CPD

Teachers engaging with and in research: Creating a Professional User Review of Education for Sustainable Development

Aim: This summary is written collaboratively by a team of four. Because of this it is different and is intended to be so. We hope it encourages you to explore our work further. The objectives of this summary are to find out how a researcher and four teachers of Education for Sustainable Development from primary, secondary and outdoor education engaged with an academic review of research and to highlight the issues the teachers chose to research in their schools; how they did it and what they discovered.

Gender and mathematics: what can research tell us about how we teach mathematics to boys and girls?

Aim: The project had three quite distinct aims: 1) To identify from existing research literature what is known about gender differences in learning mathematics at secondary school - no attempt was made to establish any new insights; 2) To elicit, through interviews, the perceptions that a group of mathematics teachers had concerning the impact of gender on learning mathematics; and 3) To use the contrasts and similarities between the findings of the research and the outcomes of the interviews, as astimulus for the development of classroom teaching.

Using email to assist reading

Aim: 1) To see if computer-mediated communication between boys at two different schools can enhance the reading ability and interest of Year 9 boys with low reading levels. 2) To make use of the opportunities for anonymity which email offers in order to allow teachers to assume multiple roles in the teaching of literature.

Using a supportive mentoring to aid important action research

Aim: The primary aim of this project was to provide a supportive, pro-active and practical mentoring partnership in which individual teachers could conduct their independent action research. The results were actually far more significant than the original aim suggested and extended beyond the boundaries of the action research itself. Research mentoring led to tangible and long-term benefits both for our personal development and our professional development as teachers.

Transition and beyond

Aim: The aims of this project were to create a smoother transition across key stages for teachers, pupils and parents, to improve collaboration across key stage transition and to develop teachers knowledge and understanding of each others curriculum/routines/events/lessons.