Teaching as inquiry

Why inquire into your practice?

Inquiring into your teaching practice enables the identification of successful approaches to improving learning outcomes for all students. It provides an opportunity to focus on identifying successful approaches for improving learning outcomes for all learners, in particular those that may be target students in your classroom.

"Since any teaching strategy works differently in different contexts for different students, effective pedagogy requires that teachers inquire into the impact of their teaching on their students."

Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 35

Inquiry as a disposition
Sharon Friesen talks about inquiry being a disposition cultivated during teaching and learning, rather than a process that "gets done" by students in this In this EDtalks video.

Teacher inquiry should be based on your students' learning needs, your own learning needs, and the impact of your practice on student learning and achievement.

Teacher professional learning and development: Best evidence synthesis iteration (BES)

Frameworks to support your inquiry

When you participate effectively in a cycle of reflection and review, your learning will be linked to evidence of impact. The New Zealand Curriculum (pages 34–35) and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (pages 13–16) describe some of the teaching approaches that research shows to have a consistently positive impact on student learning.

Timperly, Kaser and Halbert (2014)

Teaching as inquiry
The Teaching as Inquiry cycle is an organising framework to help teachers learn from their practice and build greater knowledge.

Spiral of inquiry
Timperly, Kaser and Halbert (2014) focus on a rethink of the cycle of inquiry (2007) to the spiral of inquiry. An important difference in this new approach is involving learners, their families, and communities in inquiries.

SAMR Model
A framework through which teachers can assess and evaluate the technology used in the classroom.

Key resources

Teaching as Inquiry: VLN
This online discussion group provides extensive information, templates, resources, and examples to help you develop your inquiry, gather evidence, and reflect on your inquiry.

Teacher standards and e-learning
Guiding questions, examples, and resources to support your e-learning inquiry under each standard.

Adding an e-learning lens

Using technologies offers new ways of learning, teaching, and engaging with students and whānau that can be used to improve learning outcomes for all students.

Your inquiry should intentionally pair technology with an inclusive pedagogy and a collaborative way of working to yield a rich field of data/observations for reflection.
Identify your:

• focusing inquiry
• inquiry strategies
• inquiry tools (digital technologies)

An example of an inquiry using digital technologies

Teaching as inquiry starters

Anna Swann, from Holy Cross School, explains her teacher inquiry into using Google docs to enhance achievement and engagement in writing with boys. She found the barriers to the writing were removed and the boys' attitudes changed.

Classroom-based examples describing how educators intentionally pair digital technologies with inclusive pedagogy to improve learning outcomes for students.

School stories demonstrating how teachers plan and inquire into their practice, intentionally pair digital technologies with inclusive pedagogy to improve learning outcomes for students.

Filter by: Primary Secondary Collaborative teacher inquiry Pakirehua

Professional learning using teacher inquiry

Chris Allen and Mike Wilson Sacred Heart Girls' College share why they chose to use a teacher inquiry model as a focus for professional learning and why that approach has been so successful.

Teacher inquiries into using Google docs

Mike Wilson at Sacred Heart Girls’ College, describes the benefits teachers found in using Google docs and Google forms to provide quick feedback to students as they prepare for NCEA assessments.

Teacher inquiry into improving NCEA learning outcomes

Teresa Cargo, Deputy Principal Sacred Heart Girls College, shares her teacher inquiry into using video with her year 13 students.

Improving boys' writing using Google docs

Anna Swann, from Holy Cross School, explains her teacher inquiry into using Google docs to improve boys writing.

Developing the e-learning teacher inquiry process

Deputy Principal, Vicki Trainor explains why teacher inquiry was used as a method of professional development at Holy Cross School following the development of their e-learning strategic plan. 

Improving fluency and phrasing using iPad apps

Junior school teacher, Denise Stanisich talks about her teacher inquiry focusing on raising student achievement in fluency and phrasing

Raising student writing levels using Google docs

Vimi Chandra explains her teacher inquiry aimed at raising the writing levels of targeted students.

Teaching as inquiry through an e-learning lens

LwDT facilitator, Anna Harrison discusses the value of the teaching and inquiry model as a basis for PLD for e-learning. 

Teaching as inquiry through a blended e-learning lens

Facilitators and teachers discuss teaching as inquiry through a blended e-learning lens.

