The general definition of enquiry would along the lines of asking something, so I would say an enquiring practitioner would be someone who is constantly questioning their practice. It can also be explained as some sort of investigation. This can be carried out alone or with colleagues and is extremely beneficial so teaching as it means constant improvement. By constantly questioning our own practice we will then be able to identify areas of improvement so that we can be the best teachers possible.
Practitioner enquiry has many benefits as well as development of own practice, it can empower teachers and give them control over what they teach and this can be very motivational. It also means that we can go further than just the classroom, practitioner enquiry could eventually change and improve the whole education system. This is due to the fact that it is highly adaptive and questioning is greatly encouraged by both pupils and teachers.
Personally I would say that working collegiately is a great was to improve the system of practitioner enquiry because teachers then have a chance to consolidate ideas and come up with the best solution which may lead to greater improvement.
It can allow us to come up with different teaching strategies based on strengths and weaknesses in past lessons. It gives teachers a wider knowledge base due to questioning and being critical. This is beneficial because if teachers can improve their own knowledge base then that means that there is far more knowledge to then be passed on pupils/colleagues.
A main challenge of being an enquiring practitioner would be taking criticism from others without getting offended and having the ability to criticize friends without feeling emotionally attached.
-you have clearly explained what an enquiring practitioner is, meeting part of the success criteria
-you have highlighted the positive outcomes of being an enquiring practitioner
-what do you think are the challenges of being an enquiring practitioner?
Hannah, a very well written post that is informative as well as enjoyable to look at because of the image. You give a handful of great benefits for Practitioner Enquiry and present them in a way that is brief yet understandable. However, I would perhaps considering trying to mention a couple of challenges that surround Practitioner Enquiry.
Well done Hannah! I like how you’ve made it very simple what an enquiring practitioner is in the first paragraph. It took me a while to get my head around what ‘enquiring practitioner’ actually meant during lectures, therefore I think you’ve done well by being able to explain the term so well. The use of a diagram is always really helpful too as it reinforces the information you’ve explained and you’ve picked a really strong image. In terms of improvement, I think you could perhaps explain what being an enquiring practitioner implies to you as student teacher, for example, what you feel you should do to become, or improve on being, an enquiring practitioner. Overall though, a really good post!
Hey Hannah,
I loved reading your post and think it clearly shows your sound understanding of what practitioner enquiry is. I think your post is very strong as not only have you mentioned the positives of being an enquiring practitioner but you have also touched on the challenges that we will be faced with. To make your post even stronger you could possibly link it to being a student teacher. Reading your post has given me a greater insight into this topic and has been beneficial to my own learning! Well done 🙂