What is Practitioner Enquiry? Practitioner Enquiry is a system of stepping back and analyzing practice that can not only improve teaching and learning, but also instigate systemic and cultural changes according to Daniel Lambie. Practitioner Enquiry was highlighted in Teaching Scotland’s Future by Margret Donaldson in 2011 to support pupils learning and mainly teachers to become more engaged with research to support their own practice. Below is a diagram showing how and why the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS) want teachers engage in Practitioner Enquiry.
The GTCS diagram on how teachers engage in Practitioner Enquiry
The main benefit to Practitioner Enquiry is professional development where you are able to improve your practice and knowledge by sharing ideas with fellow educators and giving and receiving feedback. It is really important that you know how to research properly so as to continue adding to this body of knowledge you will slowly be retaining. By doing this you will also be able to find out new teaching strategies and initiatives and share them with fellow educators and know how to deliver them in practice. This works the other way round too. Here is Practitioner Enquiry in action.
A challenge is, depending on how seriously you engage in Practitioner Enquiry, it does take a lot of valuable time to research everything and feedback to fellow educators when you could be doing other important things such as preparing for classes. You may also be working with fellow educators who “can’t be bothered” or just are not interested in becoming a practitioner who enquires.
As a student teacher I need to look become a practitioner who enquires into her practice to positively evolve my knowledge, teaching styles and practice. Without it I might fail to spot problems with students learning from my teaching skills, stop working well in a team situation and ultimately my own teaching. I will have to question your own practice sometimes to benefit from any of this and to positively expand my learning.
This blog about an enquiring practitioner was extremely interesting to read and hit all the success criteria that was asked in the tutor directed task. I especially liked how you included a picture and video to support your points and help explain what an enquiring practitioner is and the benefits. It was nice to see you include how you wanted to be an enquiring practitioner and why you felt it was important to you. I do not feel there is anything for you to improve regarding the content. The only thing I noticed was that maybe proof read the blog over again as this would highlight any grammar or spelling mistakes.
I look forward to reading more of your blogs. Well done 🙂
-I really like how you have made your blog engaging through the use of an image and a video to break up the text.
-You have clearly stated some of the benefits and challenges of practitioner enquiry and what it will mean for you as a student.
-I like how you have incorporated links into your text but be careful not to solely rely on them for giving the definition of practitioner enquiry, so that it is clear that you can explain the definition in your own words.
I loved reading your post Katie-Rebecca! I thought you answered the question thoroughly and with a true professional tone. I especially liked how you used the video and diagram to enhance your readers understanding of your point. Like Rebecca, the only suggestion I would make to improve your post would be to maybe read over your writing to avoid grammatical or spelling mistakes. Great post though! 🙂
I really enjoyed reading your post. The use of the diagram and the video was a great idea which can help peoples understanding. You have a good understanding of what an enquiring practitioner is through the use of an effective definition. You have also successfully added a few advantages and disadvantages. Maybe you could add a few methods you would use to work co-operatively during placement with staff.
Well Done! I like how you’ve introduced your image that you’ve used. I think it helps your writing flow better. You have followed the success criteria and mentioned what being an enquiring practitioner is, talked about some of the benefits and challenges of being an enquiring practitioner and explained what it means to you as a student teacher. Adding in a video was a great idea, too.