6 Disseminating your research

Classrooms can be private places in which a teacher and the class get on with the business of teaching and learning. If you undertake a piece of research in your classroom and discover something exciting then your instinct will be to tell people and to perhaps do a presentation at a departmental meeting. People might listen with interest, but it will not necessarily change their behaviour.

David Frost (2006) argues that you have to plan for impact. An effective way to do this is to work collaboratively from the outset. Involve colleagues in your plans, invite them into your classroom and engage them in discussion about aspects of your project. In this way your department will become a ‘learning community’ and you are likely to get some help with your work.