Cultural Change

Headteacher Derek Peaple and SENCo Steve Oxley describe the efforts at Park House School to move special educational needs out of the ghetto and onto every teacher’s agenda.

Matthew Syed’s Black Box Thinking provides an interesting holiday read for leaders, educational or otherwise.¹ Its argument, in summary, is that high performing organisations are culturally responsive, constantly review their existing practice, and actively seek positive change based on learning about themselves and from others.

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      string(4259) "invested a huge amount of time, resource and effort to pull the project together, bring the Department for Education and other funders on side and start the process of setting up a formal Board of Trustees drawn from across the teaching profession. After much effort, the Chartered College is now starting work. TDT pushed hard to make sure that the body’s vision was focused on really scholarly, professional attitudes to expertise and professional learning. With the new organisation about to launch its first membership offer as I write this piece, TDT is feeling proud of the role we played in the setup of a body which should help to raise the status of the profession and transform attitudes to CPD.A second key achievement was the new ‘CPD Standard’. From the very early days of the Trust we were encouraging Ministers to make professional development a priority and to come up with a clear, engaging vision of how it should be. This bore fruit in early 2015 when TDT was asked to release me to be Chair of an expert group within the Department to form the new Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development. The document (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-for-teachers-professional-development) went through a long consultation process and was released in the summer of 2016.Finally, TDT partnered with TES Global to commission a major new systematic review of what works in teachers’ professional development. Developing Great Teaching: Lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development  (Cordingley, P., Higgins, S., Greany, T., Buckler, N., Coles-Jordan, D., Crisp, B., Saunders, L., Coe, R.) was a huge undertaking led by Philippa Cordingley and her team at CUREE along with Professors Steve Higgins and Rob Coe at Durham and Toby Greany at UCL IoE. The research rapidly became a key document for government, for the Education Endowment Foundation and for many other key bodies across the sector. Our ongoing and future workMost of our time is spent working with schools. We have a network of over 200 schools (primary and secondary; maintained, academy and independent; mainstream, alternative and special) from across England and Wales. The TDT has developed a quality framework which underpins our CPD Audit service and offer tools, resources, training and support for the schools to implement, refine and embed better approaches to teacher development. We set a deliberately high standard with only seven schools having ever achieved our ‘Gold’ level award out of nearly one hundred and twenty audits.It’s a huge pleasure to visit some really exceptional schools. We’ve seen some extraordinary practices and have been able to publicise some brilliant practice in leading sector newspapers and magazines. The Trust has also encourage school leaders from these schools to get out on to the speaking circuit, sharing their expertise and raising the profile of leaders with a thoroughly healthy attitude to professionalism and teacher learning.Our major project this year is to revisit our ‘trip advisor’ database, now called TDT Advisor. We’re engaging in a big strategic review of the site and exploring how to develop and improve it so that more schools and providers can use it to form long-lasting, sustained and high-impact relationships which make a real difference.Changing cultureThere is still a long way to go. Changing the professional habits of half a million teachers and the cultures of twenty-five thousand schools is no easy task. But we know that TDT is just one cog in a huge crowd of inspiring people and amazing organisations. We’re dedicated to working with as many people as possible to keep spreading the word, inspiring as to what is possible, offering new perspectives on what ‘good’ teacher learning looks like and getting on with the day-to-day job of pouring energy, enthusiasm and expertise into a massive change-management task. If we all get it right then our pupils, our schools, our teachers and our country stand to benefit immensely.David Weston is founder and CEO of the Teacher Development Trust – http://TDTrust.org. You can follow him on Twitter at @informed_edu and the Trust at @TeacherDevTrust. "
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Professional Development

