EDUC 4206 Professional Experience 4: Teacher as Inquirer

Professional Inquiry Project Proposal

Pre-service Teacher: Amy Ramsey (Griffiths) ID no.: 110144437

Context (approx. 100 words)

Description of placement context. Include here only those details which are necessary to provide the reader with an overview of your setting ie.
size of school/class; socio-economic factors in the community, nature of class(es), etc. Do not mention the name of your site.

My professional experience placement will be taking place at a school located in the northern suburbs of
Adelaide, with approximately 350 students enrolled. The students attending this school are diverse. I will
be teaching a foundation class with 19 students. Amongst these students there are four Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Island students, two English as an Additional Language or Dialect student, and one student
verified with a disability. There are also multiple students with trauma related behaviours. The school is a
Tribes Learning Community, where a safe and caring environment school is fostered through respect and
appreciation of others. Specifically, in the foundation classroom, the focuses are on respect and kindness.
Literacy and numeracy programs such as Jolly Phonics and Back-to-Front Maths are implemented on a
whole school level.

Plan (approx. 1000 words)

Overall focus of your inquiry and related AITSL Standard.
Rationale: Why have you chosen the particular focus? This will be based on your “Pre-service self review” against the national standards
& knowledge of your context. Explain how you went about deciding your focus.
How does the literature support your focus? Include at least four references– include a balance of journal and book references if possible.

The focus of my professional inquiry project is to enhance my delivery of providing timely and constructive
feedback to build student confidence in the mathematics curriculum learning area. I chose feedback as the
theme for my professional inquiry project as I found that assessment was one of the areas I was lacking in
evidence when referring to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) graduate
teaching standards. Constructive feedback is also a topic that my professional experience placement
school, along with their school partnership, have been focusing on for the past couple of years.
Mathematics was highlighted by my supervising teacher as a curriculum area where timely and
constructive feedback would be useful for students to help build their confidence. Providing timely and
constructive feedback aligns with the graduate teaching standard 5.2, ‘provide feedback to students on
their learning’ (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017). In addition,
providing timely and constructive feedback to build student confidence also align with graduate teaching
standards 3.5, ‘use effective classroom communication’, 4.1, ‘support student participation’, and 4.4,
‘maintain student safety’ (AITSL 2017).

According to Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 81) feedback is conceptualised as ‘information provided by an
agent (…) regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding’. Of course, in this professional inquiry
project, the agent is myself, the pre-service teacher, providing feedback to students. Feedback is
considered formative assessment, taking on an assessment for learning approach, where the practice of
feedback is to examine where students currently are in their learning and where they are meant to be,
subsequently reducing the gap between the two (Owens 2016, p. 169; Peterson & Portier 2012, p. 238;
Hattie 2012, p. 115). It is, therefore, required that prior to providing feedback, I must have a sound
understanding of the students’ current position in their learning.

To ensure feedback as a form of assessment is meaningful, there must be a combination of active

engagement and/or performance of students and ongoing, rich, appropriate feedback provided by
educators (Perkins, cited in Owens 2016, p. 169). It is not enough for educators to simply provide students
with feedback about their performance, but instead it must stem from analysing students’ errors,
misconceptions, and partial understandings, enabling the provision of instruction that ensures greater
understanding (Fisher & Frey 2011, p. 29). As a result, feedback is considered and implemented as a
method for facilitating student learning, rather than a method for purely getting through the curriculum
(Peterson & Portier 2012, p. 238). Overall, when providing feedback, I need to be consistent in order to
contribute to student achievement in learning and implement such feedback methods with the students’
best interests in mind.

