The Teacher Knowledge Project -- making teacher inquiry an integral
part of professional development
Inquiry Groups for Teachers
The Teacher Knowledge Project (TKP) trains co-facilitators
for reflective inquiry groups, offering teachers:
- time
- a community of colleagues
- a structure
for examining their teaching in relation to their students' learning,
and for making thoughtful changes in their teaching
What happens in an Inquiry Group?
In Inquiry Groups, teachers better understand and
become skillful at observing students' learning, describing it,
analyzing it and taking intelligent action based on their analyses.
Individual teachers identify an issue or question to bring before the
group; with the help of their colleagues, they use the reflective
cycle to describe their issue as fully as possible, generate multiple
interpretations for it, and then move forward with what John Dewey called
“intelligent action” to begin the cycle again.
This reflective
cycle is based on the work of Dewey, as interpreted and developed
by Carol Rodgers and colleagues at the School for International Training.
Teachers' comments on their work in Teacher Knowledge Project
Inquiry Groups:
- "If you want to really change what you do with your students
and at the same time take care of yourself, this is for you."
- "The reflective cycle gave me a more methodical way to do what
I was doing already. I am a reflective person, but this kind of gave
me a structure that would lead me somewhere instead of just cycling
around and around and around."
Why include the Teacher Knowledge Program in your school's
or district's professional-development plan?
Most professional development comes to teachers
in the form of workshops, trainings, or courses. While all of these
may provide valuable content -- information, ideas for improving instruction
-- when teachers return to their classrooms, they often lack time, a
community of colleagues, and a structure for incorporating that professional
development into their day-to-day work with their students. Teacher
Knowledge Project Inquiry Groups provide all three.
While using the reflective
cycle for teacher inquiry looks simple, we have learned through
experience that guiding groups of teachers as they apply the cycle to
their work requires a complicated set of skills. Our training and ongoing
support provide co-facilitators an opportunity to develop these skills.
How do we work with schools?
We develop partnerships
for sustainability with schools or districts to train and support co-facilitators
of Inquiry Groups for teachers or administrators. Our three-year model
offers partner schools or districts an opportunity to become completely
self-sustaining in offering Inquiry Groups to teachers.
What principles guide our work?
We believe professional development must incorporate
and respect teachers' knowledge and classroom reality. Our Core
Principles help us ensure that we serve teachers and schools in
a way consistent with our values as educators.
If you would like to talk with us about developing a partnership with
the Teacher Knowledge Project, please email us at teacherknowledge@sit.edu
or call (802) 258-3340.
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