Tailoring professional learning to enhance literacy e-learning needs: A blended model

Teachers discuss tailored professional learning to enhance literacy e-learning needs using a blended model. 

A teaching approach to enable Māori achieving success as Māori

Yvonne Nikora, Deputy principal at Waerenga o Kuri School, talks about impact the Māori achieving success as Māori (MASAM) framework has had on her teaching.

Renewed enthusiasm for reading

Teacher Julie Hinman, talks about how the introduction of iPads into her classroom renewed enthusiasm for one of her students in reading. 

Reading goals supported by QR codes

Konini School teacher, Vicki Pimenta shares her approach to using the literacy progressions and raising student achievement in reading.

Developing e-learning capability using the eLPF and teacher inquiry

e-Learning facilitator, Ross Alexander explains the importance of having a clear vision for introducing new technologies.

Teacher inquiry: Using Google docs to improve learning outcomes

Houghton Valley School, teacher and e-learning leader, Peter Holmstead inquired into using Google apps to improve learning outcomes.

He aha tēnei mea te pakirehua?

Tammy Gardiner and Marama Reweti-Martin explain pakirehua (teaching as inquiry) from a Māori perspective.

Pakirehua i rō akomanga

Tammy Gardiner and Marama Reweti-Martin connect the wider concept of inquiry within Māori culture with teaching as inquiry (pakirehua). 

Pakirehua me te whakapapa

Tammy Gardiner shares an example of how she connects inquiry with her tīpuna.

Story Hui in action

Titahi Bay School teacher, Parani Temoana demonstrates Story Hui in action as she reflects on her inquiry into selecting and using Apps to support learning in maths. 

Story Hui

Liz Stevenson, from CORE Education, explains the Story Hui process. Teachers, Parani Temoana and Tania Chapman, from Titahi Bay School reflect on the benefits of this process. 

Professional learning – Teacher inquiry

Pakuranga College principal, Michael Williams describes their intensive PLD programme.

SMS – Facilitating teacher inquiry

Principal, Michael Malins shares how they use their SMS to document teacher inquiries. 

Professional development at Hampden Street School

e-Learning lead teacher, John O'Regan explains their professional development focus on using e-learning tools to support learning.

Inquiry into using digital tools to enhance literacy

Teacher inquiries at Newmarket School build on learner motivation and interests as a way of improving student outcomes. They focus on genuine problems of practice and aim to develop teacher capability.

Digital connections for new learning opportunities

A teacher inquiry which utilised digital technologies for science.

Setting the achievement challenge and developing teacher practice

Kaikohekohe cluster principals, Lee Whitelaw and Tracey Simeon explain how their achievement challenges are based on research, which informs teacher PLD.

Cluster inquiry

Lee Whitelaw, Convening principal at Ohaeawai School, talks about the layers of inquiry that they have within their cluster and how the inquiries are presented. “Inquiry is a real important component in our cluster and it’s really embedded.”

Developing informative writing skills by creating a documentary – A teacher inquiry

Renee Strawbridge (DP Mt Biggs School) shares her purpose and how she researched and structured her teacher inquiry.

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Key resource

Timperly, Kaser and Halbert (2014)

A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry

This paper by Timperly, Kaser, and Halbert focuses on a rethink of the cycle of inquiry (2007) to the spiral of inquiry.

The spiral playbook

Researchers, Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser provide a concise, practical introduction to using the Spirals of Inquiry, an evidence-based model of collaborative inquiry.

Teacher standards and e-learning

Guiding questions, examples, and resources to support your e-learning inquiry under each standard.

Professional inquiry into e-learning

An inquiry approach to developing effective professional learning supported by video stories, discussion questions, and resources.

Teachers as learners: Improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students through inquiry

These learning materials illustrate how teachers have used an inquiry approach to teaching to become more culturally responsive and to improve outcomes for their Māori and Pasifika students.

Spiral of inquiry: Leaders leading learning

This resource promotes the leadership of collaborative, evidence-informed inquiry in ways that keep learners’ progress at the centre. It provides field-tested tools and ideas to support leaders and teachers to apply spirals of inquiry, learning and action with their learners.

Online discussion

Teaching as inquiry

This group in the VLN is a space for teachers to ask questions and share ideas, resources, and links.