From the Director of the Pymble Institute

Collaboration is key to building a research culture in a school. Stepping back from my own research and teaching areas, and looking across the broad landscape of Pymble Ladies’ College, it is inspiring to see how our research culture is developing.

This is boosted greatly by invitations to participate in transformative research which come our way and by partners and critical friends in the academic community who make contact to discuss plans before they are signed and sealed. Curious minds assist in opening discussion about what research will benefit a class, team or the entire College and widening the funnel to involve more people in the process brings greater diversity to the project itself.

What does this look like in action? Two examples are shared in this edition; one is an action research project being undertaken by Junior School teacher, Kate Giles, who is a Fellow of the Global Action Research Collaboration which is led by the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools. Read Kate’s article to see how her thinking is developing as she works towards setting her research question. The slow(ish) journey towards this important step is reinforcing how important it is that the researcher understands how the issue she wishes to research is understood by others in the community.  A second example is seen in the Pymble-UTS Data Science pilot project. The project is now in the analysis phase and is incorporating data in an iterative manner. The pace of this project is dynamic and exciting as it brings so many people together! The analysis is now in an important phase as it moves from students to staff, then loops back again to re-test and explore understandings, again, with the students and staff.

Throughout my PhD journey, which saw me explore the topic of how middle school girls use curriculum to plan their futures, a small post-it note sat on the wall: The quieter you become, the more you hear. This remains a motto in my everyday work as I assist others to research their projects and as I set the course for the College’s research priorities. In our collaborations, listening allows learning to flow. This is a key outcome of research in schools.