There are various aspects in ensuring feedback provided to students is meaningful and effective. Schunk
and Stipek et al., cited in Schweinle, Meyer and Turner (2006, p. 272) suggest that feedback is most useful
when it is immediate, links success with effort, and provides information about improvement and mastery.
In addition, Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 82) suggest that for feedback to have a powerful effect, it needs
to be part of the teaching process, coming second to teacher instruction, therefore allowing information
provided to students to be relevant to their performance of the learning task. Timely and relevant feedback
allow students the opportunity to process and apply the new information to their learning. For students to
gain greater understanding of the concepts of the curriculum area, educators can provide feedback in the
form of questions, prompts, and cues, rather than directly explaining the answer (Fisher & Frey 2011, p.
29). This aligns with the Back-to-Front Maths program implemented by my professional experience
placement school, where problem-solving teaching is a focus, with many types of active questioning to
promote greater understanding in the learning of mathematics (Kennedy Press 2015).

According to Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 88), questioning is an active part of feedback, and educators
can ensure this occurs adequately through addressing the three important feedback questions; ‘where am
I going?’, ‘how am I going?’, and ‘where to next?’. These feedback questions also align with the feed up,
feedback, and feed forward assessment process (Hattie & Timperley 2007, p. 88; Fisher & Frey 2011, p.
26). ‘Where am I going?’, or feed up, involves educators knowing, and communicating, the goals of the
lesson to students, those of which need to be appropriately challenging if feedback provided is to be
valuable (Hattie 2012, p. 116). ‘How am I going?’, or feedback, involves the provision of information from
educators, to students, about their performance relative to the learning goals (Hattie & Timperley 2007, p.
89). ‘Where to next?’, or feed forward, leads to greater possibilities for learning such as enhanced
challenges, and in relation to the professional inquiry project focus, can include a developed sense of self-
regulation in the learning process (Hattie & Timperley 2007, p. 90). Using these feedback questions as a
checklist to providing effective feedback in relation to students’ mathematics learning will be beneficial for
not only developing my teaching practice and ongoing planning processes, but also in building students’
confidence in their learning.

Various research conducted have found that positive, consistent, constructive, substantive, and supportive
feedback from educators to students in relation to their academic abilities and learning progress can
increase self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and feelings of importance and enhance interest and persistence
in regard to education (Kamins & Dweck and Ryan & Deci, cited in Schweinle, Meyer and Turner 2006,
pp. 272-273; Beghetto 2006, p. 454; Owens 2016, p. 175). Consistent, constructive, substantive, and
supportive feedback is promoted when educators introduce new topics with explanations on what needs
to be done and what students will learn, elaborate on and clarify student responses, and use questioning
to lead students to correct answers (Schweinle, Meyer and Turner 2006, p. 292). These features of
effective feedback support the feedback questioning model as previously discussed, in relation to the
importance of stating learning goals, providing information on learning, and developing appropriate
challenges. Additionally, such effective feedback can also lead to improved efficacy in and valuing of
certain curriculum learning areas (Schweinle, Meyer and Turner 2006, p. 289). For students to believe they
can achieve goals and improve learning in mathematics, as a result of the feedback I provide, is the ultimate
goal for this professional inquiry project, and for my development as an educator.

Action (approx. 100 words)

An exact description of what you are going to change in your practice/behaviour throughout your placement.
An exact description of when you are going to collect data each week during your normal teaching (identify times & a subject area)

Throughout engagement in this professional inquiry project, I will enhance my delivery of providing timely
and constructive feedback to students in order to build confidence in their mathematics learning. I will utilise
two informal feedback strategies, including oral feedback, where I will use cues, reinforcements, and
prompts to redirect and/or confirm students’ learning and understanding and written feedback, using the
two stars and a wish format, which will be verbally read to the students. The delivery of feedback will occur
throughout the mathematics lesson. I will collect data four times a week, over a four-and-a-half-week
period, at the end of each mathematics lesson, through the use of a personal journal, happy and sad face
student feedback proformas, and supervisor teacher questionnaires. At the end of each week, I will review
the data collected from my reflections, the students, and my supervising teacher, looking for any
discrepancies in my delivery of feedback, so I can apply this knowledge to my planning and practice the
following week.

Observation (approx. 400 words)

How will you collect data? Choose techniques most suited to your strategy and situation. Explain your monitoring techniques. Why have you
chosen the particular techniques? Include at least one reference to action research literature.
How will you record your data? Your monitoring process should aim to include at least three observation techniques to ensure triangulation. (ie.
Questionnaire, Supervising Teacher feedback, frequency chart etc). Include data collection proformas as an appendix.

The collection of data as part of the professional inquiry project is important if I wish to make improvements
in my teaching practice in regard to providing timely and constructive feedback to students in order to build
their confidence in mathematics learning. Grundy (1995, p. 9) attests that action research, or inquiry
projects, is a process of change ‘specifically directed towards improvement’. Data collection is pivotal in
action research, as without evidence in relation to the plans of action, the desired change or improvement
cannot occur (Grundy 1995, p. 15). To ensure improvement in my teaching practice in relation to my inquiry,
data will be collected in three ways; through a personal reflection journal, student feedback, and supervisor
teacher questionnaires.

I will record personal reflections at the end of each mathematics lesson, using a personal reflection
template (see Appendix A). By doing this, I will consider my role in providing feedback and whether I believe
my feedback was effective in increasing student confidence in their mathematics learning through particular
mathematics problems. I have chosen to complete the personal reflection template at the end of each
mathematics lesson, as I will be less likely to disrupt students from their learning and have my personal
thoughts in providing feedback fresh in my mind. Furthermore, personal reflection in action research is
viewed as a way to track the good in one’s practice, as well as providing a level for change (Luttenberg,
Meijer & Oolbekkink-Marchand 2017, pp. 89-90).

I will gather feedback from selected students during each mathematics lesson, using a happy and sad face
proforma (see Appendix B), where students evaluate the feedback I have provided in relation to their
confidence in their mathematics learning. There will also be a section where I can note the feedback I
provided. As I am working with foundation level students, the happy and sad face proforma has been
chosen due to its ease of use with that age group, however I will select a focus group of students in
negotiation with my supervising teacher to complete these. As I provide, and collect data on, timely and
constructive feedback in relation to students’ learning, I can determine whether my feedback is effective
and has assisted them with their confidence in learning and applying mathematical strategies (Killen 2016,
p. 113). Without researching this, I will be unsure as to whether the feedback strategies I am using are
effective.

I will provide my supervising teacher with a questionnaire (see Appendix C) to complete throughout each
mathematics lesson I teach. The aim of the questionnaire is to provide me with feedback from an
experienced professional who may be able to pick up on relevant information regarding my provision of
timely and constructive feedback that myself, or the students, do not. Also, action research is not
considered to be an individual process but requires the support and collaboration of others (Grundy 1995,
p. 10). My supervising teacher will not only be able to provide feedback on my practice, but also strategies
to assist me in improving my practice throughout my professional inquiry project.

Reflection (approx. 400 words)

What will you be looking for when you analyse your data?
How will you interpret your data (ie make sense of the patterns)?
Who else might be involved? How? Name your critical friend as at least one of the people who will be involved
Explain how you will use your analysis to inform your practice in the following action stage (ie. next data collection time).
Include at least one relevant reference about the importance of reflection.
At the end of each week, I will analyse my personal reflections, the student happy and sad face evaluation
proformas, and my supervising teacher’s questionnaires, that have been collated over the week. I believe
this timeframe is achievable as it will provide me with sufficient data to inform my mathematics planning,
teaching, and feedback strategies for improvement over the following week. This will occur week after
week while on my professional experience placement block, creating an action research cycle, where the
elements of reconnaissance, planning, acting, collecting evidence, and reflecting are used in relation to my
professional inquiry project goal (Grundy 1995, p. 11). Ultimately, it is the evidence collected and how I
interpret it that will inform my decisions regarding implementing feedback and planning future mathematics
learning for students (Grundy 1995, p. 15).

Throughout my professional inquiry project, it will be beneficial to have a selected focus group of students
completing the happy and sad face evaluation proformas, so I can determine the effectiveness of my
feedback over my professional experience placement block. This data will come in useful during my end
of week analysis, as I will be looking for whether the amount of feedback I have provided, in relation to the
students’ mathematics learning, has increased or decreased and whether this has an effect on the
students’ confidence, and subsequently, success, in mathematics learning. The amount of timely and
constructive feedback I have provided will be determined through the data collected in my supervisor
teacher’s questionnaire. In addition, it is also considered good practice to reflect on whether my personal
thoughts on providing timely and constructive feedback compare with the views of both the students and
my supervising teacher (Killen 2016, p. 113).

