CUREE Newsletter May 2012 | Centre for the Use of Research & Evidence in Education (CUREE)

Philippa’s Blog

Spring woodland I guess we are all enjoying the longer days and lighter evenings – although more warmth and sunshine (and less hail!) would be nice. But somehow longer evenings move me towards longer time horizons. One of the most exciting aspects of CUREE’s work is the way research helps us notice the scale of the learning journeys of teachers and of the profession as a whole over time. The attempts of different countries to capture this in professional standards illustrate very well the sheer range of skills and understanding that teachers need as a springboard for entering the profession and the even greater range they develop continually thereafter. The streamlining of the English professional standards and the increased focus on teaching and learning has advantages and we are coming across an increasing number of schools through our Skein evaluation visits who are starting to use these as a framework for structuring CPD and recognising progression. Perhaps the simpler framework makes it feel easier to keep on top of them? But we are also encountering schools who are looking for more fine grained ways of understanding progression in professional learning.

We are very impressed, and think you will be, with the new Australian professional standards (being developed by AITSL), the vision of the role of professional learning built into them and the emphasis on the sheer enjoyment of making learner success possible. It’s nice to have your skills and expertise recognized internationally so we were delighted when AITSL invited us to work with them on an evaluation strategy (see below for more on this).

This is also the season of exams for students (with the added benefit of hay fever for some!) and conferences, courses and workshops for staff and leaders around the country. Various members of the CUREE team are appearing at school and FE events in the next few weeks and we look forward to meeting some of you there.

Philippa Cordingley - Chief Executive

Putting CPD at the heart of system improvement

TDT Logo We were delighted to be able to support the launch of the Teacher Development Trust at a seminar at the Department for Education on on 11th May 2012. You will know the Trust mainly for its work on the Good CPD Guide. Philippa spoke on the topic of effective professional learning (see her presentation here). You can see more about the Trust, see who else was supporting the launch and access the presentations from here.

We know from the evaluations we did for TDA that both schools and providers need and want to match needs and provision more effectively – and to work within an evidence based quality framework. We make common cause with the Trust to achieve this and the CPD Guide promises to be a major step forward. As well as promoting the Guide, we are providing the Quality Rating framework and service. Our work with schools via our Skein service is revealing the difficulties schools are facing in finding good quality CPD which meets their needs. Too often they continue to use a provider they know – even when not really appropriate – because it’s too difficult to source a better one. This is where the Good CPD Guide, supported by CUREE’s QR service, will really make a difference.

FE teaching and learning under the microscope

“Is there a distinctive vocational/adult pedagogy and how well do we do it?” was a question a bunch us started to ponder at a meeting at the Centre for Skills Development earlier last year. It was not an easy question to answer and we agreed that the FE and Skills sector was not well served with evidence from research, in comparison to schools. The Ofsted Chief Inspector’s report later in the year had unflattering things to say about the quality of teaching and learning in the sector. As a result John Hayes, the FE minister announced a Commission to look at vocational teaching and learning and he has also taken the unusual step of writing to college Chairs urging them to do something about it.

Research, teaching and learning quality and professional development are closely linked and you have an opportunity of exploiting this connection for your own benefit and for others. You don’t have to wait for Frank McLoughlin’s group to report – with CUREE support you can conduct small scale, practical ‘research’ in the classroom and workshop. It’s free (sponsored by LSIS) and it could make a big difference to your teaching and learning practice (and, maybe, your Ofsted grades). Click here for more information.

Summer Term Workshops

Our Skein visits to schools show that many schools rely on internal expertise as a cost effective way of providing CPD. When external specialist support is needed it is usually sourced via personal recommendations. As international leaders in evidence based CPD we know what effective learning looks like and how to deliver it – so why not take a look at our summer term programme at www.curee.co.uk/summer-2012 and be confident that not only is the content tried and tested but also come highly recommended by colleagues:

“I found the practical strategies and the opportunity to reflect on own context very helpful. I need to feedback to the SLT as this has implications for changing SLT and staff perceptions and attitudes towards CPD.”

“So many useful ideas/tools/frameworks”

See what others have said about our work by clicking here.

CUREE sprouts a National Leader of Governance

Paul Crisp, CUREE’s Managing Director, has been designated a National Leader of Governance (NLG) by the National College of School Leadership. The role, broadly similar to the established National Leaders of Education, extends the pattern of school-to-school leadership development and support to the level of the governing body. A total of 70 across the country (of which 4 are in the West Midlands), NLGs are, to quote NCSL, “highly effective chairs of governors, who will use their skills and experience to support chairs of governors in schools and academies”. Paul is Chair of a large secondary school in Coventry. For more information contact Paul Crisp or look here on the NCSL website.

Learning from other successful systems - professional standards in Australia

It is an interesting question of who is learning from whom as the Australian Federal Government introduces a country-wide set of teachers’ professional standards. In one sense, they are following a path already well trodden here. However, how they are doing it is radically different, involving some regulation and a lot of persuasion, influence and modeling. We are working with the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) to develop evaluation approaches to support the continuing development and use of the standards as both a quality improvement and professional empowerment strategy.

We think that using standards as a lens for collecting formative evidence of staff learning (similar to assessment for learning for pupils) has an important role to play in recognising teachers’ progression and can help move colleagues on from an assumption that an individual lesson – or 20 minute excerpt from it – is an adequate unit of analysis for understanding or supporting professional growth. In our Skein evaluation visits to schools we see lots of examples of schools using data about pupil starting points and outcomes to shape CPDL but, as yet, too little emphasis on teachers accessing evidence about their own and their pupils’ learning processes as part of their learning journey; as a way of breaking big professional strides into smaller steps. Perhaps the finer grained Australian standards and the linked professional learning charter will help schools introduce “assessment for learning” for staff?

You can learn more about AITSL and the standards on their website here. You can see some of their interesting approaches to communications via animation here, video here and even via an IPhone app!

Come and meet us

CUREE Staff

We will be at a number of events over the next few weeks and would be glad to see you there. Visit our stand to see a wide range of school and college friendly resources including materials to support your development plan priorities and deliver effective staff training. We would be delighted to chat with you about your issues and how an evidence-based approach can make a significant difference to pupil/student outcomes.

Achieve Outstanding Learning and Teaching

This Expansive Education conference on the 25th May includes keynotes by Philippa Cordingley , Guy Claxton and Bill Lucas. To find out more and secure your place click here.

Seizing Success

This national conference runs from 13th to 15th June. Further information about the conference is available at: http://tinyurl.com/75uvwwt.

Improving vocational learning through research-informed practice

The LSIS Annual Research conference on the 19th June includes keynotes which highlight the evidence about vocational learning and supporting practitioners in using research. CUREE’s Colin Isham will be running an interactive and practical workshop and we will also have an exhibition. Click here for more information.