Action learning cycles

Leader story

Chris Clurey
Assistant Principal
St Brigid’s Primary School
Nerang Cluster

At St Brigid’s School we wanted to develop our mathematical pedagogy and this was facilitated by the curriculum leaders through an Action Learning Cycles (ALC) approach. Lingard, et al. (2003) commented:

… productive leadership encourages intellectual debates and discussions about the purposes, nature and content of a quality education; promotes critical reflection on practices; sponsors action research within the school; and seeks to ensure that this intellectual work connects with the concerns of teachers, students, parents and the broader educational community. Such leadership also ensures that teachers, and others working within schools, are provided with the support structures necessary to engage in intellectual discussions about their work, to reflect on the reform processes within their schools, as well as their pedagogical and assessment practices. (pg. 20)

The ALC approach allowed teachers at St Brigid’s School to develop their mathematical pedagogy in response to the particular needs and demands of the site. It also provided a structure for ongoing professional learning and development that evolved in response to the issues and ideas that were brought to light in each cycle.

The approach was a collaborative one and the teachers involved worked together and were supported by the curriculum leaders as they sought to develop their mathematical pedagogy. The teachers who participated came from a variety of levels across the school and their participation was voluntary. In the table below the first two cycles are summarised.