Activity 7 - Evaluate the Impact of your Inquiry

Activity 7: Evaluate how your Inquiry impacts on future Inquiry/practice.

I will use Rolf's Model of Reflection, Finlay (2009),  for this weeks reflective blog post.

What is the observed impact after the ‘Take Action’ phase?

Now that I have reached the Check Phase of the Inquiry Spiral, I need to consider the impact of my Hybrid Program (see Badenhorst & East, 2015) against my prior expectations. During the Planning phase, I identified the potential impact to my key stakeholders - my Year 9 students - being increased engagement and development of 21st century skills including agency and self management. My evidence gathered overwhelmingly points to a high level of engagement across the class. The differentiated nature of their individualised online program has lead to a sense of accomplishment in most students, as they attain their own learning goals. Students have valued being able to work at their own pace and to have choice over their learning activities. 

So what? How is the observed impact different from or similar to the anticipated one?

Last year I had noticed an increased need for differentiation in my junior classes. The initial outcomes of my Hybrid Learning initiative have exceeded my anticipated positive impact on learning. Not only is engagement high, but the impact on students goes even further than I had anticipated. I have observed in my students a raised self-awareness of how they learn, increased confidence as users of digital technologies, and an increased sense of "ownership" over their learning. On the flip side, I predicted encountering both systems-based problems and student-based problems (work ethic, refusal etc) and that some students would resent the increased use of digital technologies, so I am very surprised to find that this is not the case. So far, my students are thoroughly enjoying Hybrid Learning. 

 

During the Planning phase, I had not anticipated the impact on myself. A lighter workload - due to the nature of my online lessons - has given me more time to get to know my students and understand their learning styles.

I also previously identified that whanau and society could benefit from digitally competent, forward thinking young men and women entering the workforce, however this is a long term potential impact, we're just getting started!

In their research on the Spiral of Inquiry, one of Stoll and Temperley's (2015) key findings was that networking with your professional community gives added value to your inquiry, and I couldn't agree more. I had hoped that my inquiry would have a positive impact on my colleagues and professional acquaintances. Through reaching out to Education Perfect for help with my inquiry, I am now involved in a pilot program to test their new assessment learning spaces. I have also delivered a presentation to my colleagues on Microsoft Teams during a Professional Development meeting this week, which has lead to teachers reaching out for ideas and help implementing digital platforms in their classes.

Now what? What is the impact on future inquiry/practice?

It would be naive to think that trialing a new initiative for 5 weeks could provide a definitive answer that "Hybrid Learning is the way!" At this stage, it could still be a novelty for my students, and although the project has been highly successful, it is essential that I don't become complacent and lose student buy-in. Feedback from a student survey included that several students wanted more time to work in groups, and that they wanted more opportunity to play language games and to practise speaking French. Although some students voiced the exact opposite, going forward I need to revisit the structure of our device free lessons, to better meet the needs of all learners. I will continue with a blended learning model in my Year 9 class and will continue to gather student voice to guide my practice, and to honour the principles of Kaupapa Maori every step of the way.

References:

Badenhorst, G., & East, M. (2015). Hybrid Learning in a Multi-Level German Class: Making the Most of the Reality of Combined Classes. New Zealand Language Teacher, 41, 64–77. Retrieved from http://libproxy.unitec.ac.nz:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=111644221&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. Practice-based Professional Learning Centre, Open University. Retrieved from http ://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Stoll, L., and Temperley, J. (2015). Narrowing the Gap with Spirals of Enquiry: Evaluation of Whole Education’s Pilot. Whole Education, UK. Retrieved from http://www.wholeeducation.org/download,634