Transforming teacher development and learning

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      string(5647) "This approach – what we call an inside-out model of school improvement – eschews both top-down and ‘à la carte’ approaches, in favour of a whole-school improvement strategy designed to address the learning needs of all students in a particular school. 1Consistency and high expectations are the lubricants for such integrated whole-school strategies. Some thought also needs to be given to how the school organises itself to become what is commonly being called ‘a professional learning community’.This, as we have seen, involves teachers not just planning together, but also observing each other and gathering formative data on the impact of the various strategies on student learning. School improvement from the inside–out occurs where individual program elements combine to create a comprehensive strategy that is both systemic and purposeful.The basic generic or default approach described here is amenable to adaptation to context, as well as laying the basis for differential approaches to school improvement.The school improvement strategy described below was developed as part of the Improving the Quality of Education for All.2 The model not only focuses on improving student behaviour, learning and attainment, but also pays attention to teacher and school development.Although the approach was originally developed some thirty years ago, it has been refined over time and adapted to changing circumstances, particularly in relation to Curiosity and Powerful Learning.3 The reason it has so much applicability to inside–out working, is that it is based on a belief that to advance achievement for all students it is necessary to address not only the learning of individual teachers, but also the organisational capacity of the school.In other words, without an emphasis on capacity building, a school will be unable to sustain continuous improvement efforts that result in student attainment. As is seen in Figure 1, the approach has two major components—the ‘capacity building dimension’ and the ‘strategic dimension’.The capacity building dimension relates to the conditions at both school and classroom levels. Through sustained work on the conditions for development the school enhances its capacity for managing change. The strategic dimension reflects the ability of the school to plan sensibly for improvement efforts.Most schools are by now familiar with the need to establish a clear and practical focus for their improvement efforts. In this sense, the choice about priorities for development represents the school’s interpretation of the current reform agenda. The final element in the framework is school culture. A key assumption is that school improvement strategies will lead to cultural change in schools through modifications to their internal conditions. It is this cultural change that supports innovations in teaching and learning processes, which leads to enhanced outcomes for students. Figure 1 A strategic school improvement framework It is in these ways that the most successful schools pursue their improvement efforts. While focusing on the learning needs of students in the context of systemic and environmental demands, they also recognise that school structures must reflect both these demands, as well as offering a suitable vehicle for the future development of the school.In this sense the structure of the school provides the skeleton that supports cultural growth, rather than the framework that constrains it. This three-stage school improvement process has at its core an unrelenting focus on learning and attainment.Given this central focus, the school improvement strategy encompasses classroom practice, particularly the expansion of teachers’ pedagogic repertoire, and the building of capacity at the school level especially the redesign of staff development. While this is not a ‘quick fix’ approach, many of the activities involved will bring short- as well as medium-term gains.The three stages are: establishing the process; going whole-school; and sustaining momentum.Stage One: Establishing the ProcessThis stage involves:commitment to the school improvement approachselection of a school improvement teamenquiring into the strengths and weaknesses of the schooldesigning the whole-school programseeding the whole-school approach. This flow of activity is illustrated in Figure 2.  Figure 2 Preparing for school improvement (Reproduced from Hopkins 2007, p. 127) Stage Two: Going Whole-SchoolThis cycle of activity usually lasts between two terms and up to a year. The activities in this phase are:initial whole-school training day(s)establishing the curriculum and teaching focus through Instructional Roundsestablishing learning teamsinitial cycle of enquirysharing initial success and impact on student learning from the ‘curriculum tour’.The flow of activity during this phase of the process is illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 3 Going whole-school (Reproduced from Hopkins 2007, p. 128) Stage Three: Sustaining MomentumIt is in this phase that the capacity for change at school and classroom level becomes more secure. Learning teams become an established way of working and there is an expansion of the range of teaching strategies used throughout the curriculum. 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Leadership

