TEACHER RESEARCH: BECOMING A RESEARCHER BY INQUIRING INTO TEACHING PRACTICES MARJOLEIN DOBBER

Faculty of Psychology and Education OVERVIEW PRESENTATION Developmental Education (DE) in the Netherlands Inquiry-based education in DE Teacher research in a DE school Teacher research in Developmental Education2

Faculty of Psychology and Education DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION IN THE NETHERLANDS -Based on the Cultural Historical Theory of Vygotskij and work on play by Van Oers -Children engage in socio-cultural activities -Much attention for interaction -Thematic activities for 4-7 weeks -Until 8 years mostly play, 8-12 mostly inquiry -Cultural meaning becomes connected with personal sense -About 5% of the schools (400) for primary education in The Netherlands -Teachers develop the curriculum themselves -De Activiteit (‘The Activity’) provides training for teachers 3Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education INQUIRY BASED EDUCATION IN DE Different types of inquiry: Inquiry of practices > Cultural practices Consulting sources > Books > Material > Internet Inquiry as experimental research > Experimenting 4Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education INQUIRY BASED EDUCATION IN DE Role of the teacher: Taking on roles that children cannot yet perform themselves Providing rich material in the classroom Stimulating interaction with more knowledgeable others Teacher research is important for: Developing practices Learning from each other Understanding research Professional development of teachers 5Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education TEACHER RESEARCH IN A DE SCHOOL Context: teachers in a school that has worked with DE for some time. In teams that are supported by teacher educators, teachers: Collaborate in researching own practices Document data from inquiry practices and the development of children in their own classroom Document data about their own development as researchers Make new plans 6Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education TEACHER RESEARCH IN A DE SCHOOL Activities in the classroom: Planning and reflection: how do the children develop? Self as a researcher, and role of the teacher in inquiry-based learning of pupils in different aspects: -Social regulation -Conceptual regulation -Meta-cognitive regulation 7Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education TEACHER RESEARCH IN A DE SCHOOL Teachers think about a number of aspects concerning their own attitude towards research, e.g., ‘Are you critical about the data that you collected?’, or: ‘Do you dare to leave your routines behind?’ They point out which aspects they are already good at, and which they have to work on. They make plans, e.g., ‘I want to make sure that children are intrinsically motivated.[…] I will research how I can find the balance between what has to be covered and what the children want’ 8Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education TEACHER RESEARCH IN A DE SCHOOL Teachers in this project: -Learned to step out of their comfort zone -Experimented with inquiry-based learning in their classroom -Researched their own practice -Reflected on their own development Children: -Got more freedom in undertaking inquiry -Were intrinsically motivated -Learned from each other 9Teacher research in Developmental Education

Faculty of Psychology and Education QUESTIONS? For articles / more information on Developmental Education or my research, please 10 Teacher research in Developmental Education