Professional reading makes a difference

Reading educational literature and research is not widespread among busy school practitioners. Jo Evans explains why it can be invaluable, particularly for headteachers as the school’s “lead learners,” and she gives guidance on how to catch the reading bug!

What’s the point of reading these days when all we need do is follow the governmental dictates? For one former headteacher it has meant achieving Outstanding outcomes in two schools she has led, the most recent report stating, “The headteacher has created a culture in which learning flourishes” (Mar 2015).

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      string(5669) "52Vol 4.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadingLearningCPDProfessional learning communities generate the continuous learning cultureneeded by schools in the 21st century. And they can make a real difference.Where they persistently focus on improving learning and teaching, theyimprove teachers’ practice and students’ learning. Professional learningcommunities are groups of teachers or school leaders, or even whole schools or groupsof schools – also known as learning networks or networked learning communities. Theyoperate within and across boundaries. They are driven by finding and learning newand better ways to help them enhance learning opportunities and outcomes for allstudents.i They approach this through mutually supportive, collaborative enquiry andlearning experiences. In essence, they are voracious social learners.I have become interested in learning conversations through studying andEmbracing thepower of talkingHow can we harness people’s natural desire to collaborateinto learning power? Louise Stoll argues that learningconversations are the key to building a professional learningcommunity.53Vol 4.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadingLearningCPDsupporting the development of professional learning communities and learningnetworks, and following related interests in designing and evaluating leadershiplearning, and finding ways to help educators and policy makers learn from andmake use of research findings. All of my work has focused on how people learn andchange when they are together. So social learning comes into play, and one of thekey means you have to communicate with each other is through conversation. In thisarticle, I unpack learning conversations. But before I describe what I mean by learningconversations, I will look at why social learning is important.Why social learning?Intelligence isn’t just an individual concept. Thinking interdependently, being able towork and learn well with other people and learning from and with others is a habit ofan intelligent mind9. Learning with and from others isn’t just enjoyable; it’s a naturalway to learn. Most people don’t need persuading that connecting is central to theirlives. Social networking is now a norm for many of us. An increasing number of readersof this paper will have ‘grown up digital’16; in other words, “digital technology is nomore intimidating than a VCR or toaster”. The Net Generation are natural collaborators,staying in touch on smartphones wherever they are. As employees, Don Tapscott andcolleagues’ research found, Net Geners want to work hand-in-hand with colleagues tocreate better goods and services, design products, influence decisions and improvework processes. However, although social-networking sites help people to connect,they don’t produce collective intelligence8. So, how can the energy of people’s naturaldesire to collaborate best be harnessed into learning power – collaborating withothers, learning with and from them, to achieve both personal and collective goals?Many avenues are available to choose to suit different purposes, for example, peercoaching, action learning sets, collaborative forms of enquiry, reading groups, onlinecommunities, going on learning walks and reviews in each others’ schools, to name afew. Conversation is critical to all of these – it’s the means by which connections aremade in these activities.Learning conversationsWhen I refer to learning conversations, I am thinking of them as the way that educatorsmake meaning together and jointly come up with new insights and knowledge thatlead to intentional change to enhance their practice and student learning. Exploringnew ideas and evidence, participants offer diverse perspectives, challenge each otherin respectful ways, and are open to being honest and pushing themselves to reflectdeeply in ways that challenge their thinking.These are features I consider characteristic of high quality learning conversationsbetween adults.54Vol 4.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadingLearningCPD Purpose and processFocus on evidence and/or ideas – Learning conversations are focused. The specificfocus may reflect one of two important perspectives. The first is informed by evidence:the conversation’s focus arises out of evidence from practice or about strong practice.For example, discussing research on learner engagement or examining evidenceand thinking what it means in a particular context. The second reflects ideas aboutinnovation and transformation where, for example, the conversation explores creativeways to engage learners and extend learning. 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Leadership

Embracing the power of talking

30 Oct 2012

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      string(5800) "The need for a common language School leaders often struggle to ensure that professional learning and development (PLD) makes a difference to teachers and students.  The Department for Education’s (DfE) consultation, A world-class teaching profession, states ‘There is currently too little robust evidence on the impact of different types of professional development for teachers’ (2015:10). To ensure that PLD improves teachers’ practice and has an impact on students’ learning, we need to establish a shared understanding of what effective professional learning and development looks like, how to achieve it and how to evidence its impact. The language is used and understood in different ways by practitioners and throughout the literature. The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) refers to CPD (continuing professional development) which suggests that this term is in use internationally. 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Whilst learning and development are clearly integral to each other, by reconceptualising the two stages schools are more able to put in place the organizational processes and systems by which this learning is converted into developed practice and raised standards. Evidence informed professional learning and development – key messagesDrawing on evidence from research will improve the quality of all professional learning opportunities and supports the potential for impact on teacher practice and students’ learning. Significant common messages in the literature offers school leaders clarity over the elements that can support the design and development of high quality professional development(e.g. Joyce and Showers, 1980; Hawley and Valli, 1999; Cordingley et al., 2003, 2005a, 2005b, 2007; Bubb and Earley, 2007; Timperly, 2007; Earley and Porritt, 2009, 2013; Stoll et al., 2010; Caena, 2011; Mayer and Lloyd, 2011; Nelson et al., 2015a; Cordingley et al., 2015; Jenson et al., 2016). These studies emphasise:active and collaborative professional learning sustained over time; follow up opportunities to apply learning in practice;a focus on student learning and outcomes;external support and expertise and the importance of evaluation. Indeed, there is very little to differentiate Hawley and Valli’s design principles of 1999 from the"
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'How to do it' Guides

