Research to Practice Initiative: Spiral of Inquiry

The AISNSW Research to Practice Initiative is a long-term partnership between AISNSW and individual schools designed to support classroom teachers and schools in being at the forefront of embedding evidence-informed practice in teaching and learning. Over a period of 12-18 months, school teams engage with a dedicated AISNSW consultant to transform teaching and learning in an area of curriculum or pedagogy identified by the school, resulting in improved outcomes for students.

Embedded in the Research to Practice initiative is the use of the Spiral of Inquiry framework, an evidence-informed and disciplined approach to collaborative inquiry. Recent research suggests that this is one of the most impactful examples of professional learning in the world, consistently delivering demonstrable outcomes for learners.

Read more about the Spiral of Inquiry:

Spiral of Inquiry
The Spiral Playbook

Research to Practice 2022 Invitation


Expression of Interest

What might the area of focus be?

AISNSW welcomes expressions of interest from all schools, each with their own unique puzzle of practice. This may be a specific area of curriculum, such as Reading, Writing, Science or PDHPE, or an aspect of pedagogy such as assessment practices, feedback, critical and creative thinking, or learning outcomes for boys.

Depending on your chosen area of focus, teams may be drawn from a specific subject or Stage of learning, or more broadly across the school.  

Research to Practice

If you are interested in learning more please contact Sue Pike or Philippa Miller.

Complete an Expression of Interest for 2022.

What are people saying?

“My professional development and personal confidence had grown by being a part of this project. Working with a team (2 other staff) to develop and improve the teaching of Science and Technology in our school has been really rewarding. I am looking forward to [next year] and revisiting some of our surveys to see what a difference we have made. I believe that all staff are making changes to their teaching practice to produce better learning outcomes for our students.”  (Teacher)

What are people saying?

“And honestly compared to the other terms, the output what my students have produced and the way they were thinking was incredible and it was very meaningful, teaching and learning happening in our classroom and it rolled over into the next term as well, because now my way of thinking and implementing the program and teaching had changed as well.”

(Teacher)

What are people saying?

“We have become real champions for science. ….the fact that they have done a lot of work in scope and sequence of science, I have been to a couple of staff meetings where the teachers have reported to the staff what’s going on and it’s been very collaborative.  They’ve actually put together a whole school program together.  One of the lovely things is it is being led by the teachers who are part of the program.  Not a member of the school exec or the head of primary, but these champions.  It’s good, it’s fantastic for them.” 

(Principal)

What are people saying?

“Obviously the focus is on science but it's coming out in other KLA’s as well and I think that particularly in this last term we have started to see some things click together and come together.  And we are seeing teachers excited about science and wanting to go and program it, because they are excited about where it could be.  So for me that has been encouraging from an overall view as well.” 
(Middle Leader)

How does it work?

Schools commit to a 12-18 month partnership with AISNSW, beginning at the commencement of a school term.

As part of the partnership, schools will nominate a team of teachers who, together with the ongoing, tailored support of AISNSW consultants, will:

  • be introduced to the Spiral of Inquiry framework and its key phases of implementation
  • use the initial phases of the framework to confirm and sharpen the area of focus specific to the school’s needs
  • design and implement professional learning to support the school in exploring and implementing the latest research in curriculum and pedagogy in the area of focus
  • evaluate the impact of this professional learning upon student learning outcomes
  • have the opportunity to present findings from their involvement in the initiative at an AISNSW event

Research to Practice reflects a co-contribution model whereby schools contribute $8000 for the length of the project and commit to releasing their team of teachers as appropriate for their active participation.  In return, AISNSW provides ongoing consultancy support and access to quality research, resources and professional learning.

Expression of Interest

Transform research into practice

Use current research to inquire into existing practice in teaching and learning and identify areas for quality improvement.

Focus on learners

Keep students at the centre of the inquiry; “What is going on for our learners?”, “How do we know?”, “Why does it matter?”

Promote teacher collaboration

Develop collective agency through teaching teams working as professional learning communities, with regular, ongoing support from AISNSW.

Three Big Picture Questions


What is going on for our learners?


How do we know?


Why does it matter?

Scanning

What is going on for our learners?

Focusing

What will have the biggest impact?

Developing a Hunch

What is leading to the situation?


How are we contributing to it?

Checking

Have we made enough of a difference?


How do we know?

Taking Action

What can we do to make a meaningful difference?

Learning

What do we need to learn?


How will we learn this?