Teachers and educators in B&NES, and beyond, have maintained there enthusiasm to research their practice through the masters programme tutored by Jack Whitehead asking questions such as 'how do I improve what I am doing?'
Professor Jack Whitehead (Liverpool Hope University) is internationally known for his work with teachers, heads and local authority staff and leaders in other fields such as the health service and business. Examples of the work can be found on http://www.actionresearch.net. Read some of the thesis - they will be a delightful surprise if you have been used to the traditional forms of research.
We are working to try to find better ways of communicating the educational influences that are important to us which explain our practice and offer standards of judgment we hold ourselves, as professional educators, to account. Jack Whitehead has produced a multimedia account How Do We Enhance Our Educational Influences In Learning Through The Expression And Development Of Our Talents In The Production Of Gifts to highlight some important talents in our own practices as we work to enhance the provision for pupils gifts and talents in education. There are two short video-clips of educators and students as both express their talents in the creation and offering knowledge as gifts. Do these kinds of visual narratives help us to show our educational influences in learning as Leaders in improving gifted and talented educational practice and provision?
Below are some of the accounts teachers from Bath and North East Somerset have submitted as part of their masters programme. Some of this work is now known and contributing to transforming educational practice internationally. These accounts contribute to the developing professional knowledge base of inclusive and inclusional gifted and talented educational theory and practice.
The list is increasing so scroll down and find a title that interests you. You will find CPD and research takes on a different meaning from the traditional - this approach actually makes a difference in educational practice.
All teachers are welcome to join us Tuesday or Thursday evening to work on their masters (2 units a year funded by TDA; an educational enquiry and either Gifts, Talents and Education, Understanding Learners and Learning or Research Methods)
This is also an opportunity for teachers who are leading their schools in improving inclusive gifted and talented education to have the support of a community of enquiry and gain accreditation for their work.
Want to know more about who is doing what and where? Contact Jack@actionresearch.net
Masters Dissertations
Chris Jones' MA dissertation (2009), How do I improve my practice and an inclusion officer working in a children's service. Graduating from Bath Spa University on the 17th July 2009
Gifts and Talents in Education
Gary Williams - Who's Kidding Who? How can I use my interpretation of the story of gifts and talents to help children interpret their own? February 2010.
Claire Formby - How can I improve my practice as an educator to offer learners acreative and challenging curriculum which enables everyone to identify and develop their own talents and which also makes space for the nurturing of relationships to enable individual growth in understandingand self esteem? Sept 2009
Louise Cripps - How can I clarify my responsibility as a Headteacher as I provide opportunitiesto enable all children in the school to create talents? September 2009
Kate Kemp - 'How have I come to recognise and develop my talents which are my gift to my colleagues and pupils? February 2009
Nina Clayton - How am I using my own understanding and development of gifts and talents to promote the learning of children? 2008
Joy Mounter - How can I work within the government's perspective of 'Gifted and Talented' but still remain true to my own living values? February 2009
Sally Cartwright - How can I enable the gifts and talents of my students to be in the driving seat of their own learning? February 2009
Nina Clayton - 'How am I using my own understanding and development of gifts and talents to promote the learning of children?' 2008
Vicky Tucker - A response as to how my involvement with the Gifted and Talented programme initiated by Bath and North East Somerset has made me re-assess my living educational values and beliefs, thus influencing my delivery and provision for the SEBD students with whom I work. May 2008.
Ros Hurford - How does using philosophy and creative thinking enable me to recognise and develop inclusive gifts and talents in my pupils? May 2008.
Educational Enquiry Accounts
Gary Williams' educational enquiry, A View From The Field: How can my knowledge be of use to other teachers? February 2010
Joelle Adams' educational enquiry, 'How can I learn about teaching academic writing from a peer tutoring pilot project? September 2008
Sally Cartwright second Educational Enquiry, 'How can leadership qualities improve my practice as a teacher? February 2009
Sally Cartwright first Educational Enquiry, A Pilot Project: The application of the TASC process across 5 subjects to Year 7 students 2008. Large pdf file - worth the wait!
Kate Kemp first Educational Enquiry, Can I put the pupils voice at the heart of our ‘request for support’ form and what will I learn in the process? November 2008
Ros Hurford's first Educational Enquiry, How do I encourage my pupils, through my own example and practice to become lifelong learners? January 2006.
Ros Hurford second Educational Enquiry How does the writing of a new gifted and talented policy enable me to reflect upon and evaluate my personal values about gifts and talents? In what ways am I living my values in this area? September 2007
Ros Hurford third Educational Enquiry ' Working within the framework of 'Personalised Learning' how can I ensure there is a real learning space for my pupils, where they feel involved in what they learn and how they learn it?' Submitted February 2008.
