EARLY UNDERSTANDING OF APPLIED RESEARCH

At this early stage of understanding applied research, I would argue that a highly effective
teacher or principal is greatly helped by understanding the research world. Looking at recent
developments and my observations at recent postings, Superintendents do appear to almost
exclusively now have MEd and Doctoral qualifications, and this is something that I have checked
in my current posting. I have also (pleasingly) noted that in several of our staff training events,
there has been a reference to research and how it supports how the school community is
heading. This is pleasing.

RESEARCH IDEAS

At this stage, I have been thinking about research into continuing teacher training for teachers.
This is an area that I have thought about, as I qualified as a teacher some considerable time ago,
and I have realised that with so many changes in the educational world, to remain an effective
and relevant teacher, professional development is very important. Yet, the provision of teacher
training is, in my very variable and dependent upon the school that one ends up in. And,
returning to how teacher training can impact the lives of students, it is important.

I thought about this further (something that has taken quite a lot of time) and I am increasingly
thinking about how a Professional Learning Community (PLC) could be developed by the
teachers in our grade. In two previous postings, I have seen the development of and have
thought that they were useful developments. I’m interested in this as I currently work in an
extremely large school, where the staff are from all over the world, teaching in several different
languages, and bringing so much interesting experience, and I think this could improve student
learning.

Ongoing professional development is extremely important in many areas of teaching. Game, P.

(2019) has discussed this:
When teachers have access to continuous learning opportunities and professional development
resources, they’re better equipped to become good teachers, especially if their students have
learning needs or are performing below or above grade level. Student achievement should be
the ultimate goal of any teacher professional development activities. (p.9)

APPLIED RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Here are two questions that I am developing with the help of my reading which are listed in the
references below, thinking about:
1. How could a grade-level (10 teachers) Professional Learning Community be developed?

2. How could we measure the impact of the PLC on teaching and learning?

References

Game, P. (n.d.). 5 ways to make teacher professional development effective [with examples].
Prodigy Education. Retrieved April 9, 2023,
from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/teacher-professional-development/

Putting applied research to work in your school or district. ASCD. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023,
from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/putting-applied-research-to-work-in-your-school-or-
district