The insider and outsider model of professional learning

Jane Hunter, Jane Mitchell

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

    Abstract

    The purpose of our chapter is to develop a model of teachers’ professional learning that considers the ways in which pedagogical knowledge is generated within the practice of the classroom, through formal and informal professional exchange that takes place inside schools, as well as through the contribution of research methods and research expertise that is brought in from outside the school. The argument developed in the chapter is that pedagogical innovation is both dependent upon, and enhanced by, a close alignment between the above dimensions of practice. The chapter presents two case studies of pedagogical innovation in and across school classrooms. The first case, Engaging Pedagogy, speculated about a ‘fresh technology equation’ conceptualised to promote high levels of intellectual engagement where the pedagogy required particular technology tools, content integration and a ‘meddler in the middle’. The second case concerns a school–university research partnership that aimed to document pedagogical knowledge and professional learning in a group of rural schools using new technologies. The cases track the forms of professional learning that enabled teachers to explore, develop and sustain pedagogical innovation associated with new classroom technologies. The cases also explicate the pedagogical knowledge developed by teachers working with these technologies. While the policy default for professional learning is typically either a somewhat ill-defined form of action research or a ‘one-shot’ session delivered by an outside expert, the cases in this chapter provide the grounds for a sustained and robust model of professional learning.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationRethinking Educational Practice Through Reflexive Inquiry: Essays in Honour of Susan Groundwater-Smith
    EditorsChristopher Day, Judyth Sachs
    Place of PublicationGermany
    PublisherSpringer
    Pages183-196
    Number of pages14
    ISBN (Electronic)9789400708051
    ISBN (Print)9789400708044
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

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