Monday 14 October 2013

Unintentional interventional!

When speaking to Paula earlier in the year, she talked about 'interventions' as a possible inclusion in my inquiry - to put into (professional) practice what had been discovered in data collection/ analysis in a specially created situation.
I was intrigued by the idea but didn't consider including it in my plan due to limited time and access to both students and, along with a tight deadline to meet.
However I've since read further into my topic area, and done two student interviews, and, although my reasoning still stands, I have already noticed (tonight in particular) a slightly altered approach to my classes. In particular I've noticed:
  1. being more aware of/ better at spotting and understanding students' motives and needs at that particular time,
  2. spending more time planning classes to incorporate what I now know about motivation theory and concepts in tandem with what I want my students to learn,
  3. a more considered approach to dealing with inappropriate behaviour, i.e. looking for the possible reasons behind an action or response not just dealing with the behaviour in isolation, and
  4. a slightly disconcerting way of stepping outside of myself to see how I might come across to my students, i.e. whether there is any difference between what I am aiming to do and what my students experience!
So, from the point of view of bringing inquiry into, and developing, practice I can honestly say that, even in these early stages, I'm making unintentional interventions (hence the post title), albeit in small, un-advertised ways.

What this ultimately achieves, or what downside there might be, will be way beyond the scope of this inquiry but, as is the nature of inquiry, it was never going to be a definite conclusion to a single question but an ongoing process of developing, questioning, reflecting, planning, trialing, developing, questioning, reflecting...

S

3 comments:

  1. Hi Sarah, that's great that the inquiry is making you think so much more already about your every day practice. I think it's important for us to be aware of what we're doing and why and as you say, whether it's having the desired affect on our students. Sounds wonderful...you are obviously already doing your own critical reflection as you go along!

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    1. I think that the reflecting is something that I have been developing, without realising it, over the course of this BAPP. I can't seem to not reflect! Which is not a criticism, just an observation about how I feel my practice has changed from pretty much Day 1 of the course.

      My ultimate hope is that, by the end of the year, I will have developed even greater reflective skills that, coupled with my inquiry analysis, will give my students a better teacher!

      I'm sorry, I just read that back and I realise I sound like a self-help guru! Still, the fact that I am still excited to learn and develop as a teacher gives me hope that I've still got something to give, even after all these years!! ;)

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    2. Haha, not at all. I totally agree, I find myself reflecting constantly about everything. It's putting it into practice that I guess is the most important part though :) "Even after all these years"...Behave!

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