Work-based Inquiry Week 1

Importance of Inquiry “Inquiry has a power to move beyond replicating or even critiquing existing educational structures, to be a catalyst for reconstituting and reconstructing educational beliefs and practices: be it on the scale of your own classroom and your own practice or on a much wider canvas.” (Marshall and Pearson 2012 p.6)

Why…? In the early years sector all practitioners are now expected to engage in work-based research, as a means of improving practice and demonstrating leadership (Callan and Reed 2011) “insider – focussed research” – looking at practice while engaged in practice “…have more to do with day-to-day quality improvement with the purpose of making current practice more visible/viable or suggesting how existing practice might be improved.” (Callan and Reed 2011 p.5)

Think…. Think about examples when you have become an inquiring professional in your workplace…… A child having difficulty grasping a concept…. A parent who is hard to engage…. Why do more girls use the role play area…. A child who is displaying challenging behaviour….

Reflective Questions How can I evaluate an aspect of provision? What needs improving and why? Who has written about this? How will I improve it? What went well? What didn’t go well?

Action Research

Action Research McNiff and Whitehead (2002 p.15) suggests action research “is an enquiry by the self into the self, undertaken in company with others acting as research participants and critical learning partners.” Linked to the improvement of practice rather than the development of theory Links to the idea that at the heart of practitioner inquiry is the drive to improve the lives of children, young people and families

Think…. Watch the video of a teacher reflecting on her practice; What was her issue What interventions did she put in place How did she work with the other professionals What leadership skills did the teacher show http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Doing-It-For-Themselves-6083242/

References Mitchell, N. and Pearson, J. (2012) Inquiring in the Classroom: Asking the questions that matter about teaching and learning London: Continuum Callan, S. and Reed, M. (2011) (Eds.)Work-Based Research in the Early Years London: Sage Publications