Teacher Inquiry into Student Learning: - The TISL Heart Model and Method for use in Teachers’ Professional Development

Abstract

Researchers have recently been calling for new models of teacher education and professional development for the 21st century. Teacher inquiry, where the teacher's own practice is under investigation, can be seen both as a way to improve day-to-day teaching in the classroom and as professional development for teachers. As such, it should also have a role in teacher education. In this article, we present the iterative development of the TISL Heart, a theory-practice model and method of teacher inquiry into student learning, which has a particular emphasis on the use of student results generated in the information and technology-rich classroom. This article proposes that this practice-near model is particularly relevant for teacher education, as it draws upon existing practices in using student data at a progressive school that focuses on the use of technology to enhance student learning. The article concludes by discussing the implications for its role in teacher education, particularly related to data literacy and its use in teaching.

Sharing teacher knowledge at scale: teacher inquiry, learning design and the representation of teachers’ practice

“…There have been two phases to the inquiry. During the first phase, the lead teachers participated in a professional development workshop where the researchers facilitated seven teachers in the first stages of the TISL Heart method (Hansen & Wasson, 2016), the outcome of which was an inquiry question and a plan for the inquiry. Of the seven teachers, 3 were STEM teachers, and 4 teachers were language teachers (for French, Spanish, and two teachers of Norwegian to hearing impaired).…”

Evaluation to support learning design: Lessons learned in a teacher training MOOC

“…Similar to the human-computer interaction method of "cognitive walkthrough" (Nielsen & Mack, 1994), educators seemed more comfortable reflecting through questions than through statements. This is aligned with the idea that the formulation of a question is key to the teacher inquiry process (see also Hansen & Wasson, 2016). • Bring in user interface/usability heuristics at a later stage only.…”

School-University Partnership for Evidence-Driven School Improvement in Estonia

“…Studies show that schools pay efforts to have data systems that organize and analyze interim assessment data and data warehouses with current and historical student data. Our study indicated that elements to scaffold teachers to conduct teacher-led inquiry in the technologyenriched classroom as suggested by Hansen and Wasson [2] can be better supported. In our program, the data were collected rather traditionally-tests, surveys and questionnaires, mainly, and paper-based observation sheets.…”

“…Focusing more on process-oriented data collection-with a variety of tools and efficient ways for classroom observations-timely access to students' learning results might influence the use of data for improving the classroom instruction. The growing use of technology as part of teachers' practice opens up the possibility for a change from researcher-centered studies to teacher-centered approaches to inquiry [2].…”

“…In this new situation, schools continuously develop their practices, analyze the needs of teachers' , and find ways for their professional development. Hansen and Wasson [2] have pointed out that there is a need to change teachers' professional development format-instead of traditional participation in training courses, teachers should be supported in developing and improving their existing practice through teacher inquiry. Nowadays, capacity building, inquiry-oriented practice, and data-driven decisions are considered as central themes of educational improvement [3,4].…”