Abstract

The INSTEP Initiative (Strengthening In-Service Teacher Education Project, 2005 - 2008) was a New Zealand Ministry of Education funded research and development project about the professional learning and practice of advisers, facilitators, resource teachers, and other inservice teacher educators. The project involved drawing on current best evidence, and generating, using and disseminating new knowledge about what constitutes effective inservice teacher education practice. Within her role as one of the national facilitators of the INSTEP project, the author worked with a team of five regional facilitators from Victoria University, Wellington; who each worked with an additional team of five inservice teacher educators. During the project, the facilitators engaged in collaborative inquiry and evidence based practice and adopted new technologies as appropriate to gather and analyse data, critically reflect on practice and to present findings. They explored current literature relating to aspects of their practice and developed analysis frameworks which they used in an endeavor to critically reflect on and improve their practice with teachers. This paper will reflect on the successes and challenges experienced by the participants in the exploratory phase of the project, and highlight some future implications for professional learning environments and contexts for inservice teacher educators.