A Generic Model For School Improvement

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      string(359) "... and adaptable 7.	Emphasise development over judgement 8.	Take and make time 9.	Draw on external expertise – don’t go it alone 10.	Work towards cultural change and sustainabilityProfessional learning taskRead pages 18-21 of the report. Think about how these messages apply in your own situation. Where are your ..."
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      string(5614) "Collaboration is now the name of the game, here and internationally. What was previously often thought of as cheating is, quite simply, smart. The most successful countries and jurisdictions that have continued improving have done so through a blend of peers working together and innovation (Mourshed et al, 2010). And the latest findings of the international TALIS study (OECD, 2013) highlight the importance of professional learning communities. Increasingly, schools are also connecting with each other, whether as part of teaching school alliances, federations, multi-academy trusts, or informal partnerships and networks. Many are finding that in a learning community, the whole is more than the sum of the parts; that focused collaboration makes a difference to everyone’s learning, including that of pupils.But how does this apply to research? Often when we think about research, it’s something undertaken by an individual teacher or leader, often associated with a programme, course or higher degree. Collaborative enquiry is a form of practitioner school – or partnership-based research and development (R&D) – that broadly involves four I’s – interdependence, impact orientation, investigation and innovation (also known as intervention). It can help those who engage in it “design better and more effective interventions and strategies” (Jackson and Street, 2005, p.11), and there is also evidence that it has benefits for teachers’ sense of self-efficacy (Butler et al, 2015).Teaching schools have a remit to lead R&D – it’s one of their ‘big six’ responsibilities. From 2012-2014, 98 alliances around the country were involved in projects exploring, designing and evaluating initiatives focused on three of their R&D network priorities, which I call ‘three greats’ (Stoll, 2015a; Stoll, 2015b): great pedagogy, great professional development which leads to great pedagogy, and great leadership which leads to great pedagogy. The aims of the project were to produce robust evidence which could be shared widely, while building the capacity and commitment of teaching schools in their use of R&D approaches and evidence.Participating teaching schools alliances were supported by two national teams, each of which had their own framework for collaborative enquiry. You can read more about these in the teams’ reports (Nelson et al, 2015; Rea et al, 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/research-and-development-network-school-based-research-on-pedagogyThe ‘HOW TOs’ following this one, written by Carol Taylor, Karen Spence-Thomas, and Simon Rea, national team leaders, focus on each of the three greats. In this HOW TO, we’ll look at the overarching messages from across the three sets of projects and think about what they mean for making a difference to teaching and learning through collaborative enquiry. You’ll find more detail about all of the topics covered in my report (Stoll, 2015a)   There’s also an executive summary (Stoll, 2015b). https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/research-and-development-network-school-based-research-on-pedagogyFocusing on what mattersMaking a difference to teaching and learning is most likely when the three greats are considered as mutually influential and interconnected. Figure 1: Three greats: an essential triadSource: Stoll (2015a and b)Although each participating teaching school alliance selected one of the three themes (there were a third of the alliances in each theme, looking across the different project titles and questions), it’s often hard to determine which theme was the focus.  This is because the three greats are closely connected.Professional learning taskHow are pedagogy, professional development and leadership connected in your school and in your school-to school-partnerships to enhance teaching and learning? Describe to a colleague an example which brings to life the relationships in Figure 1.Pages 17-18 of the report (Stoll, 2015a) has more to say about the relationships.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/research-and-development-network-school-based-research-on-pedagogyAs I looked across the findings about each of the three greats, which you can read in the other three HOW TO’s, I spotted common patterns. In all, there were 10 transversal messages about ensuring great pedagogy and the professional development and leadership to develop and embed it within and across alliances. In other words, these messages applied equally whether we’re talking about what teachers do with their pupils, how to think about professional learning, or when considering the nature of leadership to enhance teaching and learning.  In brief they are:1.	Be clear about the difference you want to make 2.	Engage interest and commitment – involve others and distribute leadership 3.	Talk about learning to build trusting relationships 4.	Embrace and persist with challenge 5.	Support peers’ learning and growth 6.	Be flexible and adaptable 7.	Emphasise development over judgement 8.	Take and make time 9.	Draw on external expertise – don’t go it alone 10.	Work towards cultural change and sustainabilityProfessional learning taskRead pages 18-21 of the report. Think about how these messages apply in your own situation. Where are your strengths? How did they get to be that way? Is there any difference between the three greats e.g. are you clearer about the difference you want to make with pupils’ learning than you are when you think about teachers’ professional"
