Learning and impact – Perspective from Denise Arnerich
The use of evidence to critique practice is particularly important in identifying our theories-in-use. Jo undertook with Leslie a needs analysis examining NCEA literacy demands and then together they looked at how students were being prepared for these demands in the junior arts programme. This was a valuable exercise because it uncovered Leslie’s assumptions about what students would know when they started in year 11. It also grounded Leslie’s learning within an immediate problem of practice, which is an important dimension of effective professional learning. As Robinson and Lai (2006) explain, professional learning experiences should support teachers to evaluate the adequacy of tacit knowledge and routines.
Uncovering her assumptions helped Leslie to buy in to her work with Jo, which exemplifies the central role that engagement plays in learning. Leslie says that as a result of her work with Jo, she is more aware of how to meet the literacy demands of the curriculum. She appears to have integrated new learning into her current knowledge and beliefs. This links to the view of Donovan et al. (1999) that engagement is a process in which both the teacher and learner negotiate the meaning of new information in relation to existing knowledge and strengths.
Eleanor articulates the school’s vision of ongoing teacher learning as a result of strong pedagogical leadership and a culture of professional learning that ensures everyone understands “this is what our school does”. Reid (2004) argues that a school-wide culture of inquiry is crucial and that without it, inquiry approaches are destined to “be constrained at best and fail at worst” (page 8). Similarly, the findings on sustainability outlined in the TPLD BES indicate that teachers are unlikely to engage in inquiry processes unless they have the organisational conditions and support to do so.
In the final video clip, Jo describes students’ growing ability to make use of strategies that lead to independence and self-regulation. An ongoing challenge for Jo as a pedagogical leader will be to support teachers to be self-regulatory as they inquire into the effectiveness of their practice and its impact on student learning.
References
Donovan, S. M., Bransford, J. D., and Pellegrino, J. W., eds. (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Reid, A. (2004). “Towards a Culture of Inquiry in DECS”. Keynote address at the Quality Teachers, Quality Teaching conference in Melbourne 23–24 May, 2005.
Robinson, V. and Lai, M. K. (2006). Practitioner Research for Educators: A Guide to Improving Classrooms and Schools. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin.
Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., and Fung, I. (2007). Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration [BES]. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
