| This phenomenological case study describes how veteran PDS teachers, who are committed to an inquiry stance toward teaching and who work in PDS sites intended as cultures of inquiry, understand teacher inquiry and how they live it (or how it is played out) in their professional lives. Within this study, teacher inquiry is defined as systematic and deliberate inquiry involving data, analysis, and eventual change. The purpose of this dissertation research was to understand and describe the experience of teacher inquiry through the perceptions of teachers who work in a local Professional Development School partnership and self-identify as living an inquiry stance toward teaching. Data from this study focused on two main questions: "What does inquiry mean?" and "What are the relationships between inquiry and the environment?" This dissertation is written as acts in a play to respect the fact that the participants, PDS teachers, are living this drama of teacher inquiry and the researcher is writing their stories to inform a wider audience of teachers, teacher educators and educational researchers.;Findings pertaining to what inquiry means as well as what the relationships are between inquiry and the environment lead to a discussion of four themes: (1) Teacher inquiry is made up of interactive forms. (2) Teacher inquiry consists of simultaneous growth for teachers and students. (3) Teacher inquiry is enhanced in professional learning communities where uncertainty and dialogue are embraced and appreciated. (4) Teacher inquiry and this PDS partnership context have an explicit connection even though there are varying degrees of participation. Additionally, data analysis demonstrated evidence of inherent tensions in these PDS teachers' stories and shared understandings of teacher inquiry. Tensions include: (1) Visibility---Invisibility; (2) Conceptual---Procedural Understandings; (3) External---Internal; (4) Individual---Collective Agency; (5) Researcher Tension: Inside---Outside.;When teachers live an inquiry stance, they have the potential to add to the knowledge base on teaching, improve learning opportunities for themselves and their students, and impact educational and social change in their local and global communities. |
