Working as Consultants on School‐based Teacher‐identified Problems

ABSTRACT

This paper examines ways in which two university lecturers worked with a group of teachers in a secondary school to help them address an issue which the teachers identified as problematic, namely that of meeting the needs of individual learners in their teaching. Within an action research stance adopted by the lecturers, the group together were able to work towards a manageable and acceptable solution to a part of this problem by developing materials which were, largely, within a mastery learning framework. These materials were developed in areas which were identified as cross‐curricular in nature. By working in these areas, teachers were able to address the issue of transfer of learning from one curriculum area to another, which was another aspect of teaching which they identified as problematic. Whilst an examination of the success or otherwise of those materials is not within the scope of this paper, what does emerge here provides insights into the ways in which school‐based research can be carried out with university lecturers acting as consultants.