How to ensure professional learning and development make a difference

18 Apr 2018

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      string(1776) "to………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Much of this content is drawn from Bubb and Earley(2010)Helping Staff Develop in Schools published by Sage.Sara Bubb and Peter EarleyInstitute of Education, University of LondonC. PLANNING What are you going to do as a result of this CPD activity?What help do you need?What are you going to disseminate?When? Why?D. IMPACT – team leader evaluation to be completed after six weeksWhat impact has it had on the individual and/or the subject/team/school?What has been the impact on pupils?Next steps:Has the dissemination happened? YES/NO To whom?Signed: Date:References: Bubb, S and Earley, P (2010) Helping Staff Develop inSchools, London: Sage. ■ Bubb, S. and Earley, P. (2008) From self-evaluation to school improvement: the importance of effectivestaff development, Reading: CfBT research report. ■ Bubb, S. andEarley, P. (2007) Leading and Managing Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment (2nd edition), London: Sage. ■ Bubb, S., Earley, P. andHempel-Jorgensen, A. (2009) Staff Development Outcomes Study,London: Institute of Education. ■ Guskey, T. (2005) ‘A Conversationwith Thomas R. Guskey’, The Evaluation Exchange XI(4): 12–15,Winter. ■ Joyce B. R. and Showers B. (2002) Student Achievementthrough Staff Development, (3rd edition), Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development. ■ Office for Standardsin Education (2006) The Logical Chain, London: Ofsted."
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Professional Development

How to... ensure staff development makes a difference

22 Jul 2010

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      string(4660) "71……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Reference➜It is now almost three years since Ben Goldacre called for a ‘revolution’ in education. If the education system in England is to truly become ‘self-improving’, Goldacre opined, thenteachers need to become professionally autonomous.And to achieve a culture of professional autonomy, aculture change would be required so as to ensure thatresearch evidence, addressing the needs of teachers andschools, would be systematically produced, synthesisedand used.Goldacre’s call demanded different things fromthe different stakeholders involved. For schools andschool leaders it was asked that a vision for research-use be created, accompanied by enabling structures andsystems. For academics and other producers and brokersof research, however, what was required was a shift tothe production of ‘gold standard’ research evidence:evidence that employed large scale randomised controltrials (RCTs) in order to deliver ‘definitive’ answers towhether evaluated interventions had been effectiveor not.Making a differencein education: what theevidence saysRobert Cassen, Sandra McNally and Anna Vignoles (2015)Routledge, Abingdon.Chris Brown explores a book of valuable narratives about what makes a difference ineducation and the often shaky evidence underpinning this. Whilst offering no quick fixes,he applauds the book’s invitation for readers to focus, engage in context and to learn.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………72Towards self-improving school systems ■■■■■Goldacre’s paper was welcomed by some androundly critiqued by others. Lesley Saunders (2014),writing for this very journal, for instance, arguedvehemently that education was very different to themedical model from which Goldacre was drawing hisinspiration: learners were not sick and so educationshould not be considered a treatment. The use ofRCTs, continued Saunders, also failed to considermany of the complexities that exist in our classrooms,such as the contextual specificities of the intake, orthe experiences or characteristics of the teachers andchildren concerned. RCT use also fails to acknowledgethe real time and situated nature of the interplaysbetween teacher expertise, their craft knowledge andthe interactions teachers have with learners at anygiven moment (let alone considerations of how bestto introduce research into this melee).The reason I make these points is that a reader’simmediate reaction to Making a difference in education islikely to be guided by where they sit in relation to thisdebate. On first glance Making a difference… appears toplace itself unashamedly in the Goldacre camp. Butthere are noticeable and significant differences thatmean all except the most die-hard critics of the currentfocus of the RCTs should not turn away just yet… Sowhat’s it all about? Ostensibly following in the footstepsof ‘Visible learning’ and hanging on to the coat tails ofthe Education Endowment Fund (EEF) toolkit, theaim of Making a difference… is to provide an assessmentof effective interventions and practice (‘what works’) inpre-school, primary and secondary education. But itsapproach augments what has gone before in two key ways.First of all the book examines evidence at a thematiclevel. By this I mean that it moves away from a microlevel comparison of the difference in effectivenessbetween (say) feedback and homework in improvingpupil outcomes. Instead it looks at key areas of concernto schools, parents and policy makers (from early yearsand parenting to teaching and school effectiveness) aswell as core skills such as reading writing and numeracy,in the round. In other words it treats the evidenceit examines holistically. In doing so acknowledgesthat, typically, approaches to educational change areconsidered as at a higher level than that associatedwith (say) trying out a new approach to marking. Thisholistic"
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Professional Development

Making a difference in education: what the evidence says.

1 Feb 2016

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