MindLab Practice Blog

This blog is an extension of a couple of points that people have commented on in a previous post – namely the central role of reflection (particularly critical reflection) as part of Teaching as Inquiry. If I had to be critical of myself, I don’t think I am a critical reflector (even though I understand what it means).  Or am I?  Am I measuring myself against research that suggests I must be at some ‘level’ of reflective practice to be truly reflective?  Great in theory, but difficult in practice.  Bardane (2014) points to the theory-practice divide when it comes to being reflective in TAI.  This comes about because of the suggestion (I would argue assumption) that the, “practitioner has certain skills and relevant theoretical and practical knowledge, in order to do reflection” (p.110).  This is supported by Saric & Steh (2017, p.67) who note that, “despite the well-established role of reflection, a large gap between the professed goals and actual reflective practice

Teaching as Inquiry is considered an essential component of a teacher's professional competence.  As such, it forms part of a teacher's appraisal and is embedded in the current PTC's: Professional Learning - Use inquiry, collaborative problem solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners  (Education Council, 2017). Therefore it is the personal both a  personal professional and institutional responsibility to ensure it is taking place in a meaningful and purposeful manner.  It can be used to not only for, "personalising professional development " (Wood, 2005, p.9) but can be used to bring about school transformation in its most fully realised form (Timperley, Kaser & Halbert, 2014). Teaching as Inquiry is a challenging and complex process because it requires a considerable investment of time, energy and resources as it is planned, implemented and reviewed.  In this respect

This is a summary of the key things from the excellent paper, A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry  by Timperley, Kaser & Halbert (2014).  You can download it from:  https://goo.gl/JP2pxh . Brief Overview: Central to the spiral of inquiry is the, "involvement of the learners, their families and communities ... throughout the whole process" (p.5).  This stands to reason as the fundamental purpose of Teaching as Inquiry is to achieve improved student outcomes.  It should also be viewed as simply a process about "us" as teachers, rather a partnership between "us" and "them" (for want of better words) for the betterment of all.  Success as learners for students and teachers. I like this model for the simple reason it comes with a lot of questions within each stage of the model (see below).  The spiral "loop" between "checking" and "scanning" could be tight, i

I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences on how to do a literature review.  Too much time on my hands I guess. After looking around on the internet and in a couple of books I have at home, there seems to be a general consensus on the purpose of a literature review, and how it should be planned and carried out.  This is merely a bringing together of those themes. Purpose: The purpose of a literature review is try to bring together a range of theories with respect to a particular topic, identify points of conflict or tension between the various pieces of research, resolve conflicts, and suggest areas of further research that may help address “gaps” in the literature.   In other words: Tell me what the research says Tell me what the research means Tell me what the research does not say  At a basic level, a literature review is simply an overview or summary of the definitions and theories in the literature (preferably peer reviewed) around you