CPD
The Teacher Learning Academy has reached 17,000
teachers, but with the closure of the GTCE, it has now been sold. Lynne Pearce explains
Academy (TLA) has become embedded in hundreds of schools throughout England. Under the leadership of the GTCE, the TLA offered
L
teachers an opportunity to gain public recognition for the professional learning and innovation taking place in their classrooms every day. Its flexible framework, coupled with academic rigour and accessibility has proved popular with teachers. To date, 17,000 have enrolled, with many more benefiting as a result of their school’s participation. In 2009, the National Foundation for Educational
Research carried out qualitative research investigating the TLA’s impact. Focusing on 30 TLA presentations and 18 detailed school case studies, their research demonstrates that taking part has an immediate and continuing positive impact on teachers’ practice, pupils’ learning and overall school improvement. These impacts often extended beyond completion of
the teacher’s original project, exceeding expectations. Indeed evidence points to continuing advances in practice and school improvement up to two years after work has been completed. The evaluation report, published in 2009, said:
“Many schools reported that TLA involvement had rekindled a sense of excitement and discovery about teaching and learning in the classroom, alongside a similar buzz in the staffroom.”
Talking CPD: Phil Parker Time to ride the carousel
Former school leader Phil Parker considers using a
competency-based model for curriculum development and CPD
HOW MANY of you have ridden the “carousel” during the training days which kick off the new academic year? It’s the perfect device to get your exemplary
practitioners to share their work with other people. They demonstrate their ideas while remaining staff visit their “stands” in the hope they go away with new ideas or have their minds opened to new possibilities. This training model is like a carousel. It has
a hub, out of which come the spokes. The hub represents the school’s goals while the spokes are the exemplary practice to achieve those goals. Part of the reason I love my job as an educational
consultant is because I get to experience exciting curriculum development across the country. Last term, one of our schools used the carousel as the basis for its training day. Tupton Hall School in Derbyshire is a highly innovative and exciting place. Its assistant head in charge of staff development, Mark Fairbrother, asked for people to showcase their practice. He received 25 volunteers – a quarter of the staff! The goal at Tupton is to continue to develop
innovative teaching so they produce learners that are not “spoon-fed” but operate with greater independence, initiative and drive. This was why they began using a paradigm based on a competency- based curriculum. It is the competencies which act as the “hub” for
not only staff development, but school improvement too. The innovative methodologies demonstrated in their carousel were all born out of four skills – Team, Reflective, Independent and Creative Learning, a
variation on the personal, learning and thinking skills. The 25 staff showed how they used these skills in their subject area to achieve the goals the school had set itself. The major success factor in this model arises
from all staff, both presenters and audience, using the same concepts to achieve the improvement in methodologies. They were all speaking the same language of common skills. This is the beauty of driving improvement
through a competency-based model of teaching and learning; it is content-free, skills-rich. My problem with the carousel model in the past was those people who react with the words: “Just how am I supposed to use that in my subject?” When the presenter is showing a skill, it has
a commonality which applies to everyone in the audience. This is why so many people were willing to present, they realise their idea can benefit what others are doing. Let me give you two examples. Creative learning – using the “6 Degrees of
Separation” concept to create imaginative links between one topic and another: PE used oxygen and the 100 metres race. This use of a competency like problem-solving is a great way to reinforce or challenge prior learning. Independent learning (and team) – “Running
Dictation” modelled by languages staff where one person goes to the teacher’s table, reads a chunk of text and must ensure they fully comprehend it before going back to their team and dictating it. In these two examples, I’ve used techniques
which are broad enough to apply to any subject. The point is this: it isn’t the technique that matters so much as all the teachers recognising they use the same method to achieve a common goal. This is a great way to improve teaching and
learning; the carousel model isn’t just offering a few ideas people can try out. It is creating an holistic approach which everyone
– teachers and learners – can use and understand. Because, let’s face it, for any school improvement to really work, it has to be understood by students as well as the staff.
• Phil Parker is a former school leader who now runs Student Coaching Ltd. He returns next month. Email
philparker@studentcoaching.co.uk
PASSION CONNECTION SUPPORT PROTECTION VOICE
AUNCHED AS a pilot scheme in 2004 by the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), working in partnership with local education authorities and universities in Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield, the Teacher Learning
Future of the TLA However, the government’s abolition of the GTCE
cast a long shadow over the TLA’s future, but a year on and an alternative home has been found. From this autumn, a consortium of higher education
institutions from the Cathedrals Group will run the TLA, having bought its intellectual property assets following an open sale. This includes the TLA brand, its framework, resources and web pages. The consortium of 11 universities and colleges,
all with church foundations, has a long-standing commitment to teachers’ education and CPD. Already the group has met with teachers to discuss ideas for the future, says Professor Margaret Noble, who is principal of University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, one of the institutions in the consortium. She explained: “We know that the TLA has a
powerful impact on teachers’ professional development, pupils and schools. The TLA is at the heart of supporting teachers to develop professionally. Now we want to build on what has been achieved so far.” In practice, this means that there will be some changes, supporting an overall vision that firmly links
the TLA with professional development opportunities in higher education and Prof Noble believes it an “excellent opportunity” for higher education and schools to work more collaboratively together. In the future, the model will be extended to the
whole school workforce, enabling those working in support roles to benefit too. Alongside gaining recognition, both teachers and support workers will also be able to build up credits that could go towards undergraduate or postgraduate studies. The TLA is also likely to become a membership
organisation, open to both individuals and schools, with different categories of membership ranging from associate to fellow. The present system of “badged” TLA schools is set to continue. While there are likely to be revisions to the TLA’s
framework, flexibility remains key. Prof Noble added: “We want to ensure that participants can just dip their toe in the water, but also gain credits for further study.” In another new development, the TLA will be
expanding its reach into Wales, and perhaps further afield after interest was also expressed from abroad.
One school that is excited about becoming actively
involved in the TLA once again is Neston High in Cheshire. Professional learning mentor, Cherryl Thomas,
explained: “If the TLA had ended, then we would have been so disappointed. It’s the only national framework for teachers that enables them to have their work recognised, and also share it with others.” A large comprehensive school, with around 1,650
pupils and 215 teaching and support staff, Neston started using the TLA in 2008. Ms Thomas continued: “We felt that it would
motivate our staff. It was also an opportunity to share good practice, cascading information and promoting collaboration between colleagues.”
SecEd • Lynne Pearce is from the GTCE.
Further information For the latest information on the transfer of the TLA and access to existing resources, visit
www.gtce.org.uk/tla/ or email
enquiries@tla.ac.uk
SecEd • September 15 2011
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