Association of Chartered TeachersInaugural Conference

February 6th 2010

The Chartered Teacher is an accomplished, innovative teacher who demonstrates sustained enhanced expertise in practice. The Chartered Teacher embraces and actively promotes the values, principles and practices of equality and social justice in all areas of work. The Chartered Teacher is a critically informed, reflective practitioner who systematically evaluates the nature and extent of impact achieved for learners and learning. The Chartered Teacher plays a leading role in the professional development of colleagues and makes a recognised contribution to the educational effectiveness of the school and the wider professional community. Essentially, these areas of expertise, and the qualities and attributes of the Chartered Teacher underpin the Standard. At the core of the Standard for Chartered Teacher are the Professional Actions which are informed by, as well as inform, the other three components – Professional Values and Personal Commitment, Professional Knowledge and Understanding, Professional Skills and Abilities. 

CHARTERED TEACHER STANDARD (2009)

Professional Enquiry and Work Based Project

•It is essential that research plays a central role in the work that we do both as Chartered Teachers who are completing their Masters degree, and for those who have now achieved such status. •Only by being able to evidence the effect of investigation, and if required, changes implemented, can a Chartered Teacher be able to justify their particular stance on effective teaching and learning.•In order to ensure that any classroom/school based research is rigorous and robust, skills need to be formed and processes understood.•This is achieved by professional enquiry carried out prior to a final project, which allows the understanding of the role of research, the ethical positions, the testing of ideas, methodologies and making a tentative exploratory investigation.

Audience

•Who?

•Why?

•What?

Please feel free to make comments, challenge, ask questions.No answers guaranteed!

Research

•What is research?

•What is educational research?

Koshy’s approach to improving educational practice

Research is a form of disciplined enquiry leading to the generation of knowledge. The knowledge that your research generates is derived from a range of approaches. Your approach to research may vary according to the context of your study, your beliefs, the strategies you employ and the methods you use. (p1)

Practitioner Enquiry

What is practitioner research?

•Reflection in and on action – Schon

•Use of a reflective journal and learning log to be researched(Professional Portfolio)

•Trigger

One Way Forward

• How and where to start – review current situation

• Identify a possible action plan

• Gather information and identify personnel who need to be involved

• Imagine way forward and seek current perspectives

• Highlight areas to be addressed

• Set up programme for implementation

ACTION RESEARCH: Underpinning Practice

What is action research?

Koshy (2010) talks about it in this way.

Action research support practitioners to seek ways in which they can provide good quality education by transforming the quality of teaching-related activities, thereby enhancing students’ learning. (p1)

Action research creates knowledge based on enquiries conducted within specific and often practical contexts (Its) …purpose is to learn through action leading to personal and professional development. (p4)

•Research tells us that human beings prefer to be part of a social group

•Historically peoples of all cultures gather together in social groupings

•Collaborative practice supports research much more strongly

•Individual investigations can be replicated

•Aspects can be discussed, challenged, changed and adapted

•Findings can be shared within the classroom/department/ school and beyond

•Leads to ‘communities of practice’

Collaboration – is this necessary?

Communities of practice

Main proponents of this theory are Lavé and Wenger and the idea originated in the business world.

This idea describes a community which displaysa.) mutual engagementb.) joint enterprise c.) a shared repertoire

Others talk about communities of learning.

What do you think?

Criticality

It is essential that Chartered Teachers and those working towards the status must adopt a critical approach to research and classroom investigations.

Think about:•Previous practice•School policy•Assumptions and beliefs•Varying perspectives•Teaching and learning strategies•Change – will this result in enhanced practice?• How will you know?

Questions

Here are two connected questions upon which you might wish to reflect. A Curriculum for Excellence demands high standards and we as a profession need to rise and meet that challenge.

Is the current climate conducive to sharing our findings in research?

There is an onus upon us to share findings so that we don’t re-iterate mistakes and also when someone encounters a similar problem they know how to address it through relevant strategies or approach the appropriate person for support.

How comfortable are you in sharing findings with others?

Banks, F. Mayes, A. S. ( 2001) Early Professional Development for Teachers. Section 3 The Classroom Teacher and School-Based Research. London: David Fulton Publishers in association with The Open University

Brown, S. (1990) Planning Small-Scale Research. SCRE Spotlights 27: Edinburgh

Forde,C.; McMahon, M.; McPhee, A.D. & Patrick, F. (2006) Professional Development and Enquiry. London: Paul Chapman

Koshy, V. (2010) Action Research for Improving Education Practice London: Sage McNiff, Lomax and Whitehead (1996) You and Your Action Research Project London: Routledge

McNiff, J. (1988) Action Research Principles and Practice. Basingstoke: MacMillan Education

Schon, D.A. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Towards a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Wenger, E. (1999) Communities of Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. (2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Bibliography

Scottish Educational Research Database (SERD)www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/Research/14478/SERDCurrent Educational Research in the UK (CERUK) www.ceruk.ac.ukEducational Resources Information Centre (ERIC)www.eric.ed.govScottish Centre for Research in Education (SCRE)www.scre.ac.uk/tpr/index.htmlResearch of the Month (ROM)www.gtcs.org.uk/research/romtopics

Useful Databases and Websites