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

13 Mar 2017

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      string(4196) "every student as different and an individual. And that everyone is special with their own educational plan. Helping students find a way through their  learning journey to reach their own long-term goals  is the prime responsibility of the coach. Being able to break down that long term route into short term goals develops  their executive functioning but in addition breaks down the ‘big ambition’ to manageable and believable action. It builds a growth mindset.Countries like Finland have understood that excellence is borne out of equity. Equity in education is achieved by first accepting that students are different and need to have different strategies. Early diagnosis and then a personalised plan work for all needs – whether they have a learning change or are regarded as high achieving. Teachers or in a KED sense – coaches need to know their students, be able to diagnose and then agilely construct a plan – but with the student. Hattie tells us that a student’s self-belief in what they can achieve is one of the most powerful elements for progress. And having a teacher that believes in them doubles the impact.[vi]iBringing about cultural shiftSo, returning to fusion, you can see that the teaching and learning framework for Kunskapsskolan is driven by best practice and research, but implemented in a way that gives agency to students. Teachers in England can demonstrate high levels of teaching quality, schools can use extraordinary amounts of data to diagnose progress issues. However, radically changing the emphasis towards truly personalising learning and giving agency to students can help learners achieve more than they thought  possible. It is not just about fusing in different exotic ingredients; it is about building a whole school design that creates  an incredible power source for excellence  – nuclear fusion.But the change towards  greater personalisation, equity and agency requires a cultural shift in thinking and a whole school re-design to achieve the impact that Kunskapsskolan has in Sweden. Any  journey needs to take account of the context and the prevailing systemic  and cultural conditions. There may be a more traditional relationship between teacher and student in India, a more prescriptive curriculum in Saudi Arabia, and more extensive assessment in the USA, but great teaching, building authentic relationships and  having high expectations should be universal. In his book ‘Leading Change’ Kotter urges is not to see cultural change as the first step. Rather leaders modelling what they want to see and demonstrating the success of the changes should automatically lead to a challenge of the status quo.[vii]iDrawing on external practices and tools, personalising them to context and then getting the professionals to own the change enables the fusion to occur – as long as we are clear on the moral purpose, values and the underlying rationale and evidence that drives it. As Simon Sinek encourages us to think – ‘It’s about why, how and what.’ ixJohn Baumber is Head of the  International Centre  for Educational Enhancement , Bolton University   and Director of Education,  Kunskapsskolan UK Magnus Dahlberg is  Rektor (Principal) Kunskapsskolan Trelleborg (Sweden) References[i]Meyer E. (2015) The Culture Map. Public Affairs[ii] Harneis, J.  (2017) Human Relation Area Files. HRLF.[iii] Birbalsingh, K. (2020) The Power of Culture: The Michaela Way. John Catt.[iv] Sherrington, T. (2019) Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. John Catt.[v] Hattie J & Zierer K (2018) 10 Mind Frames for Visible Learning. Routledge.vi Joyce B & Showers B (1982) The Coaching of Teaching. Educational Leadership. Association of Supervision and Curriculum DevelopmentviiHattie, J.  (2012) Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing the Impact of Teaching. Routledgeviii Kotter, J. (2012) Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Pressix  Sinek, S.(2011) Start With Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio"
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Collaborative Learning

Why Is The Swedish Kunskapsskolan Movement Causing Such A Stir?

8 Jun 2021

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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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'How to do it' Guides

How to … make a difference to teaching and learning through collaborative enquiry

20 May 2019

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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

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      string(433) "... families. This requires us tomove beyond knowledge sharing and discrete training,towards programmes that promote continuing inter-professional dialogue and collaborative developmentto support leadership of cultural change withinorganisations. Our evidence suggests that this alignswith professionals’ inherent, strongly held commitmentto work together to enhance children’s and youngpeople’s lives and ..."
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      string(3053) "Children and YouthServices Review 33:2, 368–375 ■ Mansell, J., Ota, R., Erasmus, R. and Marks, K. (2011) Reframing Child Protection: a response to a constant crisisof confidence in child protection. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, pp.2076-2086 ■ Robinson, M., Anning, A., and Frost, N. (2005) ‘‘Whenis a teacher not a teacher?’: knowledge creation and the professional identity of teachers within multi-agency teams’, Studies in ContinuingEducation, 27:2, 175-191 ■ Soan, S. (2013) ‘An exploration through a small number of case studies of the education provision for LookedAfter Children who have experienced early life abuse or neglect’. PhD thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University.On reflection, co-leaders would have liked more timeto make their workshops more practical to allow betterparticipant consolidation in future. All co-leaderswho responded in the reflective evaluation expressedinterest and commitment to contributing to futuredevelopments, where they were in a position to do so.■■■ Future Developments – towards aholistic approachThere is a clear indication from the pilot event thateducation practitioners who attended feel that morecomprehensive and consistent provision is needed tomeet the training requirements and development needsof professionals in education settings. Our evidencesuggests that the following characteristics would behelpful in designing future provision:■ Combined expertise of education and health.■ Up to date information and advice.■ Time for discussion and exploration.■ Supportive learning environment for raisingquestions and sharing concerns.■ Practising with equipment and techniques.■ Support for organisational implementation.■ Support with policy documentation and managementof Individual Health Care Plans.■ Networking, peer support and sharing of ideas.■ On site delivery and/or follow-up.One obvious next step would be to develop a full dayworkshop, master classes or a series of short courses,which could be expanded to include other areas offocus, for example allergies and first aid. However weare mindful of the longer term aim to achieve greatercollaboration across disciplines to enable practitionersto fulfil their responsibilities more effectively and tofeel confident and competent in providing appropriatesupport for individuals and families. This requires us tomove beyond knowledge sharing and discrete training,towards programmes that promote continuing inter-professional dialogue and collaborative developmentto support leadership of cultural change withinorganisations. Our evidence suggests that this alignswith professionals’ inherent, strongly held commitmentto work together to enhance children’s and youngpeople’s lives and learning, where health and well-beingsupports educational purposes but is also important inits own right.Lorna Hughes and Judy Durrant work within the Facultyof Education and Gayle Le Moine within the Facultyof Health and Wellbeing at Canterbury Christ ChurchUniversity."
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Professional Development

Skilling up for health and well-being – the professional development challenge

12 Sep 2016

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