Thinking about Inquiry: A Pre-service Teachers Critical Discussion

On the Teaching as Inquiry Process

The New Zealand Curriculum outlines teaching as inquiry as an effective practice that
supports student learning (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2007). By participating in
research and inquiry, teachers begin to identify the relationships between their practice
and the impact it has on student learning and achievement (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar,
& Fung, 2007). Inquiry supports the idea that different teaching strategies work for
different students in different contexts and uses a cycle of enaction and reflection to
determine what will suit the students needs best (MoE, 2007). The following is a
discussion and deliberation on my understandings of teacher research, specifically
teaching as inquiry.
The Nature of educational research
Educational research, like all research, is an investigation that relates to the
researchers contexts, interests and worldview (Mutch, 2005, p. 22). It falls under the
social sciences umbrella due to its focus on people, places, and processes for the
purpose of improving teaching and learning systems and practices (Mutch, 2005).
Research in general investigates a problem to find answers, but educational research
seeks to enhance the quality of teaching and learning for the betterment of all
concerned and society at large (Mutch, 2005, p. 24). This lofty ambition is what makes
it so interesting, because depending on one's theoretical viewpoint, the methods,
methodology and research can disclose vastly different ideas on what enhances society,
learning, and human knowledge.
Educational research neednt only be in relation to teaching practices but can also
explore educational policy and educational history. Educational research is often done
through the collection and analysis of primary data and is conducted for a number of
reasons; be they to describe a phenomenon, explain contextual factors, or to look at
larger issues of social justice (Anderson, 1998). Teacher research is often applied and
follows a methodology of action research where there is a stronger focus on personal
teaching practices for the purpose of improving teaching and learning (Mutch, 2005). By
entering into research, teachers and pre-service teachers begin to connect both theory
and practice. This, according to Turner and Simon (2013), helps move teachers beyond
survival and basic skills such as behaviour management and performance, and into the

realm of bigger picture thinking about teaching and learning. They argue that the
changes established through participation in scholarly research and reflection are
critical to teacher progression and the professional identity of teachers (Turner & Simon,
2013).

Teaching as Inquiry is a welcome step forward in enhancing the professional

approach to teaching in New Zealand (Conner, 2015).

The Methodology of teaching as inquiry

The New Zealand Curriculum (MoE, 2007) promotes teaching as inquiry as a cyclical
process that identifies teaching and learning practices that impact on achievement for
different students in different contexts. As a methodology it has 3 main parts: focusing
inquiry, teaching inquiry, and learning inquiry. The cycle starts with the focusing inquiry:
an observation and analysis of students needs and strengths in order to ascertain the
learning upon which it is important to develop an inquiry (Conner, 2015). Next is the
teaching inquiry, where the teacher can use research, discussion with colleagues,
professional development and their past practices to enhance their content knowledge
and instructional practices (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung, 2007, p. 235). Teaching
inquiry is research into how to make changes to a teachers methods and practices in
order to improve learning. This is based on the needs and strengths discovered during
the focusing inquiry. The final stage of the cycle, the learning inquiry, examines the
impact of their teaching on student achievement and learning based on evidence of
outcomes; it also identifies any further need for research and future developments
(Timperley et al., 2007). This learning inquiry should use a range of assessment
approaches in order to inform changes and next steps to continue student progress
(MoE, 2007; Education Review Office [ERO], 2012). Please see figure 1 for the teaching
as inquiry model promoted by the New Zealand Curriculum.

Figure 1: Teaching as inquiry cycle (Source: Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand
curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media. http://bit.ly/1jNmltV)

I consider the methodology to be very positive as it promotes higher self-efficacy in

teachers by figuring out how they can make a difference. Conner (2015) proposes that
teaching as inquiry is a mindset about teaching that places student need at the centre
and promotes continuous change. For a curriculum that promotes life-long learning,
what better way to model it than by encouraging teachers to also see that there are
always alternative ways to teach and improvements they can learn. Due to its cyclical
nature, teaching as inquiry is not about finding solutions but is about being open to
new learning and taking informed action (Halbert & Kaser, 2012, p. 4). Some argue that
this process, where there are no endpoints, is something teachers do anyway, but I
believe that a formalised methodologically sound approach could further encourage
reflective professional teachers.
Ethical considerations for teaching as inquiry
As with all educational research, teaching as inquiry must take into account the moral
principles that underpin its study, be they the nature of the research, the ethics of
consent, the procedures used and what kinds of data are being collected, to ensure that
it meets professional and ethical standards (Mutch, 2005). To be thoughtful about ethics
means examining ones own discourses, contexts and understandings of the world and

