I believe that carrying out an inquiry into engagement in Key Stage 4
Drama and English has given me invaluable skills that will help me to continue
of my professional development. Although a challenging process, I find great
satisfaction in returning to the beginning of Module 1 and considering how my
thinking and approach to learning has changed almost unrecognisably.
I now understand that relying purely on tacit knowledge (Moon, 2004)
would not have been sufficient to develop my professional practices. I have
come to realise that I had formed many preconceptions (Questioning My Assumptions) in my practices to
date, concluding that students were more engaged in Drama compared to English.
However, carrying out this inquiry has impelled me to examine beyond the
surface level and delve deeper into the wider context of my profession, resulting
in a shift in my perceptions.
Before undertaking the inquiry, I
believed that engagement was an easily definable term used regularly by all
teachers. However, I have found that the definition of ‘engagement’ varies
depending on the purpose of the researcher or practitioner (Christenson, Reschly and Wylie, 2012). There are common themes that run between
the ‘definitions’ of engagement, but there is not one singular definition,
suggesting that engagement is a concept that is structured around the beliefs
of the practitioners.
I also believed that ‘engaged
students’ were students who completed work that had been set without any
displaying and poor behaviour. Now, I have realised through the literature and
my observations that I was focusing on the idea of ‘behavioral engagement’ and
in fact engagement is a multifaceted-construct consisting of affective
(emotional), behavioral and cognitive engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld and
Paris 2004). I now believe that engaged students show enjoyment towards their
work, which practitioners promote through task variety
and group work, utilising effective teacher-student-relationships (Furrer and
Skinner 2003), autonomy support (Jang, Reeve and Deci, 2012) and modeling and
classroom environment to build confidence, manifesting itself in planning.
Developing and accomplishing an inquiry alongside working full time has
been a challenging process, yet Module 3 has enabled me to understand the
concepts behind work based learning much more clearly. I struggled to
comprehend in previous modules that there were no definitive ‘answers’ in the
course. On countless occasions, I have tried to ‘tick all the boxes’ and cover
all possible outcomes. Yet, I now understand that there are no ‘answers’ in
work-based learning and the real successes arise through making learning
meaningful within my own workplace context. Through discussions with my BAPP
Arts network, I now appreciate that Kolb’s (1984)
learning cycle is comparable to the Module 3 inquiry development; I have accepted
that the cycle of clarity to non-clarity is continuous and necessary
to the course of learning.
As a result, I have found that professional
development is not recreating the practices of my colleagues or BAPP Arts peers,
but in fact adapting and utilising approaches, strategies and tasks in
effective ways for my own professional practices. This progression has been
aided by the use of a professional network, something that I was dubious to use
during previous modules. I now find that I relish the communication and
discussion among BAPP Arts peers and I have more confidence in using my wider professional
network. I have tried to portray this understanding and developing confidence
through my artefact, using the professional networking site TES to upload my own
lesson plan resource.
I feel equipped to continue my professional
development through the independent study skills I have learnt on the BAPP Arts
course: networking, reflective practices, critical thinking and theoretical
knowledge. I plan to utilise the skills I have developed in carrying out an
independent inquiry in addition to the knowledge and understanding I have
gained into engagement as a fundamental foundation of teaching. Significantly,
I realise that the continuation of these skills will be key in developing into
the assured practitioner that I aspire to become.
Reference List:
Christenson, S. L., Reschly A. L.
and Wylie, C. (2012) ‘Epilogue’, in Christenson, S. L., Reschly,
A. L and Wylie, C. (eds.) Handbook of
Research on Student Engagement. London: Springer, pp. 813-817.
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C.
and Paris A. H. (2004) ‘School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of
the Evidence’ Review of Educational
Research, 74 (1), 59-109
Furrer, C. and Skinner, E. (2003)
‘Sense of Relatedness as a Factor in Children’s Academic Engagement and
Performance’ Journal of Education
Psychology, 95 (1), 148-162
Jang, H., Reeve, J. and Deci, E. L.
(2010) ‘Engaging Students in Learning Activities: It Is Not Autonomy Support or
Structure but Autonomy Support and Structure’ Journal of Educational Psychology, 102 (3), 588-600
Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential
Learning. Englewood NJ: Prentice Hall.
Moon. J.
A. (2004) Reflection in Learning and
Professional Development: Theory and Practice. Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer.
