Term 3 Week 10: Reflection Time: What do we do as Teachers?

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Graham Aitken on Developing an Inquiry Approach:

"Teaching effectiveness is determined by the quality of inquiry into the relationship between teacher actions and student learning."

Effective teachers inquire into the relationship between what they do (style) and what happens for students (outcomes). But effective teachers do more than simply inquire (or reflect) – they take action (in relation to what they are doing in the classroom) to improve the outcomes for students and continue to inquire into the value of these interventions.


Thus effective teaching is more than style and it is more than outcomes – it is the continual interrogation of the relationship between these two dimensions with the aim of enhancing student achievement.


Such a model implies particular attitudes or dispositions (open-mindedness, fallibility) and particular actions (questioning students about what they are understanding) but it does not prescribe or checklist such qualities. It simply prescribes inquiry, action and the search for improvement.



The inquiry model depicts two phases of inquiry:

Inquiry 1. This inquiry focuses on the impact of teaching actions on student outcomes. Central to this inquiry is the collection and analysis of high quality evidence based on the key question: "What is happening for students in my classroom?" and sub-questions that explore the relationship between teaching actions and student learning.


Inquiry 2. This inquiry focuses on identifying possibilities for improvement sourced in the experiences of other teachers (craft knowledge) and from research. Craft and research knowledge are not regarded as absolutes to be applied in all circumstances. They are regarded as the source of working hypotheses for enhancing the relationship between teacher actions and student learning. As such, they too need to be evaluated in the particular context within which the teacher is teaching.



The cycle of inquiry established by the processes of Inquiry 1 and Inquiry 2 enhances the opportunity to learn for the teacher (in the sense that they are learning about the impact of their own practice) and for the students (in the sense that changed teacher practices are aimed at increasing student engagement and success).

See: The inquiring teacher: Clarifying the concept of teaching effectiveness by Dr Graeme Aitken

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