defining our own views on learning. Aubrey, David, and Godfrey (2005) argue that this
theoretical positioning is lacking in teachers as the reduction of philosophy in teacher
education courses means that we are developing a professional body in which many
members have not been inducted into recognising the ways in which teachers work is
underpinned by ethical considerations (p. 156). This raises alarms, further exhibiting
the need for professional facilitators and researchers to help teachers identify
professional need in their learning, whether it be in content knowledge or in research
approaches and ethics (Conner, 2015).
Even for teachers who deeply explore and acknowledge their viewpoints and bias,
teaching as inquiry at the primary level is still particularly sensitive ethically. Much of
the research is being done with children and in my case it will be with new entrants,
which will pose bigger challenges in considering consent and permission (Mutch, 2005).
A lot of focus will be dedicated to adapting information, ideas, and consent into childs
speak. Like many researchers, teachers are in unique positions of power and must
guard against coercion and consider the views and explanations of the participants so
that they are researched with not researched on (Mutch, 2005). This kind of sharing
of views and ideas during research supports the ethic of care promoted in the cultural
competency of ako: an effective pedagogy of reciprocal learning (MoE, 2011).
Furthermore, transparency between teacher-researcher and student can enhance
student-teacher relationships as it illustrates that teachers care enough to want to
change their practice in order to help students improve (Conner, 2015).
The essential needs and challenges of teaching as inquiry
There are many positive outcomes and opportunities for teaching as inquiry, but in
order to access the improvements promised there are pressures, needs, and changes to
consider. Due to the limited scope of this essay I will focus on only two: the added
pressure of inquiry on a teachers already overburdened workload, and the need for
positive discourse communities in schools.
The managerialism that has taken hold in the decentralized schools of New Zealand has
changed teachers work (Thrupp & Wilmott, 2003). The updated 2007 curriculum should
be rich in opportunity for teachers to become constructors of classroom curriculum and
inquirers into their practice and student learning, but instead national standards and
increased accountability inflates the administerial role of teachers (Thrupp, 2013). This

brings me back to Turner and Simon (2013) who believe that teacher research could
enhance the professional nature of teaching and counter the deprofessionailzation of
teachers work and their feelings of alienation and deskilling (Thrupp & Wilmott, 2003,
p. 43). One of the main constraints Conner (2015) found on teachers adoption of the
methodology of teaching as inquiry was that they saw it as an imposition on their
already heavy workload. There are so many competing demands on teachers that it is
often difficult to navigate ones way back to the main point of motivating and promoting
learning in the classroom. Because we cant change the system overnight, schools, teachers,
and facilitators need to identify and share the benefits of teaching as inquiry so that they
recognise that it is worthwhile for both teaching and learning.
One way in which teachers can share the benefits of teaching as inquiry is by creating
schools that are positive discourse communities; where the environment is collegial and
creates a context for teacher learning (Conner, 2015). In 2012, the Education Review Office
reported that there was a drop in how well schools systems guided, informed and
supported teachers to inquire into their practice(p. 9) compared to the previous year. They
reported that schools had done nothing to provide opportunities for teachers to engage in
inquiry with their colleagues [nor] develop expectations, guidelines and processes to support
teachers inquiry practice (ERO, 2012, p. 11). A schools culture is an extremely important
part of the success of teaching as inquiry as a teachers context can either enhance or
hinder their learning. Not only does there need to be a space to share but there also has to
be systems in place to provide professional learning and development for needs that are
identified through the inquiry cycle: be they in content knowledge, instructional practice, or
pedagogical content knowledge (ERO, 2012) By creating a safe space and positive
environment for teachers, they can begin to share more success stories, or deliberate on
failures in order to help each other improve. By entering into discussion and providing
opportunities for professional growth, schools can help teachers

better understand the

process of inquiry and comprehend just how much it can enhance teaching and learning.

Teaching as inquiry: Teachers as change agents

Teachers capacities to deal with change, learn from it, and help students learn
from it will be critical for the future development of societies. They are not now
in a position to play this vital role. We need a new mindset to go deeper.

(Fullan, 1993, as cited in Cochran-Smith, 2001, p. 179)

The cycle of enaction and reflection of teaching as inquiry promotes change after
careful consideration. It is for this reason that I am an advocate for its inclusion in
schools of the 21st century. Teaching as inquiry is not just about researching what
makes a difference; its about making a difference through persistent reflection and
putting new ideas into practice, with no end to the acceptance of change. I believe that
by looking at teachers work ethically and politically, and acknowledging my own
discourses I can begin to embrace the change that teaching as inquiry can facilitate.
The changes can begin in the classroom, but I hope to never be limited to that and to
negotiate the treacherous waters of proving [myself] competent in [a] first-time
teaching position while at the same time challenging some of the assumptions and
actions that others take for granted [in education] (Cochran-Smith, 2001, p. 180).
Teaching as inquiry can help me become more culturally responsive in my pedagogy,
and challenge me to grow in content areas and teachings practices where needed. It is
an invitation to keep learning, and one that I will accept. I acknowledge that I embrace
social justice and am a proponent for the equalising power of education, and I believe
that the inquiry cycle upholds Lathers theory of change that involves practice-based
accretions, rather than sudden radical change (Lather, 2016). Through changing my
practices and entering into meaningful dialogue with learners I can help close
achievement gaps and contribute to the school and community at large. My discourses
and inquiry can begin to tell it as it may become instead of telling it like it is (Gergen,
1992). In this way I agree with Cochran-Smith (2001), teachers can be agents of
change, and through inquiry I can challenge and enhance the professional approach to
teaching, step by step.

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