Wk 26-How aspects of law, regulations and/or policy impact on teacher inquiry?

Inquiry has been a part of my practice since I began teaching many many years ago.  Back when I graduated from University in 1997 and began working with a class of 25 year 1 children I have always pro-actively reflected upon the strategies I had been using, are they working?  and if not why not?  What could I do differently?  Am I meeting the very individual needs of my learners?  This was part of the very essence of being reflective and to me an essential part of being an effective educator.

I often read, intially books and then later blogs, watched TED Talks, took part in any PLD offered to me and talked.  I talked a whole lot to my colleagues, teachers I had trained with and any other teacher I knew.  I followed a cycle of hunches, actions and reflections frequently in an attempt to become a truly inspiring teacher.  Of course, at this time 22 years ago, these cycles were purely for me and my children.  Each time I went through the cycle there was no formal record of it, just a teacher keen to know more and improve outcomes and children desperate to learn.

Years later the Spiral of Inquiry has become more formalised.  No longer are these reflections just for me and my class, but they have become part of my Teacher Criteria and my School Appraisal.  There are now many check boxes to ensure that I have completed every part of the cycle.  I often wonder whether this formalised cycle has improved the quality of the inquiry.  How many times have I filled in a box, for the sake of box-ticking?  How many cycles of inquiry have not made it to my final doc?  On a daily basis I find myself reflecting, making a hunch, changing a process and then watching to see if the change has made a positive effect?  and so it goes on.  

Initially, my school used a Spiral of Inquiry using a google doc this was based on the work of Halbert and Kaser (2013).  Questions were posed and the reflective process followed a step by step set of prompts, but they were somewhat flexible.  Some inquiries were part of a whole-school process in trying to improve the outcomes for our children in writing, or reading.  Some were more personal, designed to meet our individual needs and some to meet the needs of our classes.

At the start of the 2018 school year, we embarked upon a journey with Arinui.  An on-line platform that walks you through the Inquiry process step by step. For a responsive practioner to change and someone who has the tendency to follow the lead of my children, this platform is sometimes stifling, sometimes pedantic and sometimes just what I need to keep myself on track.

A very positive aspect from Arinui is that it constantly and very efficiently draws you back to the Standards for the Teaching Profession.  It would be impossible to get to the end of the year without being able to identify areas for improvement.

On the changing landscape for teacher Appraisal Ariuni chief Tony Gilbert says
"Appraisal should be grounded by inquiry into practice, led by the teacher, and be a vehicle for school change and improvement. It is essential it is built on the principles of robust inquiry into practice based on carefully selected supporting evidence. "

For me, Inquiry is as it always has been the air that I breathe.  How I inspire kids to learn and improve their outcomes in all areas.


Arinui Features taken from Arinui Website Features-Your Evidence Collection
Gilbert (2019) taken from School News Monday 28th October
Halbert and Kaser (2013) Spirals of Inquiry for Equity and Quality
Our Codes, Our Standards-Code of Professional Responsibility, for the Teaching Profession
Wood C.Teaching as Inquiry: form, purpose and application in New Zealand
Secondary Schools (2015)