Jalongo (1991) on the effective delivery of CPD
- Teachers learn primarily by tapping into their experiences and reflecting upon them.
- Teachers are interested in learning today what helps them teach tomorrow (immediacy of application).
- Teachers want information which helps them solve specific problems rather than information for its own sake (problem-centred rather than subject-centred).
Barthes (1990) quote about the importance of teacher learning
Probably nothing within a school has more impact on students in terms of skills development, self-confidence, or classroom behaviour than the personal and professional development of their teachers.
Riches and Morgan (1989) recognized the importance of teachers as a resource:
The true scarce resources in schools is not money but excellent people/teachers. The way people are managed and grown so as to get the maximum performance from them which matches their level of satisfaction is essential.
What is CPD? (Bolman, 2002)
an ongoing process of education, training, learning and support activities which is:
- aimed mainly at promoting learning and development of professional knowledge, skills and values
- to help decide and implement valued changes in their teaching and learning behaviour so that they can educate their students more effectively thus achieving an agreed balance between individual, school and national needs.
The most important purpose of CPD is
to encourage the individual to professional growth
What are the six stages of the training and development cycle?
identifying needs analysing training needs, designing programmes, delivery, monitoring evaluation
Guskey’s (2002) 5 stages of professional development evaluation
Participants reactions (time well spent)
Organisational support and change (support and resources made available)
Participants learning (acquiring knowledge/skills)
Participants use of new knowledge and skills
Student learning outcomes (impact on students)
Porritt and Earley (2014)
Factors underpinning the most effective PD practices
- Collaborative approaches
- Understanding how to evaluate the impact
- Time for reflection and feedback
- Engagement with a variety of opportunities
- Clarity of purpose and goals
- Ownership
- Focus on pupil outcomes
Rosenholtz (1989) identified two types of schools
Learning enriched: collaboration, common focus, efficacy, LLL, continuous teacher talk about practice
Learning impoverished: teacher isolationism, lack of positive feedback, uncertainty, avoidance of risk-taking, sense of powerlessness
Jones (2003) on teacher CPD:
Teachers require a career-long entitlement to professional development opportunities with clear opportunities for teachers at different stages of their careers.
EMPLOYERS: provide opportunities which focus on teacher’s needs
TEACHERS: to develop themselves
Framework for CPD which highlights the individual needs, school needs, and national needs
Frost and Durant’s (2003) framework for the impact of professional development
Impact on pupils’ learning:
attainment, disposition, meta-cognition
Impact on teachers:
classroom practice, personal capacity, interpersonal capacity
Impact on the school as an organisation:
structures and processes, culture and capacity
Impact beyond the school:
critique and debate, creation and transfer of professional knowledge, improvements in social capital in the community.
Watkins and Drury’s (1994) definition of a learning community
a learning organisation which ensures that the conditions for learning and for response to change are such that the aspirations of the individual, the team, and the organisation are in tune. Learning culture where learning and development are seen as an integral part of effective performance, and where people are regarded as assets rather than costs to be reduced.
Learning communities ensure several things:
Effective PD
High quality leadership and management
Everyone (pupils, staff, teachers) is seen as learner
Involve everyone in the decision-making process
Leaders of learning communities need to:
Create a strong sense of shared vision for the future
Lead the learning by example
Distribute leadership and empower others
Promote collaboration and collegiality
Harris and Anthony (2001) critique of collegiality
It’s only in schools where there are very strong collegial relationships that this can make a difference to the professional learning community. Can’t be left to chance or mandated.
Joyce and Showers (1995) identify factors for PD to be effective
theory demonstration practice feedback coaching
Diggins (1997) on learning communities
leaders promote human capital of all (transformational leadership)
