11.2.4 Conducting practitioner research

Conducting practitioner research

Reflecting on on-going reforms is of critical importance for the sustainability and continuation of the reform processes. The introduction of changes should go hand-in-hand with practice- based research from the earliest stages of reform, to see what works under which circumstances. Empowering teachers as researchers of their own practices further increases their ownership and autonomy, and thus the chances of successful sustainable implementation. This is in line with a global trend. In many European countries, teachers already participate in professional learning communities working on practitioner research in relation to curriculum development. Teachers can work in teams to address design questions, and identify learning processes and learning outcomes for learners that are used to develop a detailed lesson plan focused on three different case studies. While one teacher teaches a lesson, others can observe and provide feedback to compare plans with actual delivery.  Practicality studies can help teachers to translate outcomes into practice based on questions such as ‘why do I teach?’, ‘what do I teach?’ and ‘how do I teach?’, and adapt these based on experience.