Facilitating undergraduate students assessment for learning through the use of appreciative inquiry

The paper reports on the use of appreciative inquiry as one form of action research and its application to undergraduate teaching and learning. The research explores how peer collaboration can help to create and develop students‘ investigations into early years settings to deepen their understanding of good practice in English early years settings. It focuses on the delivery of one undergraduate module in early childhood studies which provides third level students with an opportunity to investigate practice in early years settings. Perceptions of quality in early years are complex and can be understood by examining practices which focus on children‘s early learning and development. A model for learning about practice has been developed which is adapted from the stages used in appreciative inquiry based on discovery, dream and design. The use of this model supported students‘ use of observations of practice to review their understanding of what constitutes quality provision.