While my supervising teacher can provide a critical view of my practice, they are already required to do so.
Therefore, it will be beneficial to have a critical friend to collaborate with as I progress with my professional
inquiry project. Emily is a fellow pre-service teacher at my professional experience placement school who
is also placed in an early years classroom. As we will both be completing a professional inquiry project, it
will be beneficial to create opportunities to discuss the progress of our projects and analyse each other’s
data. Killen (2016, p. 114) suggests that reflection is enhanced when information and ideas are shared
amongst colleagues. Not only will the outcomes of our professional inquiry projects be successful through
collaboration, but also our developing teaching practice.

References
Include all references (min. of 6) using the Harvard referencing system.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2017, Australian professional standards for
teachers, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, viewed 24 July 2018,
<https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards>.

Beghetto, RA 2006, ‘Creative self-efficacy: correlates in middle and secondary students’, Creativity
Research Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 447-457.
Fisher, D & Frey, N 2011, ‘Feed up, feedback, and feed forward’, Science and Children, vol. 48, no. 9,
pp. 26-30.

Grundy, S 1995, Action research as professional development, Innovative Links Project, Murdoch.

Hattie, J 2012, Visible learning for teachers: maximizing impact on learning, Routledge, Oxon, ProQuest
eBook Central.

Hattie, J & Timperley, H 2007, ‘The power of feedback’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 77, no. 1,
pp. 81-112.

Kennedy Press 2015, Tips and tricks for problem-based teaching, Kennedy Press Pty Ltd., viewed 29
July 2018, <https://www.backtofrontmaths.com.au/daily-teaching-help/tips-and-tricks-for-problem-based-
teaching#asking-questions>.

Killen, R 2016, Effective teaching strategies: lessons from research and practice, 7th edn, Cengage
Australia, Victoria.

Luttenberg, J, Meijer, P & Oolbekkink-Marchand, H 2017, ‘Understanding the complexity of teacher

reflection in action research’, Educational Action Research, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 88-102.

Peterson, SS & Portier, C 2014, ‘Grade one peer and teacher feedback on student writing’, Education 3-
13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 237-257.

Owens, L 2016, ‘The impact of feedback as formative assessment on student performance’, International
Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 168-175.

Schweinle, A, Meyer, DK & Turner, JC 2006, ‘Striking the right balance: students’ motivation and affect in
elementary mathematics’, The Journal of Educational Research, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 271-294.
Appendix A

Personal Reflection Journal

Daily Template

Date

‘Feed up’: were the goals of the

lesson clearly communicated and

what were they?

Approximately, how many times do

you think timely feedback was

provided?

Approximately, how many times do

you think constructive feedback

was provided?

How do you rate the effectiveness

of the timely and constructive

feedback provided?

Was there some particular feedback

provided that stood out for you?

Was there some particular feedback

provided that could be improved?

How did the students respond to

the timely and constructive

feedback you provided?

What is your goal for providing

feedback tomorrow?
Appendix B

Student Feedback
Happy and Sad Face Evaluation Proforma

Student Feedback Evaluation

Did Miss Amy’s feedback about your mathematics learning improve your confidence?

Teacher Comment (Feedback Provided)

Appendix C

Supervising Teacher Questionnaire

Date

Approximately, how many times did Amy provide timely feedback?

0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20+

Approximately, how many times did Amy provide constructive feedback?

0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20+

How do you rate the effectiveness of the timely and constructive feedback provided?

Unsatisfactory Needs Improving Satisfactory Good Excellent

Was there some particular feedback provided that stood out to you? (please comment)

Did the students respond to the timely and constructive feedback provided by Amy, in the way it

was intended? Why/why not? (please comment)