Teacher Inquiry and the end of the First Half of the Mindlab Course

Sixteen weeks have just flown by. Sixteen sessions with the team. Three and a half assignments complete (currently halfway through one right now).  And now, we're about to start the next part of the course online. This course has been challenging and inspiring, and I've really appreciated the deeper understanding I am developing as a teacher and a collaborator of educational outcomes. I'm looking forward to this next stage.

Last week for session 15 we looked at Inquiry; both teacher inquiry and student inquiry - the parallels between the two are so similar. For this blog though, I want to focus in on teacher inquiry. Why? Because it is something I have really struggled with. Teacher inquiry, to me, has felt arbitrary and another thing to load on top of already busy teachers. Not the best attitude I grant you but that is/was my honest feelings.

I am naturally am a learner. I like to find things out; think I'm quite a curious person, like to get the positive results out of my students and do the very best I can.  I  naturally inquire into things from my observations of my class and students and work from there. Isn't that what teaching is about? The thing that didn't quite connect to me was the whole paper trail of proof (wasn't that in the results, the student voice, the formative feedback, assessment and student work?) and the top-down approach I would feel during this process. Cynical yes, but write it down, tick it off, let's look at it again next year and go from there.
But to be honest, often I would blank out when it came to that time of year and really not know what I wanted to 'commit' to as an area of focus. There are so many needs. Fear of failing and not meeting the 'right' target or showing enough growth always paralysed me.

Luckily, I have an amazing appraiser who has been able to see through my cynicism and 'teaching baggage' to help me do what I need to do, while still encouraging and challenging me in my practice. So when I saw we were going to do Teacher Inquiry as part of the course I wasn't too sure where this was going to go and whether I would be interested. I was pleasantly surprised though and have had some big shifts in my thinking.

The Spiral of Inquiry.

Timperley, H., Kaser, L. & Halbert, J. (2014).

Our school's current teacher inquiry model that we use is also a spiral based model but for some reason, it didn't connect with me. Maybe I didn't understand it properly or was a bit too close minded to appreciate it.  BUT after reading and learning about the Spiral of Inquiry by Timperly, Kaser & Halbert (2014) I feel like I've had a bit of an epiphany. Not only am I seeing the possibility of using this model in my own practice but I am feeling like I'm getting the bigger picture of the whole Teacher Inquiry thing! 😇

Using the spiral of inquiry:

•  Actively investigating in a teacher-led inquiry: "This requires a shift from student voice to developing learner agency, as the students help to identify and address issues in their learning environments. In the past it has often been adults who have decided what is right or wrong with learners, and what is good for them, without involving them in either identifying issues or developing solutions. Deciding what is going on for learners without their input lacks respect and is unlikely to be productive." Timperley, Kaser & Halbert, (2014.)

For this teacher-led inquiry to work, teachers must come at their inquiry with a mindset of curiosity. It allows teachers to suspend judgement and make changes based on evidence. What is happening and why? I love this!

• Scanning: open yourself/school up to honest judgement. Terrifying but I'm getting to grips with this not as an element of criticism but of opportunity for growth. Okay, I am a still a huge bit terrified.

I like this spiral of inquiry more because of the deep connected, human element to it. The learner's at centre, the teacher as a learner, depth over surface. 

The guiding questions and boxes in the article (referenced below) are Excellent! 

Two key questions posed that stuck in my mind were: Is it acceptable for some learners to be pursuing important questions in depth while others are restricted to ‘covering’ the curriculum? Is it all right for some learners to experience challenging and engaging learning in one class while learners in the room next door are not? WOW !!Food for thought. Those are hard, challenging questions.

I haven't gone through the rest of the model but these are some of the things that have stuck and resonated with me. I'm looking forward to exploring my own teacher inquiry and general teacher inquiry through the second half of the Mindlab course in more depth over the next sixteen weeks or so.

References: 
Timperley, H., Kaser, L. & Halbert, J. (2014). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Centre for Strategic Education. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/content/download/74475/611763/file/Spiral%20of%20Inquiry%20Paper%20-%20Timperley%20Kaser%20Halbert.pdf