and ideas that become the basis for deep classroom discussions and the collaborative construction of knowledge. In each case, from Grades Four through Eight, there has been documented improvement in student reading, writing, and thinking. Moreover, teachers have seen increased motivation and self-direction, most evident in the original ideas that students are generating with both pride and excitement.
• Another affinity group focused on a group of students they all taught in common. Their shared inquiry was driven by a desire to see these students become increasingly responsible for their learning. As one teacher described it:“ My goal was to promote key skills such as becoming natural thinkers, inquirers, curious learners and communicators; students who take charge of their learning process.” Each teacher in this group had a unique approach but with a common focus on developing feedback processes that helped students reflect on their motivation; their interactions with teacher, fellow students, and the learning content; and their learning practices. For these teachers, through the process of observing each other’ s classrooms, analyzing the data they collected, and processing their thinking, together they advanced their practices, developing new strategies and reworking former approaches to much better effect. The results have been positive.
These are just some brief examples of the work that a dozen teachers have been doing over the past 12 months. Their teaching has changed, and student learning has improved. All of these teachers have adopted what some researchers have identified as“ Inquiry as Stance,” which means embracing our profession as a clinical profession, in which reflective practice takes what we know from research in the learning sciences and applies it to classroom learning in a research-oriented approach.
Saint David’ s School justifiably prides itself on its unique abilities to address the learning needs of boys, with a clear mission in mind. These abilities are hard earned, developed by teachers in the context of ongoing professional development. Our recent work as teachers in reflective practice builds on the TBI foundation and carries us forward. These forms of teacher learning are necessary in the context of the present and a rapidly changing future; they define the dedicated work of our clinical profession. It is important to recognize that whether we are coaching students on the soccer field, helping them to write persuasive essays or to speak Spanish fluently, our teaching is defined by modes of engagement that hold students to the highest expectations, cognitively and emotionally, asking them to practice the very qualities that are the characteristics of good men. •
Ric Campbell with Tori Gilbert, Research Coordinator, and Jamie MacNeille, Director of Teaching and Learning
Ric Campbell is a resident scholar for the Teaching Boys Initiative at Saint David’ s School. He is Founder and Former Dean of the teacher-education program( Master of Arts) at Bard College. Ric is the Design and Lead for our new Teacher Collaborative Research Program. A graduate of the Harvard University School of Education, Doctor of Education( Ed. D) program in Teaching and Learning, Dr. Campbell brings a wealth of experience as a curriculum developer, master teacher program consultant, and educational director to our Teaching Boys Initiative.
18 • Saint David’ s Magazine