Spiral of inquiry: leaders leading learning

This resource promotes the leadership of collaborative, evidence-informed inquiry in ways that keep learners’ progress at the centre. It provides field-tested tools and ideas to support leaders and teachers to apply spirals of inquiry, learning and action with their learners.

What is in this resource

This resource will help you to get started with the spiral of inquiry, learning and action, keep going and check whether you are making a difference.

For each phase of the spiral, it describes:

the inquiry question central to the phase
the essence of the mindset
the number 1 rule – or most important aspect
leadership challenges
practical tools
stories from the field.

Navigating this resource

There are three ways to navigate through this resource:

the left-hand menu
the table of contents on the right-hand side of pages
links at the end of pages.

The spiral of inquiry, learning and action

Linda Kaser talks about the phases of the spiral and how they work in practice.

Transcript

Acknowledgements

This resource was developed by Helen Timperley with the Ministry of Education. It builds on:

the work of the Professional Learning and Development (PLD) advisory group
the work of the OECD on innovative learning environments
the work of Helen Timperley, Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert on the spiral of inquiry, learning and action.

Innovative learning environments (OECD)

The 2015 OECD publication Schooling redesigned: Towards innovative learning systems features the work of Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert in British Columbia on the spiral of inquiry, learning and action as one of the major international learning labs that illustrate what student and professional learning should look like in the future.

Schooling redesigned: Towards innovative learning systems – OECD website

In 2017 the OECD produced a handbook from its decade-long project on innovative learning environments. It contains concise overviews and tools. The four chapters are: The learning principles; The innovative learning environment framework; Learning leadership and evaluative thinking; and Transformation and change.

The OECD handbook for innovative learning environments – OECD website

The spiral of inquiry, learning and action

A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Timperley, H. Kaser, L. and Halbert, J. – Extends the cycle of inquiry to the spiral of inquiry and provides a model for long-term professional learning in schools.

The spiral playbook. Kaser, L. and Halbert, J. c21canada.org. – Describes professional inquiry that aims to transform how educators learn and lead – with teams and across networks.