What are paper's influences? Why?), read with an open mind (how can it help me? With what?) and set an end date (by Oct holidays I will...)/8

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Reading will occur all through the process. Research write ups seem to imply it's only the background to the research and you can't get started until you know the field, but this gives restrictive expectations. Read throughout and see influences throughout - subject and method/7

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Engagement with the literature will look different for different people particularly how much reading is enough. It is personal and depends on all the other stuff going on. For some reading might be the whole enquiry: what does the literature say about the use of plenaries?/6

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Be kind self, academic fields of literature are huge and if you add in professional sources can be over whelming even for those with loads of time. Give yourself permission to browse, to not necessarily read the whole thing (esp. if not relevant) and ask for recommendations/5

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

There are also books (obviously), blogs, podcasts, websites, reports, interviews, conferences and more. All might help and feel less extra. Just be a critical consumer of any source - just because it is said with authority doesn't mean it will work with Brian in your class/4

Kate Wall @katewall.bsky.social · 14d

Firstly engaging with the literature does not mean just academic articles (although there are some good ones out there). It could be other teachers' enquiries - there's loads available, probably in your school, looking to see what others have done in similar contexts is helpful/3