Working together - supporting professional and curriculum development through co-operative inquiry

1. Working together - supporting professional and curriculum development through co-operative inquiry Dr Denise Summers University of Plymouth SW LSRN Conference 2010

2. Background • Trialling intro to ESD in Cert Ed/PGCE • ESD outcome in new Cert Ed/PGCE • Recognising CPD need of Teacher Ed team • Bid for Help-Cetl/CSF Fellowships • Agreeing on approach • Experience of co-operative inquiry

3. Action Research … action research is a participatory, democratic process concerned with developing practical knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes … to contribute through this practical knowledge to the increased well-being … of human persons and communities, and to a more equitable and sustainable relationship with the wider ecology of the planet of which we are an intrinsic part. Reason and Bradbury, 2001: 1-2

4. Co-operative inquiry is a way of working with other people who have similar concerns and interests to yourself, in order to: • understand your world, make sense of your life and develop new and creative ways of looking at things; • learn how to act to change things you may want to change and find out how to do things better. Heron and Reason, 2001: 144

5. Nature of co-operative inquiry • Participants free to opt in and opt out • Identify research question, devise research plan and decide on actions to be taken • Move through cycles of action and reflection • Informative and transformative • Apollonian and Dionysian cultures • Validity – through: • authentic collaboration • devil’s advocate

6. Our inquiry question • How can we, as a teacher training team, develop the necessary knowledge, values, skills and confidence to embed ESD in our practice, in order to support our trainee teachers in introducing it within their own practice?

7. Other inquiries • Theory and practice of holistic medicine in the NHS • Leadership in the Police Force • Developing innovative practice in social work • The experience of young women in management

8. Using Co-operative Inquiryto embed ESD • Planning meeting • Regular meetings • Individual members’ CPD events • Cycles of planning, action and reflection • 1st, 2nd and 3rd person inquiry

9. Progressing through the CI • Not just tokens but actions - moving beyond the superficial • Dilemmas • Do we need to be experts? • Collaboration, community and confidence • Personal and professional influences • Challenges and successes

10. Progress • Embedded sustainability throughout programmes • Resources, assessment, classroom management, teaching values, global citizenship, linking thinking, evaluation • Over 900 students have met ESD outcome • Shortlisted twice in EAUC Green Gown Awards – 2009 in ‘research’ category and Highly Commended in 2010 in ‘courses’ category • Sharing resources regionally and nationally - http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/esd/

11. In 10 mins … • Identify an issue within your practice which you could develop in this way. • Share it with two others ready to take it in turns to focus on each example. • One will develop their idea, one will pose questions to clarify and extend and one will take notes to feed back

12. Take approx 5 mins for each proposal ... • Clarify the aims • Who could you work with? • How would you organise it? • What would you expect your initial challenges to be in using this approach? • What would you hope your initial successes would be.

13. Plenary • Share ideas for development • Any questions