Processes of Inquiry

Professional Learning Volume 10 Series editor: J. John Loughran, Monash University, Clayton, Australia Editorial board: Renee Clift – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Ruth Kane – University of Ottawa Mieke Lunenberg – Free University, The Netherlands Anthony Clarke – University of British Columbia, Canada Donald Freeman – School for International Training, Vermont, USA MOK, Mo Ching Magdalena – Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Max van Manen – University of Alberta, Canada Rationale This series purposely sets out to illustrate a range of approaches to Professional Learning and to highlight the importance of teachers and teacher educators taking the lead in reframing and responding to their practice, not just to illuminate the field but to foster genuine educational change. Audience The series will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators and others in fields of professional practice as the context and practice of the pedagogue is the prime focus of such work. Professional Learning is closely aligned to many of the ideas associated with reflective practice, action research, practitioner inquiry and teacher as researcher.

Processes of Inquiry

Inservice Teacher Educators Research Their Practice Edited by Joanna Higgins Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Ro Parsons Ministry of Education, New Zealand and Linda Bonne Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

SENSE PUBLISHERS ROTTERDAM/BOSTON/TAIPEI

A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-94-6091-529-1 (paperback) ISBN: 978-94-6091-530-7 (hardback) ISBN: 978-94-6091-531-4 (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands www.sensepublishers.com Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2011 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

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POROPOROAKI (dedication)

Nei r te mihi ki te tokomaha, n koutou, n r tou te pukapuka nei i poipoia kia puta mai i te ao whakaaro ki te ao m rama, t n r koutou.

Heoi an ka tika an hoki ki te poroporoaki i a Barbara Spurr r ua ko Sue Jowsey, k rua kua ngaro k i te mata o te whenua. E kore e kitea a tinana ng hua kua puta mai i a k rua whai w hitanga o roto i te mahi nei, engari an -wairua e kitea. N reira k rua kua whet rangitia i roto i te w nei, moe mai r , okioki ai ki t k rua k inga t turu ki reira tatari ai ma m tou e whai ana.

Ka piti hono, ka t tai hono r tou te hunga mate ki a r tou, ka piti hono, ka t tai hono t tou te hunga ora ki a t tou, n reira ki a t tou katoa, kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. A k ti.

Kua hinga ng t tara nui o te W o-nui- -T ne.

They have fallen, they have fallen, Totara trees from the great forest of T ne Mahuta have fallen.

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WHAKATAUK (proverb)

“He tomokanga paepae he ara ki te aot roa.” T nei te mihi maioha ki a koutou i runga an i ng tini huatanga o te w . Ka rere tonu ng mihi aroha ki a koutou tira ki a t tou. N Tuteira Pohatu nei kohikohinga k rero, kohikohinga whakaaro i h mai ki te r p nei.

Tuteira Pohatu generously shared the above whakatauk as a metaphor for inservice teacher education. A possible translation is “crossing a threshold that leads to a path to the future”. The whakatauk also embodies analogies of process and ritual that may show the way to personal and professional enlightenment. In the same way, inservice teacher education draws on ways of working that involve complex interactions and that may lead to empowerment as a learner and as a leader. Ministry of Education. (2008). Ki Te Aoturoa: Improving inservice teacher educator learning and

practice (p. 12). Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Series Editor’s Foreword ......................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ xiii

1. Improving Inservice Teacher Education Practice ............................................... 1 Ro Parsons and Joanna Higgins

2. Organisation and Design of Analytical Tools to Identify Effective

Teacher Educator Practice ................................................................................. 11 Delia Baskerville

3. The Measure of Success: Resolving Conflicts in Professional Learning

Using Evidence of Student Learning ................................................................ 29 Trevor McDonald and Christina Thornley

4. Building Collaborative Professional Learning Within an Organisation ........... 45

Alyson McGee

5. An Environment of Collegial Reflective Dialogue for Inservice Teacher Educators ............................................................................................. 63 Margaret Lamont

6. Mentoring Reflective Practice in Inservice Teacher Education ........................ 89

Ronnie Davey, Vince Ham, Mel Stopford, Susan Calender and Jocelyn MacKay

7. Individualised Professional Learning: Mentoring Leaders of

School-Based Inquiry Projects ........................................................................ 117 Christina Thornley and Trevor McDonald

8. Tikanga M ori Kei Te Ao Whakaako: M ori Concepts and Practices

Supporting Teacher Education ........................................................................ 133 Hiria McRae and Marama Taiwhati

