Professional Enquiry: Improvements In The Teaching Industry

I believe assessment is important and is the basis of planning for instruction, whether it is diagnostic prior to learning, formative during units or lessons, or summative to evaluate student learning. Rowan’s quote in Every Teacher’s Guide to Assessment, "After all, in the end, the problem is less the idea of testing itself, but how we design them, apply, them, and make use of their data." definitely has an impact on my assessment practices. I feel it is necessary to make sure the student acquires all aspects of the learning. Assessment should be used to bring a value for students. Within my instruction, I implement daily formative assessments which may include turn and share, quick writes, graphic organizers, online discussion responses, KahootIt, and other forms. Designing the appropriate formative assessment to match the lesson is important to assess how the learning is taught and whether the students are showing progress. In addition, I have worked on building blocks of formative assessments in checklist style leading up to the point of reviewing for a summative test. Each of these are checked off as completed and instant feedback is given. Feedback from an assessment is essential to student learning and how a teacher will ensure the content is being acquired.

In 1989 a group of voluntary researchers named the Assessment Reform group (ARG) were formed by the British Educational Research Association (BERA). The group had the task to take account of relevant research and evidence in regards to assessment for policy and practice. In 1996 BERA’s support ceased and was taken over by the Nuffield Foundation till the ARG dissolved in 2010. It was in 1996 that the foundation funded Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam members of the ARG to review literature on the use of assessment to help with learning. As a result, evidence was found that ‘formative assessment’ could help to improve learning and the findings were published under the title ‘Inside the black box’. The ARG was one of significant influences on the design of Scotland’s Assessment is for Learning (AfiL) initiative which aimed to develop assessment in learning in Scottish schools. This essay will discuss and explore how effective formative assessment of pupils’ progression can be carried out.

The Inter-Professional Working module involved the study of multi-agency working in the Primary school in order to give all children with ASN, EAL and other difficulties that may prevent them from getting the best out of their learning experience the best education they can attain. Throughout this assignment there will be discussion involving what is meant by ‘inter-professional working in education’, how inter-professional working in education can help to meet the aims of GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child), factors that promote effective inter-professional working in education, and ways to overcome potential barriers to inter-professional working in education. The assignment will be split into equal sections in order to cover and fully discuss each area of discussion and include all relevant information.

With recent changes and reform to primary education assessment and removal of standard levels, assessment is the subject of great discussion in education. In this assignment I will be investigating the practice of questioning within formative assessment; the theory behind it, strategies and evidence I have seen in the autumn term of my ‘Home’ placement. I have chosen to investigate this aspect of formative assessment in mathematics, as this is the subject in which I have had most teaching practice and opportunities to formatively assess children’s progress and implement Assessment for Learning. It has also been an area I have found challenging, in particular how to question children to promote higher order thinking in mathematics, a subject that many children find challenging.

By advocating for a curriculum that encourages processes and puts children’s learning at its centre, the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (Education Scotland, online) provides educators with chances to enhance professional learning by promoting

Action research began in the late 19th and early 20th century during the large idea that education must be viewed as a science. Because of Great Britain and their teacher research movement during the 1960s, action research began to change into a teacher-led curriculum reform. At some point in the 1980s, qualitative researchers were not in total agreement and pursued internal validity. They felt inquiring based on “trustworthiness” is more appropriate for a better research. Thus, the birth of professionalism created hierarchy between universities and schools. Even with professionalism changing the problem-solving framework over problem framing, scientific knowledge over personal knowledge, and facts over values, the No Child Left Behind Act created high stakes testing that de-emphasized many action research practices (Anderson, page 53). This is controversial in the sense that politics always played a role in either defending action research or going against it.

