Reflections on Research: From Intuition to Intention
Welcome to the December 2020 edition of Teaching & Learning. Now falling under the purview of the Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education (CCBE), this newsletter is a perfect complement to CCBE’s focus on professional learning and research. Dedicated to discovering how boys learn best, the CCBE elevates the role of research in our school and fosters a community of inquiry, particularly through action research, to inform our practice.
Action research is a systematic inquiry into one’s teaching practice. It is conducted by teachers, administrators, counsellors, or others with a vested interest in the teaching and learning process or environment. Researchers gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, or how their students learn. The goal is to understand and potentially improve upon these constructs with simple, practical, repeatable processes of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that lead to increasingly better results for schools, teachers, and programs.
We have learned that one of the most effective ways for teachers to adopt best practices is to have those best practices come from within their school. Crescent educators are leaders in teaching and learning practices for boys; celebrating and supporting this work is a priority. Our students thrive when they know their teachers are working with them towards a shared goal. This positivity has encouraged our faculty to reflect, explore and change their practice. “From intuition to intention” is a phrase our teacher-researchers use to guide their research journey.
In keeping with Crescent’s strategic direction, the CCBE has three areas of focus: character, wellbeing, and the pedagogies of active, experiential, and relational learning. We are also intent upon furthering a school culture that prioritizes diversity, inclusion and belonging. I would like to draw your attention to three of our most recent initiatives that CCBE is undertaking.
First, Crescent School is partnering with Dr. Denise Pope of Challenge Success, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education, to administer a staff and student climate survey. Crescent has been working with Challenge Success since 2017 and we value their broad definition of success and research-based strategies that promote student wellbeing and engagement with learning. The survey findings will provide the crucial information we need to plan for next year.
Second, CCBE has introduced student researchers into our community of practice. Currently,12 boys in Grade 10 at Crescent are working with the School Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC). Crescent is the only Canadian school invited to participate in this program, which is run through the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives at the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Dr. Michael Reichert. It is a deliberate attempt to empower student agency and allow the voices of our boys to recommend, implement and track the impact of the conclusions of their research. You can read more about SPARC and the boys’ research project in this newsletter.
Finally, we are excited to announce the members of the inaugural CCBE Advisory Panel. These extraordinary educators will provide us with invaluable guidance as we plot our strategic direction. Visit the CCBE website or read the newsletter to learn more about them.
Crescent School continues to benefit from the purposeful and intentional impact of action research findings on our practice. This journey has elevated many aspects of our faculty’s experience and professional development. Our ability to make sound decisions regarding the school’s direction is consistently improving as we apply our learnings from research. We anticipate that it will be evidence-based research, particularly from our staff and student researchers, that will lead the way for Crescent to flourish in the years ahead.
Dr. Sandra Boyes is Executive Director of Professional Learning & Research and Head of Lower School at Crescent.
Learn more about the CCBE.
Dr. Sandra Boyes is Executive Director of Professional Learning & Research and Head of Lower School at Crescent.
Learn more about the CCBE.
