KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS
Working
together
Last year, Bedlingtonshire Community High
School embarked on a Knowledge Transfer
Partnership with the University of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne and Northumberland County
Council to help develop the independent learning capacity
of students. Teacher Victoria Bonner explains
radiTional Teaching models programme which supports innovation-led, three-way key premises of the project was the development of embedding the enquiry-based learning processes into
T
have focused on teachers leading the partnerships between businesses, academic institutions, “enquiry” skills – an area that the teachers needed to every day lesson plans. To enable this anna worked
class through question and answer and graduate associates – was instigated to support the gain a greater understanding of before the project could with teachers and pupils to develop an enquiry-based
sessions. Primarily this would rely new approach. be implemented at a pupil level. learning toolkit, which provided a framework for the
heavily on pupils responding to The KTP, Bedlingtonshire community high School, anna worked very closely with a core team of teaching of enquiry skills.
enquiries posed directly to them. and newcastle University teamed up with associate teachers to develop their understanding of how to The toolkit contained a number of enquiry-based
While this is an essential aspect of anna reid to facilitate the effective knowledge encourage students to become more enquiring in their teaching resources that proved extremely successful
teaching practice, there are substantial benefits that can exchange between all parties involved. With the project approach to their studies. when implemented in the classroom. a variety of
be achieved by turning the tables to encourage pupils to only half way towards completion it has already been This focused on looking at ways for teachers to different techniques within the toolkit could be adopted
think more intently about the questions they would like a great success. encourage pupils to become independent learners. across any given subject. one particular technique that
to ask about a particular subject. By relying less on the teacher dictating the enquiries initiated a very positive response from pupils was the
When Bedlingtonshire community high was
Developing the art of enquiry
within a classroom, the methods encouraged pupils to “inference Square”. This involved pupils placing a key
reviewing its curriculum aims in 2007/08 there was The aim of the project was to focus on developing take responsibility for their own learning. This would topic into a square and then required them to ask a series
a desire for a new and innovative approach to pupil the student’s capacity to act as independent learners therefore improve the student’s capacity for inquisition, of questions about that topic. as the task continued,
development, but in order to reflect these aims a and devise a method of assessing how well they which would in turn help them to think more broadly pupils were required to think of more and more abstract
relevant assessment framework was required. develop these skills. The first task was to educate the about the subject matter being taught. questions which enabled them to refine their learning
a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) – a teachers about this process. in particular, one of the The next step was to put the theory into practice by and think more inquisitively about the subject.
advertising feature
Living the American dream
Kate McLaren,
For my six month exchange, I was matched in a whole new set of skills and ideas which
up with a teacher from Pennsbury High School has benefited the students and I expect I have
Head of art at Bishop
in Pennsylvania, a school that was over four mirrored this through my teaching in the States.
times as large as Bishop’s with a diverse student As well as staying in touch with so many
population. Aside from the generic worries, there people from Pennsbury High School our ties
Wordsworth’s school
were also very different subject expectations. with the US have also been in an artistic vein.
Danyelle, my US exchange partner, had to get Both Danyelle and I asked our students to design
shares her experiences of
to grips with the KS3 National Curriculum as postcards which were then sent over to the US
well as both GCSE and A-Level syllabi, but and UK respectively so we could mount an
the fulbright programme
in the US, with no National Curriculum or ‘international’ exhibition of our student’s work.
exam structure, let alone target setting, I had We hope to maintain links with a possible visit
an (almost) completely free reign! There was or exchange to be planned in the future. The
very much a focus on producing final outcomes horizon certainly seems so much wider now.
‘
UT OF all my experiences, in Art, as opposed to working through all the If you would like to get involved with the
O
it is very hard to single out a processes from observation drawing, research Fulbright Teacher Exchange Programme, I suggest
highlight from my exchange to and development of an idea. But instead of you look at the British Council’s website and be
the USA, but I would say that taking this approach, the Art department at clear about your reasons for wanting to go.
two particular events come Pennsbury asked me to work as I would in Things will, on the whole, be much the same
to mind. The first was when the UK, which provided a very different set of once you return home, but you will be quite
one of my classes decided to outcomes to similar classes. We shared ideas, different!’
hold a surprise birthday breakfast for me - which techniques and introduced each other to artists
included making hot, fluffy pancakes in the we were familiar with. Established in 1946 and run by the British Council
classroom! The other was being in Washington The best aspect of the whole experience was in collaboration with the US Department of
for the inauguration of Barack Obama. meeting such wonderful people. The staff at the State, the Fulbright UK/US Teacher Exchange
Being in the US over the election period was school were very friendly and ensured that I was programme offers outstanding UK teachers the
certainly both very thrilling and enlightening; invited along to school and staff events; such opportunity to trade places with an American
you really could not help but get carried away as the affectionately known ‘E Period’ at one teacher. Each academic year, around thirty
with the swell of feeling and the excitement that of the local bars, going to a Phillies game and teachers from the UK have the opportunity to
came with the country voting in their first black learning how to ‘wave my towel’ in support of conduct research, study, live and work in the USA
president. It was emotional for a lot of people, my adopted team – which must have worked as for up to one academic year.
even us temporary residents! they then went on to win the World Series. The Fulbright Programme not only provides
I never believed I would have the chance Since I arrived back in the UK, I’ve had a unique professional development opportunity
to encounter these experiences. I had been a lot of time to reflect on my experiences as for the teacher but the whole school can also
a teacher at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in a Fulbright teacher. From a personal point of benefit as there is enormous potential for
Salisbury since 2002 in a thriving and supportive view I have made some terrific new friends broadening pupils’ perspectives on the wider
department and while enjoying my job as Head and had a really enriching time abroad, and it’s world by developing enduring links with the
of Art, I was feeling in need of a challenge in these experiences alongside my experiences in a lot more challenges in my professional life is American school.
my life. So having researched the Fulbright school that have brought me back with more really rewarding. For more information, please visit our website
programme and applied to the British Council, I confidence and self esteem. To have achieved Coming back into school, I can see that the at www.britishcouncil.org/learning-fulbright.
then found myself travelling 4000 miles west to all that I have in a relatively short space of time students Danyelle has taught have also gained For queries, contact the Fulbright team at
teach in a completely different country. has been tremendous and to know that I can face from the exchange programme. She brought Fulbright@britishcouncil.org.
british council.indd 6 8/5/09 16:45:07
18 SecEd • May 14 2009
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