The Practitioner Research Cycle

Vital Model Courses are based on the Practitioner Research Cycle as shown in the diagram below.

You will no doubt already be familiar with the notion of reflective practice, which typically has four stages:

• Identify needs
• Plan
• Do
• Reflect.

The Practitioner Research Cycle extends that by adding in two further stages:

• Find out
• Share.

‘Find out’ involves investigating what the wider education community knows about how to address identified needs (in order to help learn from other people’s prior experience and avoid re-inventing the wheel).

In the ‘Share’ stage you pass on what you have learnt to the wider community so that they in turn can benefit from your experiences and expertise. (This is then mediated by a process of peer review before becoming an established part of the education communities’ shared knowledge base.)

This cycle draws on, and develops, personal and professional knowledge bases (Pers KB and Prof KB in the diagram). The latter is the knowledge that underlies professional practice in education, and is reflected in the literature, resources, policies and other materials that are used to inform practice.

This course will explicitly follow the stages of the Practitioner Research Cycle, starting with identifying needs and moving through to sharing your learning (initially within your course group). Throughout the course icons will indicate the stage of the cycle being addressed.