Connecting Inquiry and Practice - Lessons Learned From a Multi-Year Professional Learning Partnership Initiative

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

A multi-year professional learning partnership initiative at the University of Toronto’s Initial Teacher Education Program (since 2002) is examined through an inquiry-oriented, collaborative approach connecting university instructors with K-12 educators. The article outlines key features and principles, explaining how the series moves beyond traditional transmission models toward responsive, contextually grounded professional learning. It addresses challenges, lessons learned, and outcomes while emphasizing high-quality professional learning that supports teaching and learning under changing, complex educational pressures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Inquiry Into Practice Series

Core principles

3 Connecting Inquiry and Practice: Lessons Learned From a Multi-Year Professional Learning Partnership Initiative Carol Rolheiser, Mark Evans, Mira Gambhir, & Kathy Broad University of Toronto Since 2002 the Initial Teacher Education Program atthe Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, has run a series of professional learning partnership projects between university instructors and K-12 educators. The Inquiry Into Practice Series, based on a collaborative inquiry approach, has strengthened the commitment to program principles and benefited the participants by deepening understanding about a range of educational questions and issues and improving practice. In this article we review keyfeatures andprinciples of this multi-year initiative and discuss challenges, lessons learned, and outcomes. We also provide reflections regarding the importance of high quality professional learning models that support teaching and learning and that are responsive to changing and complex educational pressures and contexts both in higher education and K-12 education. Introduction Current research indicates that teaching is becoming increasingly complex and that teachers need to continue to learn, be adaptive, build a sophisticated pedagogical repertoire, integrate different kinds of knowledge and apply emerging research for varying purposes (Bransford, Darling-Hammond & LePage, 2005; Gopinathan et al., 2008; Halliwell, J., 2008; Turner-Bisset, 2001) . Not surprisingly, there has been increasing attention to the essential role of deliberate, ongoing, high quality professional learning that is responsive to change and the challenges of today’s classrooms (Berliner, 2005; Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Knight, 2011; Lieberman & Wilkins, 2006) . Effective professional learning is viewed as essential in helping teachers unlock student potential (Broad & Evans, 2006; Learning Forward, 2011; Ramsden, 2003) . Fullan, Hill, and Crevola (2006), for example, claim that professional learning that focuses on contextually-based, personalized, inquirydriven instruction is critical to successful educational reform that will improve and sustain learning for students and teachers alike. Professional learning may include such approaches as study groups, action research, lesson study, online learning networks, differentiated certification and incentives, and graduate programs. While these approaches appear to have some efficacy, there is a growing consensus that other factors (e.g., context, learner differences) must be carefully considered in designing high quality professional learning. The limited results of infrequent, poorly designed and/or inadequately delivered, often “one size fits all” approaches to teachers’ professional learning, is well documented: “Nothing has promised so much and been so frustratingly wasteful as the thousands of workshops and conferences that led to no significant change in practice when teachers returned to their classrooms” (Fullan, 1991, p. 315) . Those approaches to professional learning are no longer sufficient and the need for more inquiryoriented, responsive, and sustainable models is clear. This article describes a professional learning partnership initiative implemented in a university teacher education program designed to provide university instructors and K-12 educational partners with opportunities to craft inquiry-oriented, collaborative, and contextually-based professional learning projects. This article reviews key features and principles of this multi-year initiative and discusses challenges, lessons learned, and outcomes. The Inquiry Into Practice Series In 2002, the Inquiry Into Practice Series was initiated by the Associate Dean of Teacher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. One of the goals was to provide meaningful professional learning opportunities for higher education teacher educators and school partners through

FAQs

What is the Inquiry Into Practice Series and when was it initiated?

It is a multi-year professional learning partnership series initiated in 2002 by the Associate Dean of Teacher Education at OISE, University of Toronto.

What core purpose drives the initiative’s design?

It links instructor, teacher, and student learning to personal and institutional or system-wide goals while emphasizing collaboration and inquiry-oriented professional projects.

How does the article characterize traditional professional learning approaches?

It notes limited results from infrequent, poorly designed, and “one size fits all” models, highlighting wasteful conferences and workshops that do not change practice after teachers return to classrooms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa