Practitioner Inquiry in the Midst of Mandates: Examining Teachers' Shifts in Literacy Pedagogy

• In Event: Exploring Models of Literacy Instruction

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine how two teachers new to the inquiry process investigated problems of practice to shift their literacy instruction toward student-centered practices while navigating top-down, scripted curricula mandates. Using a theoretical framework based on practitioner inquiry and literacy as an expansive meaning-making process, the authors use participatory action research methods to qualitatively analyze the participants’ collaborative inquiry cycles. Findings highlight the significant shifts each teacher made through engaging in cycles of inquiry, even when they identified different problems of practice. Practitioner inquiry offers a professional learning model that not only positions the teacher as a learner and expert in the classroom but as an agent of change within restrictive settings.

Authors

• Kelly C Johnston, Baylor University

• Tracy Harper, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi