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
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Professional learning, primary/EY, democratic ed, voice, visual methods & pedagogies for thinking. #StrathSTL #StrathEdD #StrathEduPGR
Inevitably it'll not be smooth sailing and you'll make some mistakes, but showing that is also important. Our ultimate jobs as leaders of practitioner enquiry communities is to role model the process, balance and learning. So start an enquiry community by doing exactly that/8
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Inevitably it'll not be smooth sailing and you'll make some mistakes, but showing that is also important. Our ultimate jobs as leaders of practitioner enquiry communities is to role model the process, balance and learning. So start an enquiry community by doing exactly that/8
By making the enquiry cycle links explicit, this is what you said in response to cycle 1 and so this is what I am going to do as a result (cycle 2), and so on, then you are not only modelling practitioner enquiry, but you are showing that your are listening and learning /7
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
By making the enquiry cycle links explicit, this is what you said in response to cycle 1 and so this is what I am going to do as a result (cycle 2), and so on, then you are not only modelling practitioner enquiry, but you are showing that your are listening and learning /7
And fourthly, as you get some insight then you'll show how one enquiry moves into the next. Your first cycle was finding out what colleagues think about enquiry, the next will be acting on some of those ideas and maybe involving one or two colleagues in the process /6
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
And fourthly, as you get some insight then you'll show how one enquiry moves into the next. Your first cycle was finding out what colleagues think about enquiry, the next will be acting on some of those ideas and maybe involving one or two colleagues in the process /6
Thirdly, an important one, you might just find out something useful from the conversations that arise. By talking about your enquiry with different people then, I'm fairly confident, you'll find out what the levers and barriers are for enacting enquiry in your setting /5
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Thirdly, an important one, you might just find out something useful from the conversations that arise. By talking about your enquiry with different people then, I'm fairly confident, you'll find out what the levers and barriers are for enacting enquiry in your setting /5
Secondly, you are showing that you think enquiry is important and useful enough to include in your busy schedule alongside all the other stuff. There will probably be occasions where that is difficult and problematic, but talking about it makes it feel more doable to staff/4
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Secondly, you are showing that you think enquiry is important and useful enough to include in your busy schedule alongside all the other stuff. There will probably be occasions where that is difficult and problematic, but talking about it makes it feel more doable to staff/4
Firstly, you are raising the profile of enquiry. You think it is important and you are going to use the language and engage with the process explicitly in a public way. You are also showing that practitioner enquiry is not just for classroom teachers, but should be career long/3
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Firstly, you are raising the profile of enquiry. You think it is important and you are going to use the language and engage with the process explicitly in a public way. You are also showing that practitioner enquiry is not just for classroom teachers, but should be career long/3
An intentionally flippant answer is, through doing an enquiry! This is a really good enquiry question that you obviously don't know the answer to right now, although you probably have some hunches. Expressing this to staff as an enquiry means you will achieve multiple aims/2
November 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
An intentionally flippant answer is, through doing an enquiry! This is a really good enquiry question that you obviously don't know the answer to right now, although you probably have some hunches. Expressing this to staff as an enquiry means you will achieve multiple aims/2
Enquiry is a powerful leadership stance whereby we recognise ourselves as learners alongside colleagues and students. Sometimes that learning goes smoothly, sometimes not so much, that is OK. By signing up to enquiry we are committing to try and improve and role model process/7
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Enquiry is a powerful leadership stance whereby we recognise ourselves as learners alongside colleagues and students. Sometimes that learning goes smoothly, sometimes not so much, that is OK. By signing up to enquiry we are committing to try and improve and role model process/7
We need to show strategies for working out and how we ensure enquiry is not taking over our lives. How do we fit enquiry into 9-5 and what compromises are made as a result. How do we connect different elements of role through enquiry and make sure that the outcomes are useful?/6
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
We need to show strategies for working out and how we ensure enquiry is not taking over our lives. How do we fit enquiry into 9-5 and what compromises are made as a result. How do we connect different elements of role through enquiry and make sure that the outcomes are useful?/6
Genuine enquiry when we don't know answer is hard and often doesn't go way we expect. Supporting this level of challenge in prof learning is important. Leaders need to show they don't always get a perfect outcome and get stuck. That learning from failure is just as relevent/5
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Genuine enquiry when we don't know answer is hard and often doesn't go way we expect. Supporting this level of challenge in prof learning is important. Leaders need to show they don't always get a perfect outcome and get stuck. That learning from failure is just as relevent/5
Leaders create spaces for enquiry dialogue. Sharing process and outcome is essential for individual sense making as well as community capacity building. We set tone of these spaces in regard support of tentative thinking, of exploration, and response to potential disagreement/4
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Leaders create spaces for enquiry dialogue. Sharing process and outcome is essential for individual sense making as well as community capacity building. We set tone of these spaces in regard support of tentative thinking, of exploration, and response to potential disagreement/4
Leading a practitioner enquiry community means facilitating teacher autonomy - their question, approach to finding out, decisions about appropriate evidence, timescales, and approaches to sharing. Refrain from telling people what to do, ask questions of the thinking behind: why/3
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Leading a practitioner enquiry community means facilitating teacher autonomy - their question, approach to finding out, decisions about appropriate evidence, timescales, and approaches to sharing. Refrain from telling people what to do, ask questions of the thinking behind: why/3
I am one of those leaders and with 20+ years supporting enquiry, I see 2 aspects to this: how we lead communities of enquirers in ways that are supportive, connected and realistic; and how we carry out our own enquiries admitting we still don't know and are striving to find out/2
November 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I am one of those leaders and with 20+ years supporting enquiry, I see 2 aspects to this: how we lead communities of enquirers in ways that are supportive, connected and realistic; and how we carry out our own enquiries admitting we still don't know and are striving to find out/2
Key to manageability is ensuring neither becomes separate from the classroom and learners within it. It always should be useful questions that relate to your practice. What becomes a project is up to you, but there are strategies to keep it connected and stop it being extra/9
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Key to manageability is ensuring neither becomes separate from the classroom and learners within it. It always should be useful questions that relate to your practice. What becomes a project is up to you, but there are strategies to keep it connected and stop it being extra/9
Project is not better than stance. A good teacher does both. Enquiry as stance musings turn into enquiry projects; enquiry projects will be reflected on after they are complete (stance). Both are about questioning what we do and why, which makes us better professionals/8
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Project is not better than stance. A good teacher does both. Enquiry as stance musings turn into enquiry projects; enquiry projects will be reflected on after they are complete (stance). Both are about questioning what we do and why, which makes us better professionals/8
Enquiry projects are great for being a bit more robust and rigorous. Research process gives a bit more credibility; commitment to share helps codify with literature and wider prof community. But it should still be embedded in practice: useful questions related to learner need/7
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Enquiry projects are great for being a bit more robust and rigorous. Research process gives a bit more credibility; commitment to share helps codify with literature and wider prof community. But it should still be embedded in practice: useful questions related to learner need/7
Enquiry projects are the exception; we may do 1 or 2 a session. Its the more research-y side of the enquiry spectrum where explicit questions are asked with strategic selection and analysis of evidence is prioritised. These are the types of enquiry we most often hear shared/6
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Enquiry projects are the exception; we may do 1 or 2 a session. Its the more research-y side of the enquiry spectrum where explicit questions are asked with strategic selection and analysis of evidence is prioritised. These are the types of enquiry we most often hear shared/6
Enquiry as stance is complemented by enquiry as project when the volume is turned up on a particularly pertinent issue or stubborn problem that you genuinely are not sure about. We turn the volume up in regard the kind of evidence that we collect and the way it is shared/5
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Enquiry as stance is complemented by enquiry as project when the volume is turned up on a particularly pertinent issue or stubborn problem that you genuinely are not sure about. We turn the volume up in regard the kind of evidence that we collect and the way it is shared/5
Enquiry as stance is ongoing. It be part of teaching and is about good practice: being able to talk about what we do for our learners in our classroom and why. We can still use evidence and we can still share, but it is light touch and should be a part of normal practice/4
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Enquiry as stance is ongoing. It be part of teaching and is about good practice: being able to talk about what we do for our learners in our classroom and why. We can still use evidence and we can still share, but it is light touch and should be a part of normal practice/4
Thinking through your day: the successes, the not so successful and questions that result is all about being a good professional. The enquiry process helps us to think it through and to consider the why - why was it successful (or not), why might that be useful to do next?/3
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Thinking through your day: the successes, the not so successful and questions that result is all about being a good professional. The enquiry process helps us to think it through and to consider the why - why was it successful (or not), why might that be useful to do next?/3