9. Te Poutama: An Alternative Framework Examining M ori Medium

Inservice Teacher Education Practice ............................................................. 149 Leanna Herewini and Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai

10. Designing Evaluation in Messy Interventions: Reflections from

Evaluation Practice .......................................................................................... 163 Meenakshi Sankar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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11. Generating New Knowledge Through a System-Level Network ................... 179 Joanna Higgins and Ro Parsons

Glossary of M ori Terms ....................................................................................... 189 About the Contributors ........................................................................................... 193

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SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD

The mention of the term teacher education is often accompanied by an assumption that the content of the work under consideration is related to that of university-based teachers of teaching. However, as the editors of this collection demonstrate, teacher education extends well beyond university-based education programmes and it is important that this broader view is not only recognised but actively embraced in order to understand more clearly the myriad issues pertaining to development of knowledge of learning and teaching about teaching. Higgins, Parsons and Bonne have drawn on their involvement in an innovative teacher education project in order to assemble a list of authors who conducted an interesting range of activities and worked from varied perspectives in order to share what they learnt about improving inservice teacher education practice. Through this book, the editors bring to the fore examples of, and arguments about, ways in which quality in teaching might be understood better when viewed through the lens of professional learning. In so doing, they attempt to illustrate that there is a meaningful link between informed teaching practices and enhanced student learning outcomes. Through their strong examples of inquiry driven processes, this book illustrates well how central professional learning is to the development of knowledge of practice in ways that can genuinely make a difference to the nature of learning and why such studies matter in shaping the ways in which policy might not only be constructed but also enacted. As the editors make clear, and the individual chapters further demonstrate, purposeful networks of practice are central to the development of knowledge building communities through which policy, research and practice can be meaningfully integrated. Through the individual studies outlined by each of the authors in this book, the strength of professional learning (in contrast to mandated top-down professional development) offers real ways for supporting teachers in reviewing and refining their understanding of teaching and learning. As the individual chapters illustrate, each author has come to realise interesting insights about ways of challenging and supporting learning about practice in an inservice teacher education context. By drawing on the work of the inservice teacher educators, researchers and evaluators involved in this project, this edited collection offers a rich portrayal of an approach to professional learning designed to work with, rather than on, those involved as they worked to enhance their knowledge of practice across a range of settings. There is a strong theme at the heart of each of the studies in this book: the need for evidence and its place in influencing approaches to, and learning from, inquiry into practice. In working collaboratively, by developing meaningful approaches to supporting reflective practices and through paying serious attention to mentoring and leadership, the professional learning at the heart of this project is brought to life in ways that offer interesting perspectives on inservice teacher education practices.

SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD

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Ultimately, it is through the combined concern of all involved in this project to develop new knowledge about teaching and learning that the real breakthroughs in practice stand out to the reader. The editors have organised this book in such a way as to make clear that policy must be informed by practice but that, in the end, real educational change is borne of teacher change. Higgins, Parsons and Bonne have structured this book in a thoughtful way that brings together a strong group of authors with an abiding commitment to quality in professional learning through a sharp focus on inservice teacher education practices. The structure of the book creates multiple entry points for the reader so that although it can be read in sequential order, it is equally accessible and useable by diving into the different sections as coherent groupings in their own right. The editors have worked long and hard to develop a well organised and carefully argued text that offers compelling evidence for an integrated approach to project management, practice, research and evaluation. Although this project was conducted in New Zealand, the learning surely extends to education precincts across the globe. There is much in this work that will appeal to, and be identified by, teacher educators in a range of contexts. I commend the work and congratulate the editors and authors on a fine example of professional learning that really does make a difference. J. John Loughran Series Editor

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank John Loughran for his support of our idea to record the stories of professional learning that were part of a project aimed at improving inservice teacher education practice. He provided theoretical insights and inspiration for participants in the project in their development of approaches to studying their practice.

We would also like to thank Chris Harwood for her critical examination of the individual studies and the collective work at the national level. The examples of inquiry into practice detailed in the chapters of this book attest to her insightful leadership of a challenging project.

We thank all the chapter authors and the participants in their projects for being willing to write about their experiences of inquiring into their practice.

Susan Kaiser of Victoria University of Wellington’s Jessie Hetherington Centre for Educational Research was extremely helpful in providing editorial support. Delia Baskerville and Pania Te Maro of the Faculty of Education provided support and advice. Thanks to Warren Butcher for the cover photograph. We are also grateful for the support received from our respective institutions. Joanna Higgins, Ro Parsons, and Linda Bonne