Improving existing teachers

Challenges and opportunities BESA Annual Business Insights Day 2013

About this presentation David Weston - @informed_edu Chief Executive, Teacher Development Trust.

Former teacher, data consultant, author, Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Education Teacher Development Trust - @TeacherDevTrust http://TDTrust.org/ The national charity for effective professional development in schools and colleges

Why Professional Development?

40,000 new teachers per year, of which 50% don’t make it past year 5.

England

Around 450 000 Existing Teachers Need to focus on changing existing workforce

@informed_edu

Most training: minimal impact 1

CPD quality

Not transformative Transformative 99

Poor evaluation 7

CPD impact on learning

Not evaluated Evaluated 93 (This is very hard to do well in any case)

What can CPD do?

Effect of teaching on students in years of progress Average student Poor teaching Disadvantaged student Highly effective teaching 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1 1,2 1,4 1,6 Source: Sutton Trust (2011)

Unleashing Talent: the key to school success Ensuring an orderly and safe environment Leading teacher learning and development Ensuring quality teaching Resourcing strategically Establishing goals and expectations 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 Effect Size 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 Source: Robinson (2009)

A confusion of CPD methods • • • • • • • • Lectures Online training Away-day courses Masters study TeachMeets Twitter Lesson Study Video observation • • • • • • • Good practice newsletters and boards Coaching Case studies Teacher research Read books / printed guides Online forums Workshops

TDT • • Founded 2012 by teachers Focuses on improving the way teachers train and use evidence to improve: – Policy makers – Media – CPD providers – Schools and teachers

Media

Providers & Schools • free national database of training with reviews, linked to Research in to closing the gap.

• Quality through guidance, codes of practice, teacher reviews.

National School Network • A national membership network of schools and colleges looking to share and develop world-leading professional development and evidence-based innovation.

• In-depth support for highly effective collaborative approaches to training.

• Launched, July 2013 in the Houses of Parliament

CPD – what does the research say?

• • • Worst ideas (if used by themselves):

Sending individuals on one-off generic courses without wider learning process Whole staff lectures (either external consultants or enthusiastic members of staff) Distributing printed guidance

CPD – what does the research say?

• • • • • • • • The best CPD needs to be:

Aspirational Learning-focused Collaborative Relevant & differentiated Sustained and cycled Evaluated Challenging as well as informative Lead by example

Applying this in practice • • •

Aspirational & Learning focused

Ensure buy-in: inspiration, aspiration, belief Begin with a clear identification/audit of pupils’ needs and existing skills Make the CPD process about dealing with specific misconceptions, addressing gaps, building on strengths for specific pupils

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Applying this in practice • • •

Collaborative

Regular group meetings to discuss curriculum and planning together Individual as well as group accountability Work together on assessments; use evidence from lessons to discuss how to improve learning.

Applying this in practice • • • •

Relevant and differentiated

Staff learning should relate to current classes, where possible Differentiate support after auditing staff members’ needs Give choice where possible Make the underlying rationale clear

Applying this in practice • •

Sustained and cycled

Unless an idea is the focus of CPD for at least two terms/six months (30 – 50 hours), it is unlikely to have sustained impact.

Come back to key ideas and work on them in subsequent years/terms – use spaced learning concepts.

Applying this in practice • • •

Evaluated

Monitor success: baselines and on-going formative assessments + individual conversations, surveys, pupil feedback, observations, etc.

Regularly review staff needs as they develop Evaluate any external support on its effect on teaching and learning as well as on teachers

Applying this in practice

STOP

??

• •

Challenging as well as Informative

CPD must ensure staff face up to preconceptions Departmental coaching/mentoring systems can ensure misconceptions and misunderstandings are challenged and addressed

Challenges • • • • • Time External input and feedback Access to research and best practice Evaluation tools Collaboration tools

Opportunities • • • • • • • Online repositories of information Evaluation services Assessment tools Video coaching Exemplar videos Communities of practice Mechanisms for sharing of practice

Get in touch [email protected]

@informed_edu @TeacherDevTrust @NTENetwork @GoodCPDGuide http://www.TDTrust.org/NTEN http://www.GoodCPDGuide.com/ 020 7250 8276