My previous research involved a lot of field research and ethnography using datasets and a research methodology more common in large scale social science investigations. I was utterly unfamiliar with action research as it exists within the classroom. My experience in a research institution had been publish and walk away or defend—a rather reptilian approach to one’s “product,” I think—and I hadn’t considered how research performed in the classroom could not only be useful for other interested parties but essential to maintaining my own practice, keeping it nimble yet

"Action research is the process through which teachers collaborate in evaluating their practice jointly; raise awareness of their personal theory; articulate a shared conception of values; try out new strategies to render the values expressed in their practice more consistent with the educational values they espouse; record their work in a form which is readily available to and understandable by other teachers; and thus develop a shared theory of teaching by researching practice." - John Elliott

Research and inquiry are performances that are practiced in many professions; in many cases it is necessary for the development of various places of employment as it may improve numerous aspects of the inner construct. Research has been accredited to many innovative changes that the work force has endured and while it is essential, it may create controversy. It is important to keep in mind all of the components of research so as not to confuse your results with the results of the professional; this may be damaging to the work place as a whole. Research in education has often times been criticized as many educators, administrators and policy makers have behaved hastily in hopes to receive similar results from inquiries others have practiced.

Furthermore, our class on Professional Learning Communities (PLC) also had a great impact on me as an instructional coach. One of my responsibilities each week is to lead teachers in PLC. As stated previously, last year was my first year in this new role. My partner left the district very late in the summer and we were unable to find a replacement so I was doing the job of two people. I wasn’t sure how PLC was supposed to be structured and I didn’t have anyone to lean on for support, so I did the best I could to provide teachers with a new instructional strategy each week that could be used in their classrooms. I thought I was doing a great job in PLC until I began the Schools and Professional Learning Communities course. I learned from the work of DuFour and many others that PLC was intended to be a time of collaboration. Teachers should be reviewing their students’ data and using that time to make informed instructional decisions after collaborating with their colleagues.

As I reflect on both scientifically based research and action research, I am truly amazed at how much I have learned. I knew what research was and how to use it but I didn’t really know how important they are until I took this course. I am the expert when it comes to my students and my classroom, so I need to be very involved in what and how things are taught. In order, to be involved I need to be the one in the for-front of the scientifically based research or action research. What I have learned from this course, to be the most powerful and something that I am going to take with me is “Action research is a professional development strategy that puts the teacher at the center of the professional development process.” (Gould, 2008, p. 5)

Inter-professional working in education is the idea of professionals working together to provide effective services for children and their families. With the professionals sharing their knowledge and skills with others to develop their knowledge and skills in specific areas. One policy that is set in place to ensure that inter-professional working is necessary is the GIRFEC (2008) document. “Getting it right for every child” (GIRFEC) is the national approach in Scotland to improve the outcomes and to support the wellbeing and education of children and young

‘Teaching has never been recognised as a profession mainly because of its inability to promote and demonstrate a distinctive expertise’ (Beck, 2008). The status of teaching has always been seen as an uncertain position, according to Etzioni, he characterised it as one of the ‘semi – professions’ (Etzioni, 1969). Teaching definitely struggled to get the same degree of professional independency as professions like medicine and law (Braun, 2012). The concept and multiple meanings of teacher professionalism has changed in relation to historical, political and social contexts. It has developed over time between rival groups and their interest (Hilferty, 2008). The term professionalism is very difficult to define and as it is used in different senses. The term is mainly used to define the status of occupation groups in terms of morality (Kennedy, 2007). So in the business world the term professionalism is defined as ‘success’.

The action-research process is a term that is hotly discussed and employed in pedagogy today. Hewitt and Little cite the work of Rawlinson and Little, who describe action research as " 地 model of professional development that promotes collaborative inquiry, reflection, and dialogue. "Within the action research process, educators study student learning related to their own teaching. It is a process that allows educators to learn about their own instructional practices and to continue to monitor improved student learning" (2005). Thus, one can see the apparent benefits of the action research process; it allows teachers to take on some extent of lifelong learning. Teachers can reap a better understanding of the teaching practices that they've been hardwired to practice within so that they can focus their efforts on improved student learning in a richer and fuller manner. As Hewitt and Little explain, "Action research provides teachers and administrators with an opportunity to better understand what happens in their school. This process establishes a decision-making cycle that guides instructional planning for the school and individual classrooms" (2005). However, in order for all educators to really reap the benefits of an action-research plan, there really needs to be clear instructional layout so that the action-research plan is presented in a lucid and attainable manner.

My reflective biography includes my metaphor that highlights my beliefs of what “good” teaching should look like, how selected parts from my life experience have shaped my beliefs about education, my reflections on professional learning and education in contemporary Australia and my goals for professional learning.