The Nature of Teacher Inquiry: Research as a Process

What does inquiry look like?

It’s easy to think of research as straightforward: ask a question, find the information you need to answer that question, and share that information with others. But in practice, research is complicated, nuanced, and iterative. When engaging in complex research, our questions rarely lead to clear, definitive answers. More often, the answers lead to more questions. That is what the Association of College and Research Libraries means when framing Research as Inquiry Links to an external site., where it is stated that “Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.”

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In inquiry, the more you learn about your topic, the more questions you will find yourself asking and the more you may find yourself going back to make adjustments along the way. If, as you begin searching, you find yourself having to go back to make changes to your inquiry question or your research plan, this doesn’t mean that there was a flaw in your research process. Rather, these adjustments are inherent parts of effective research. As you learn more about your topic, you should find yourself making adjustments. Flexibility and adaptability are key to being an effective researcher. In inquiry, even experts always have more to learn.

When engaging in inquiry as teachers, it is also important to remember that the goal is to ask a question that will ultimately help you to make thoughtful, informed decisions about an aspect of teaching practice that is meaningful to you. Teacher inquiry is not intended for quick and easy questions and answers about teaching; rather, it is about engaging in what Michelle Tanaka (2016) describes as "the practical complexities of learning." Tanaka (2016) also notes that, while one goal of inquiry is to learn something new about the nature of teaching and learning, this approach to research also invites reflection and reflexivity on the part of the teacher-researcher regarding their own position and current beliefs about teaching:

"While reflection involves looking carefully at teaching practice and how that practice affects students’ learning, reflexivity entails a deeper, more nuanced process that includes attention to one’s ontological and epistemological positioning. As an educator, I need to know what my beliefs are about the nature of existence and the nature of knowledge. What ground am I standing on? From where do my actions flow? What feeds my soul? What shapes my worldview? It is immensely practical for me to name and understand where I stand, as that in turn affects my beliefs, values, attitudes, and, ultimately, my actions.”

The best way to prepare yourself for this kind of complex inquiry is learning how to:

• Ask effective questions
• Develop a plan for searching that will help to answer those questions
• Understand which types of information sources will best help you find answers
• Identify the best places to search for those information sources and how best to search in those places

These steps will be our focus for the rest of this module.

 

Reference:

Tanaka, M. T. D. (2016). Learning and teaching together: Weaving Indigenous ways of knowing into education. UBC Press.