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Cornwall Research School Podcast Ep.5
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by Cornwall Research School
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Director of Cornwall Research School
John has been a teacher for 24 years, the last 19 in Cornwall. He currently works as an Assistant Principal at Mounts Bay Academy, Penzance. He is also the Content Lead for Secondary Literacy for RS Network. Click here to read more.
“Fictive High School, nestled in a quiet town, was once known for its vibrant community and dedicated staff. However, over the years, the schools professional development efforts have become a source of frustration and disappointment for many of the teachers. Every year, the SLT at Fictive High organise an INSET PD day at the beginning of the school year. The sessions throughout the day are led by external ‘experts’ who deliver generic presentations on broad educational topics. Staff agree that these sessions are usually disconnected from the specific needs and contexts of the teachers at Fictive High. After the initial INSET day, no additional sessions or support mechanisms are put in place to help teachers implement what they had learned. Teachers are left to their own devices, with no opportunities for coaching, mentoring, or collaborative planning. As a result, many of the strategies and ideas introduced during INSET days are quickly forgotten and never make it into the classroom.”
Whilst the imaginary scenario above might sound awfully poor practice, I am sure we can all recall moments when initiatives were launched with a “Train and Pray” approach. The EEF Guidance Report on Effective Professional Development states: “High quality teaching improves pupil outcomes and effective professional development offers a crucial tool to develop teaching quality and subsequently enhance children’s outcomes in the classroom. Indeed, the review underpinning this guidance found that professional development, on average, has a positive effect on pupil attainment across early years, primary, and secondary contexts.”
When thinking about effective professional development, I have found it useful to consider three definitions:
Forms of PD – which are types or categories of PD. They are defined by a set of common characteristics. Examples would include Teacher Learning Communities, Instructional Coaching, lesson studies, workshops, seminars etc.
PD Programmes – which are specific sets of activities and materials. Activities are sometimes clearly specified in a manual and resource pack, while the programme may have a specific brand name. An example would be the Embedding Formative Assessment programme from the SSAT with William and Leahy.
Mechanisms – these are the core building blocks of a programme. They are observable, can be replicated, and could not be removed without making that PD less effective. Crucially, mechanisms are supported by evidence from research on human behaviour they have been found, in contexts beyond teaching, to change practice.
The mechanisms can be placed into 4 groups (see image below)
A key finding of the review underpinning the guidance report was that the more mechanisms a PD programme had, the greater the impact on pupil attainment.
When thinking about designing professional development in school’s, leaders should consider building a programme that consists of structured and facilitated activity for teachers intended to increase their teaching ability. This will include different forms of PD activity. But leaders must ensure that as many mechanisms are planned into the programme as possible, balanced across the four groups.
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Cornwall Research School Podcast Ep.5
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