I spent two days in company of academics, government officials and teacher professional association representatives from around the world looking at this question.
This was a terrific event. Great presentations from a good range of perspectives, most kept to strict timescales and lots of debate amongst smart people form lots of countries. Things that stick in my mind and that I am still pondering:
- From an Eastern European country “ we used to think all we needed was freedom. Now we know it won’t work without great teachers”.
- The international TALIS teacher survey provides teachers with an international voice about their experiences but it is shaped by negotiations between governments. To make it an authentic springboard for in-country action we need to create local teacher surveys and case studies; to weave texture into the inevitably top down international strands of information.
- 3 connected thoughts:
- From an Academic who has studied professions ‘Professions are fundamentally about taking a body of researched evidence and putting it to work in an ethical manner in the service of others – so professions need evidence base protocols –and artifacts help them do that.
- From another academic from another country – professional standards can be artifacts for creating a positive, generative future. Though other see them as potential sticks for beating teachers with. It’s the way they do it that counts.
- From me – professional learning includes learning about and through artifacts and protocols and making judgments about how to use them well for particular pupils; judgments informed by evidence from their classrooms, from the wider evidence base and from teachers’ practical theories about their students’ learning. It’s developing and understanding of why things work rather than that things work that helps teachers personalise learning for and with pupils.