Unlocking research: To new possibilities

As well as being end users of published research, teachers are increasingly producers of research findings in their own right, whether in collaboration with external researchers, in school-based networks or within their own classrooms. Action research cycles and spirals are commonly used to implement, test and refine new initiatives in primary schools. Classroom observation is another, long-established tool for giving feedback on practice and can be a valuable way of prompting new thinking and reflection. A quick trawl of the social media site, Twitter, reveals the disquiet that some teachers and researchers feel about teachers engaging with, and in, research and we must acknowledge that unlocking research can place some additional demands on teachers. Dialogue in professional learning is seen as plural and inclusive, emphasising the teacher’s role in shaping (or inhibiting) learning opportunities for children but requiring professional agency and meta-level dialogue about dialogue.