Joy Mounter first Educational Enquiry, How can I live my personal theory of education in the classroom to promote self reflection as a learner? November, 2006.
Joy Mounter's Second Educational Enquiry, Language of learning to the language of educational responsibility. November, 2006.
Joy Mounter third Educational Enquiry, ‘How can I enhance the educational influence of my pupils in their own learning, that of other pupils, myself and the school?’
Amy Skuse first educational Enquiry How have my experiences of Year 2 SAT's influenced my perceptions of assessment in teaching and learning? Submitted October 2007.
Louise Cripps first Educational Enquiry How do I improve my educational relationship with the learners I work with, both adults and children? Submitted for examination, University of Bath, November 2007
Nina Clayton's first Educational Enquiry, How am I enhancing communication within my classroom with traditional stories and using both non-verbal and verbal language?
Claire Formby's first Educational Enquiry, 'How can I improve learning in my class through the explicit teaching of emotional literacy?' 2007
Claire Formby second Educational Enquiry, How do I sustain a loving, receptively responsive educational relationship with my pupils which will motivate them in their learning and encourage me in my teaching? Submitted September 2007.
Claire Formby's third Educational Enquiry, How am I integrating my educational theorizing with the educational responsibility I express in my educational relationships with the children in my class and in my school and wider society? April 2008.
Ed Harker How can I carry out Masters level educational research without abandoning my own educational values? November, 2006.
Marie Huxtable How can I improve my practice through 'walking the talk' and 'dealing with doorsteps? January 2006
Research Methods in Education
Joelle Adams, How can I investigate the influence of 'identity' on student writing at the transition from foundation to honours degree level? December 2007
Joy Mounter, If I want the children in my class to extend their thinking and develop their own values and learning theories, how can I show the development of their learning? How do I research this in my classroom? 2007
Steve Bamford, The Creation of Quality Experience. How Do I Research This in My Classroom? November 2006.
Claire Formby, How can I research the difference my values make to the children I teach? November 2006.
Ros Hurford, If the development of an emotionally literate classroom is fundamental to my own values and philosophy of education, how can I show the impact of it on the well-being and learning of the children I teach? How do I research this in my classroom? November 2006.
Margaret White, How do I research the relationships that are created within my primary classroom? November 2006.
Methods of Educational Enquiry
Kevin McDermott A Study of the ways in which Spirituality is understood by students in a Catholic school using two types of educational research submitted February 2004 .
Understanding Learners and Learning
Joelle Adams How do students learn to write in UK higher education and how does this influence my practice as a professional teacher of academic writing? May 2008
Sally Cartwright Understanding Learning and Learners. November 2007
Claire Formby As my understanding of the way children learn continually develops, how does this influence my everyday teaching?
Joy Mounter Can children carry out action research about learning, creating their own learning theory?
Nina Clayton's How does my planning affect the learning of the children in my class?
Louise Cripps What am I learning about learners and learning as I begin to develop an inclusive approach to making provision for children who are gifted and talented at Swainswick School in response to national initiatives and expectations
Ros Hurford How has my own development as a learner influenced the changes I have made in the way I teach, and how has this affected the learning of my pupils? January 2007
There are other assignments on the 'Master Educators' Programmes' that are exciting, for instance Karen Collins' (2002) Methods of Educational Enquiry Module: Plan of a small-scale enquiry linked to the development of a skills-based cross-curricular Citizenship based module for Able, Gifted and Talented students in Years 9-11, bearing in mind particularly the concepts of validity, reliability and triangulation and how they are related in this context.'
Doctorates (dont be put off - they are very readable) - that might be of particular interest to you are:
Barry Hymer - How do I understand and communicate my values and beliefs in my work as an educator in the field of giftedness?
Karen Riding - How do I come to understand my shared living educational standards of judgement in the life I lead with others? Creating the space for intergenerational student-led research
Simon Riding - How do I contribute to the education of myself and others through improving the quality of living educational space? The story of living myself through others as a practitioner-researcher.
Bernie Sullivan - A living theory of a practice of social justice: realising the right of Traveller children to educational equality.
Kevin Eames How do I, as a teacher and educational action-researcher, describe and explain the nature of my professional knowledge?
Moira Laidlaw' - How can I create my own living educational theory as I offer you an account of my educational development?
Mairin Glenn - Working with collaborative projects: my living theory of a holistic educational practice.
and I suggest you have a look and see what else interests you.
The Educational Journal of Living Theories has some excellent articles by teachers from different countries that you might also enjoy reading and find inspiring.
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