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      string(5639) "continuous learning (achievement); know and apply the full range of learning strategies; remove all obstacles to learning (access), to love and to the trust learners and to strengthen their desire to learn (aspirations) (4).Model of Leadership Our universal model of leadership development was conceptualised by Prof. Vilma Žydžiūnaitė and Dr. Gintautas Cibulskas (5). As the phenomenon of leadership is not static, the model uses a three-dimensional space framed by three axis: learning, involvement and outcome-oriented action.The vector of Leadership represents a gradual movement and spreading in the space of LEARNING-INVOLVEMENT-ACTION. This model of leadership development was designed using all the components of the project alongside setting outcomes for student learning and creating learning possibilities.In this model:Learning axis shows leaders as permanent learners. They are aware of their own learning needs based on the changing context and demands; the learning axis represents the path of professional development and personal transformation.Involvement axis shows leaders are not individualistic but communal and social. This axis represents the path from isolated and individualistic culture towards professional learning communities.Axis of outcome-oriented action represents the path form being passive and individualistic towards coordinated and meaningful joint action which has clear outcomes for students’ learning. Leadership is not an end in itself but it is purposeful and fruitful. Components that informed the workSome simple models of professional development are viewed as cause and effect (6 and 7), others add in other elements and components (8) and then there are more complex approaches such (9). We were also interested in the transformative notion of the model offered by Kennedy 2014 (10). This project demanded a different approach to professional development as seen in Lithuania and one that ensured is coped with the complexities, multi levels and layers.The core components included:The elements shown in the diagram above directly involved and impacted on the participants. However, there were other components involved as such in the extended diagram below.It is difficult to capture in a diagram the importance of all the elements, how they are inter-related, the ordering, the content, the shift in learning processes for a professional learning experience that was coupled in how change was managed that had to impact on an education system across the whole country. International evidence suggests that the progress of educational reform depends on teachers’ individual and collective capacity and its link with school- wide capacity for promoting pupils’ learning. Building capacity is therefore critical with it’s complex blend of motivation, skill, positive learning, organizational conditions and culture, and infrastructure of support. Put together, it gives individuals, groups, whole school communities and school systems the power to get involved in and sustain learning over time.Project approach to professional learningTherefore, our underlying approach to professional learning embraced developing professional learning communities and provided multiple opportunities for professional learning concentrated within the educational community of 15 municipalities. The intervention within the municipality had two aims:a) systemic change within the municipality by the development and implementation of a unique leadership development project; andb) the ‘growth’ of leadership capacity and cultural change that creates a learning community that has a direct impact on students learning.The educational community of each municipality was offered a variety of professional learning forms:Consultancy and group coaching: each municipality formed a strategic creative team, which developed and implemented a unique leadership development project.  A group of 2-3 consultants worked with the team for 2 years providing professional support based on needs.Informal programme in educational leadership.MA programme in Educational Leadership.Virtual leadership network.National and regional leadership forums.Study visits to other municipalities and abroad.Impact stories from the projectOur approach to professional learning has been very much an integral part of this project. All the elements were necessary to create a systemic approach to change with the resultant impact on individuals, teams and schools. This is reflected in the following impact stories:  Impact stories from the project   Rita Elmonienė,  project coordinator at Rokiškis municipality indicates the level of involvement of the teams.‘Our learning was constructed in a way that supported the development of our project. 15 leaders took part in the informal programmes, 4 leaders successfully completed MA studies, 16 members of our creative team participated in study visits to Poland, Germany and Utena (Lithuania). Our creative team used all that potential to develop our project System of teachers ‘self-evaluation to improve student learning’Teacher Daiva is talking about her personal transformation:“The main impact of this project is learning of new mental patterns, the feeling of professional freedom and responsibility. Informal leadership program did break the stereotype of a professional development program – it was based on our experience. The project “Time for Leaders” inspired me to learn and to be a role model for the others. I wish to become a good listener, to learn it from our trainers.”"
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Leadership Skills

Time for Leaders: Putting Leadership First In Education

17 Apr 2018