TAI 2020 #1 Inquiry Stocktake

Use the 'Inquiry Stocktake' to reflect on and write about what you aim to learn about inquiry this year.

Using the 'Inquiry Stocktake' for reflection is a great form of self-assessment for me. It helps me identify aspects of teaching as inquiry that I learned and could use most effectively based on my inquiry from last year. It also enables me to identify aspects of the same which I would like to aim at in order to learn more about inquiry this year. In this blog I would focus on each aspect of the inquiry process, reflect on what I learned last year, and what I aim to learn and do better this year.

Identifying valued learning outcomes (VLOs) to focus on

Reflecting on my inquiry last year, I am pleased that I chose to focus on the curriculum objective of ‘making meaning’ for my year 10 English language learners. I chose as a  valued learning outcome to focus on improving the reading proficiency of these English language learners by improving my teaching approaches on the areas of providing extensive reading experiences for students, teaching reading techniques as part of an intensive reading programme, and providing incidental and deliberate learning of English vocabulary for my students. 

My year 10 English language learners made shifts in their reading proficiency. More importantly, I learned how to improve my teaching on those areas which I needed to change in order to improve the learning of my learners. Based on those experiences from last year, I feel that I should aim at another valued learning outcome (VLO) as focus of my inquiry this year. I am inclined to look at creating meaning as a curriculum objective focus, to focus on improving the writing ability of my year 11 English language learners as a valued learning outcome.    

I found the help and guide of WFRC support from the COL sessions contributed very effectively to the steps I took in implementing my inquiry. I intend to learn and do the same for my inquiry this year.

Profiling students’ learning in those VLOs

The profiling of students’ learning in the valued learning outcomes of my inquiry last year was very comprehensive and specific. I used both quantitative and qualitative data which included gathering information from standardized summative assessments commonly used by the school as well as formative information gathered from students’ interviews, questionnaires, observations, and surveys such as forms and ratings. I found that triangulating the data was very helpful in knowing my learners and their learning needs. Such helped a great deal in developing my hypotheses and designing my teaching and learning experiences for students. I feel, however, that I spent quite a bit more time on the analysis of data.

Based on my experience from last year, I aim to use similar kinds of data in profiling students’ learning in my inquiry this year in the learning outcome that I aim to focus on. By doing that I would learn more information and get to know my learners better in their learning outcome of writing. I would also aim to use that data to improve my teaching approach on how to improve students' wriing ability.

Generating hypotheses (especially teaching)

Last year generating hypotheses (especially teaching) was an aspect of my inquiry that made me realise I had to seek help and advice from other experts as well as research in the area of English language learning. I found this to be an aspect that I spent more time on as I wanted to be sure that the teaching approach I chose would be effective in meeting the learning outcomes for my students. I developed my own hypotheses based on my previous teaching experiences and the teaching approaches I found effective, but I needed to verify that from those experts and research. I started to talk to Dr Jannie van Hees and read similar research on teaching reading to English language learners. Information I gathered were very helpful in generating hypotheses and approaches for my teaching.

Again based on that reflection and my experience from last year, I aim to follow the same process of generating hypotheses for my inquiry this year. What I aim to learn more about though would be on the area of improving their writing as a learning outcome. I would try to work more on time that I spend on this aspect and be more definitive on the hypotheses I would generate.

Testing hypotheses (investigating own teaching)

Reflecting on the testing of my hypotheses and investigating of my own teaching was the aspect of the process where I focused on teaching. I focused more on just teaching and doing activities based on my hypotheses, but not much on assessesing the learning of students. If I did more of that, I would have been more able to verify and test my hypotheses and the effectiveness of teaching approaches I chose to use. I did collect some information through observations, analysis of students’ extensive reading, and student voice but not constant or fast enough to inform what needed to change or tweak in my teaching. 

In my inquiry this year, I aim to improve that aspect as part of my teaching and learning experiences. I would like to make consistent assessments, both summative and formative, and evaluate my teaching as I implement teaching and learning experiences. Such would help in testing my hypotheses and or changing my hypotheses as well as in changing and tweaking my approaches to achive the leaning outcome of my inquiry. I aim to make assessment (summative or formative) and evaluation as consistent and intrinsic part of my teaching and learning approaches.

Using research literature and other sources to identify more effective approaches

The aspect of using research literature and other sources to identify more effective approaches for my teaching and learning of my learners was a challenging yet enriching aspect of my inquiry last year. This aspect was more a part of the aspect when I focused on generating hypotheses. The real challenge was the more time taken to read and do research as well as having to know where to look for the correct and reliable kind of research to use. It was helpful though having the COL release time to do this task. What I found enriching in reading literature was that my understanding in the area of my inquiry was deepened and the research findings I had supported my hypotheses. Relevant literature verified my hypotheses and consequently built my confidence in the approach I used for my teaching of reading as a learning outcome. What I needed to do more was looking for effective tasks and activities to use in my teaching.

As for my inquiry this year, I aim to engage in this aspect in a similar way to what I did last year but to limit the time spent on it. I do agree with the idea that a central “bank” where COL teachers could all add to so there is a breadth of reading being done and dip in.

Implementing new approaches & Monitoring (and tweaking) new approaches

Implementing new approaches and monitoring (and tweaking) new approaches to use in my inquiry last year was an aspect of the process I did not do much of. The time I had in the classroom was only enough for the teaching of the original approaches of my hypotheses at a rate appropriate for the low and slow learning ability of my learners. I also did not want to waste valuable class time with ideas that may not be successful, and so I only had sufficient time in the class programme to implement and maintain the approaches of my hypotheses. 

In my inquiry this year I want to learn how to be able to incorporate and tweak new approaches to my teaching if they help to improve the learning of my students to achieve the valued outcome. I aim to improve how I would monitor the implementation and progress of my inquiry this year. I feel that this could be related more to time and planning of my teaching and learning activities.

Evaluate shifts in own teaching

Reflecting on my inquiry last year, I found this aspect working well. I made shifts on my own teaching and remained focused there. The teaching approaches I chose to use were based on my hypotheses supported by information I gathered from literature. They convinced me that they were effective to improve the learning outcome of my students if I made shifts in my teaching and focused on them. The shifts were on the use of extensive reading, intensive reading, and accelerating the students’ vocabulary acquisition. The combination of those approaches were themselves shifts that I made in my own teaching.

In my inquiry this year, I aim to take a similar approach and make shifts in my teaching based on the learning needs of my learners identified by data from the profiling aspect of the inquiry process. I aim to increase my knowledge on acquiring the most effective teaching approaches to use in order to achieve the valued learning outcome of my inquiry this year, the improvement of students' writing ability.

Evaluate shifts in student learning

I think students making shifts or not in their learning outcome was the most important aspect of teaching as inquiry. In my inquiry last year, I tried to identify whether there were any shifts in student learning by reassessing the students at the end of my inquiry using the  same quantitative summative assessments which I used at the beginning to identify their - ESOL ELLP, PAT reading, and Accelerated Reader reading test. These were standardized summative tests commonly used by the school to test the juniors' reading proficiency. I also collected qualitative data using again questionnaires, interviews, and observations to identify whether there were shifts in the students' attitude toward reading.