Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
Professor of Education
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Professional learning, primary/EY, democratic ed, voice, visual methods & pedagogies for thinking. #StrathSTL #StrathEdD #StrathEduPGR
Education
58%
Psychology
18%
Back to the office tomorrow with an exciting year ahead, but it’s been a great holiday of family, rest and recuperation. Here are just some of my views while out and about close to home
two cartoon sheep wearing crowns sit at a table drinking
ALT: two cartoon sheep wearing crowns sit at a table drinking
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I will be practicing what I preach and putting my own enquiries down for the holidays. Some have been more successful than others, Some havent got started. That is OK. #PractitionerEnquiryTotW will be back in January. Have a great Christmas break /8
And once you have shared, close the computer and step away from the enquiry. It goes without saying that practitioner enquiry is not for the holidays. Rest and be merry. It'll still be there in 2026 and I promise you'll approach it with new eyes. Where ever you at is great/7
Sharing all these timelines for enquiry is important. We need to accept and see that teacher research in the real world is hard work and full of ups and downs. There is no perfect practice for all of us. So accepting and sharing honestly where you are right now is enough /6
Many will be mid-cycle, although where will vary:
- refining and defining a question
- making a plan
- starting to collect evidence
- synthesising and analysing
- reflecting and sharing
But where ever you are in the process is worthy of acknowledging and should be shared/5
- refining and defining a question
- making a plan
- starting to collect evidence
- synthesising and analysing
- reflecting and sharing
But where ever you are in the process is worthy of acknowledging and should be shared/5
Others won't have got going - for some that'll be intentional (the thing they're interested in hasn't started yet or the question just hasn't been quite right), for others it's just not been possible to prioritise enquiry due to other stuff. Both timelines should be shared /4
Therefore, some people might have finished an enquiry cycle (or 2) and are setting a pace. Some of those enquiry cycles might have been relativey large, others smaller (in terms of scale, scope and length of time). It is up to you. Share the decision making that contributed /3
Our enquiry communities shoud be flexible to a range of timelines for enquiry, accepting each teacher's ownership of their process and where they are at. Importantly comparisons should not made in regard who is winning at enquiry. Your enquiry, your timeline! /2
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: end of term pragmatics. As schools close for the holidays don't compare yourselves with others or put pressure on the what ifs. What you've got done (even if thats nothing) is fine by me. You can move on in 2026 /1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
The @strath-ioe.bsky.social pathway in Supporting Teacher Learning starts in January for a calendar year. It comprises 3 modules and can be taken as a PG Cert, as part of the Masters or a pathway in the EdD. It also comes with GTCS Prof Recognition. What's not to love? Email me for more info
Awe, that is lovely to hear. We love that you’re #StrathSTL alumni and look back so positively 👏👏
Reposted by Kate Wall
As my teaching career draws to a close, I look back and see that my participation in the PG Cert in Supporting Teacher Learning was one of the very best professional moves I ever made. I can't recommend it highly enough.
If you like my Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week, then come join us on the @strath-ioe.bsky.social PG Cert in Supporting Teacher Learning with GTCS Prof Recognition. Engage in enquiry with like minded peers teaching across a range of contexts #StrathSTL #PractitionerEnquiryTotW
There's some support, but wholesale funding of masters from Government has disappeared. It is now down to individuals to find support (could be £ or time) or pay themselves, but it continues to amaze me how many do find ways to join us
Are you responsible for colleagues' learning in your setting? Interested in different models of prof learning? What to undertake a qualification with @gtcs prof recognition? Well, you might want to think about doing the @StrathEDU PG Cert in Supporting Teacher Learning #StrathSTL
Therefore, in our practitioner enquiry communities, we need to talk about process, what worked and what didn't, how real life has influenced the pedagogy and research, and the learning that results. Be kind to self and colleagues, recognise warts and all of prof learning /7
Remember learning in enquiry is not just about your understanding of the pedagogic innovation, it is about your understanding of practice, your understanding of yourself as a prof learner, your understanding of the young people in your care, and your understanding of enquiry/6
And let's be honest, useful learning comes from challenge and careful thinking that results. Do those neat and tidy enquiries where there are no interruptions or changes to the plan really result in true learning? If you could have predicted it all then where is the usefulness?/5
Researching in real life contexts means we cannot control variables or expect process to be uninterrupted or as planned. Stuff happens. This is normal school world in which we work and so when researching within it, we have to expect the unexpected and share that with others/4
Learning is not a smooth upwards trajectory - we know that in context of children we teach, so why do we expect it to be that way for us as teachers? Learning has leaps forwards, but sometimes we have to go back, revisit and unpick a concept or practice to understand it better/3
Let's normalise messiness of research and learning, especially when that includes the challenge involved in asking authentic 'I genuinely don't know' questions. We need to be kind to self when things don't go to plan. Indeed we need to expect it not to go to plan and that's OK/2
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: be kind to self. Enquiry rarely goes to plan. Those that say it was all neat and perfect with no hiccups are often playing loose with the truth and retrofitting a narrative that they think is expected by others./1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Dec 3
So be kind to self when life/ work is full, turn volume down. Be supportive of colleagues when they need to do the same. Conversely be aware of those precious moments when the volume can be turned up to make enquiry more explicit. We're all managing this balance. That's normal/4
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Dec 3
Leaders need to model this permission and in our practitioner enquiry communities need to normalise the fact that we are all turning up and turning down the volume on our enquiries to keep workload manageable. That this is an important skills of a professional with busy life /3
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Dec 3
Enquiry does not stop, the process of asking questions, collecting evidence to inform next steps continues (enquiry as stance), but high volume enquiry as project, with more explicit research elements will lessen or may completely stop to help with workload during this period/2
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Dec 3
Practitioner Enquiry Tip of the Week: permission to turn down the volume. Sometimes life/ work is complicated and very full. A curve ball puts you at capacity. This means there is little space for practitioner enquiry, and that is OK. /1🧵
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
#PractitionerEnquiryTotW
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Nov 26
My main learning in Valletta, we're doing something different in Scotland and should be proud. I've also contributed to this international audience the Dolly Parton rule (keep prof learning in 9-5), but who knows what other connections people have made with my work. I'm open /9
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Nov 26
Be patient, sometimes the learning is not immediately apparent. I'll continue to sift through my notebook in coming weeks and know that I will be making further connections as I go about my usual business back in Scotland. Sometimes I can foresee those connections, often not/8
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Nov 26
You can also be curious generously, the enquiry you're hearing about might not be for you, but it might connect, in one of the ways above, to the work of a colleague down the corridor. Build capacity and share the contact and connection. Having enquiry friends is essential /7
Kate Wall
@katewall.bsky.social
· Nov 26
Don't limit potential learning to the topic of enquiry, it might also come from pedagogic approach, curriculum design, approach to research (nature of enquiry question, types of evidence, method of collection, approach to analysis etc.) or it might be something else. Be open/6