Conversing about research with confidence

How can we engage busy teachers with research? This is a creative question we ask at Pymble and it’s one we know is relevant to colleagues in other schools. Victoria Adamovich, the Research Assistant for the Pymble Institute, has been piloting a new initiative called the Research Conversations Club. It is currently running amongst our Junior School staff and is opening up conversations in, and confidence, with research.

We know that teachers want to read more widely in their field and they want to wrestle with the world of research but there are many competing priorities on a teacher’s plate, as well as school-driven initiatives that fill up staff days and professional learning time. It can be hard to find a space to read and discuss research.

What are we trying with our Junior School team? “Essentially, it’s like a ‘bookclub’. This way everyone understands the format”, explains Victoria. Each month, a research article is shared with Junior School teachers, along with a succinct summary of the article’s key points and a set of discussion questions. The club meets in the staff room and discussion begins with those who pop by. The atmosphere is low-stakes and friendly. Even if teachers have not had time to read the article, they can bring their lunch and listen to the conversation.

The following readings have been chosen around two of the College’s strategic pillars, as examples of a way to approach reading journals in a learning context:

Digital Intelligence Topic: Robotics: Platforms, Competitions and Expected Learning Outcomes

S. Evripidou, K. Georgiou, L. Doitsidis, A. A. Amanatiadis, Z. Zinonos and S. A. Chatzichristofis, “Educational Robotics: Platforms, Competitions and Expected Learning Outcomes,” in IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 219534-219562, 2020, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3042555.

Academic Intelligence Topic: Tutoring. Does Inequality Stay in the Shadow? The Cross-national Effects of Educational Equity on Private Tutoring and Student Achievement

Wiseman, A. W. (2021). Does Inequality Stay in the Shadow? The Cross-national Effects of Educational Equity on Private Tutoring and Student Achievement. International Journal of Educational Research, 109, 101808-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101808