Transforming Teaching through Research

Chris Brown and Jane Flood look at how the concept of Theories of Action can make material changes to school performance

Collaborative investment in evidence-informed professional development

The Chestnut CE Learning Federation represents a family of three small Church Infant Schools based Hampshire who all work closely together under the leadership of the federation Headteacher and Governing Body. One of the federation’s improvement plan objectives his for it to become an evidence-informed federation where the schools collaborate to:

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      string(443) "... various minority or disadvantaged groups.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/holocaust-education.htmArticle available from Leadership Briefings on the Professional LearningCommunity (access by subscription).3) Transforming teaching and learning about the Holocaust – Research intoteaching and learning about the Holocaust has helped to create a five partprofessional development programme. The result ..."
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      string(5648) "happened to other family members?What was it like in Auschwitz? Eva wrote to me how she answers that: “Itry to explain with a touch of distance, without blood and fire, but so that thechildren can understand the cold hopelessness, hunger and the deep fear; thehelplessness, with no help from nowhere. Being inspected by Dr Mengelewith all my hair cut off completely bald, being naked in the presence of allthe soldiers and so on – it goes very deep.”Eva describes the effect her talk has on children:“I am telling a true story and it works! The teachers are always surprised andsay they could never get such silent attention. The response of the childrenis amazing. Suddenly they recognise the true values in life and their attitudesto situations with friends and parents change. Children have all kinds oftroubles and sorrows; some even drink or take drugs but they find hearingmy story and the “philosophy” I speak about, helps them in their lives. Theyrecognise more what is happiness and how to approach it. When I walkout from the class I have a feeling that I gave them something, somethingthat money cannot buy. I have letters from the children showing this.”A flexible approach for maximum effectIt is necessary to be aware of the level of general knowledge of the childrenwhen teaching the Holocaust. In one Holocaust workshop for a group ofschools, the presenter used the poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller, a GermanProtestant minister, to emphasise the importance of standing up for what isright and speaking out against injustice:nnnLisa Gronau, age 12…I do not really like reading, but when I started to read your book I could not put it down. I am amazedthat, after everything you had lived through in your life, you could write a book about it. When I read whathappened during the war how people had killed people only because they followed a different religion, I wasvery upset. Only when I read your book did I realise how horrible people were. What did you feel when youwere deported to Theresienstadt? It must have been terrible to leave the house, the town, the friends andeverything that you had been so familiar with. I am happy that I did not live at that time!My Grandpa lived through the war and told me a lot about it, but not as bad as you described in your book.I was, myself, in a concentration camp and it was terrible. I hope that such a thing never happens again.I wish you and your family a long and happy lifeWith friendly regards, Lisa Gronau47Volume3.2nCreativeTeaching&LearningCreativeapproachesWe found it did not work very well, as the students did not understand the relevantbackground to the terms communist, socialist, or trade unionist. Nowadays theseterms do not have the resonance for young people they do for those of us ofmore mature years.Eva regularly speaks to groups of children from Yad Mordechai, a kibbutz(collective farm) near Gaza about her life. The biblical story of Samson is set nearGaza, and describes a riddle based on how some bees made a nest in the body ofa dead lion; “Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forthsweetness”. The kibbutz keeps bees and produced honey, so every year, Evareceives a jar of honey after her talk and generates an echo of the old story.Eva spoke to a group of 18-year-olds in Germany. They had all read her bookbefore she spoke and they all came prepared for her talk. At the end, each ofthem gave her a rose as a token of their appreciation so Eva was standing at thefront of the auditorium with a bunch of three dozen roses. She felt uncomfortablewith them as her mind was still on the memory of all those who had been killedby the Nazis until she thought that she should put the roses on their grave. Andthen she realised that they had no grave.David N LawsonKnowledge trails1) Understanding the Holocaust – It is vital that children have the skills toempathise with the victims of social exclusion. Here we explore the teaching ofthis difficult subject and provide primary and secondary lesson plans.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/understanding-the-holocaust.htm2) Never Again! Does Holocaust Education Have an Effect on Pupils’Citizenship Values and Attitudes? – An overview of research aiming toexamine whether teaching the Holocaust at upper primary level has an impact,both immediate and longer term, on pupils’ values and attitudes, and particularlythose relating to various minority or disadvantaged groups.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/holocaust-education.htmArticle available from Leadership Briefings on the Professional LearningCommunity (access by subscription).3) Transforming teaching and learning about the Holocaust – Research intoteaching and learning about the Holocaust has helped to create a five partprofessional development programme. The result is a compelling example ofresearch-led professional development which transforms practice.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/holocaust-professional-development.htmArticle available in Professional Development Today on the Professional LearningCommunity (access by subscription).Further informationi) Holocaust EducationalTrust www.het.org.uk/ii) London Jewish CulturalCentre www.ljcc.org.uk/iii) Kingston and SurbitonDistrict Synagogue www.kingston-synagogue.org.uk/First they came for the communists,and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.First they came for the socialist,and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

A Holocaust experience

17 Jul 2012

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      string(394) "... human rights inEngland’, Educational Review, 50 (1), pp. 75-83. ■ Burtonwood, N., 2002. ‘Holocaust Memorial Day in schools – context, process and content: areview of research into Holocaust education’, Educational Research, 44 (1), pp. 69-82. ■ Carrington, B. & Short, G., 1997. ‘Holocaust Education,anti-racism and citizenship’, Educational Review ..."
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      string(2766) "development of a CPD programme for teachers.In this sense, therefore, the HEDP programme founditself in a privileged position. By comprehensively seekingout the views and experience of teachers, the HEDPteam were able to consider very carefully the most salientissues and challenges encountered by secondary teachersacross England and to devise a programme accordingly.Crucially, the HEDP’s CPD programme will continue tobuild upon the understandings and insights provided byteachers and will develop the programme in future years inresponse to evaluative feedback provided by teachers whoparticipate in the programme. A central feature of the CPDprogramme is also the concept of an interactive communityof enquiry and exchange in which teachers, researchers,programme developers and other educational professionalswill have the opportunity to share, discuss and developtheir own knowledge and expertise. The overall goal ofthis innovative and exciting national CPD programme,therefore, is that increasing numbers of teachers are suitablyequipped to teach about the Holocaust to young people inprofound, meaningful and effective ways.Dr. Alice Pettigrew and Dr. Stuart FosterInstitute of Education, University of LondonReferences: Brown, M. & Davies, I., 1998. ‘The Holocaust and education for citizenship: the teaching of history, religion and human rights inEngland’, Educational Review, 50 (1), pp. 75-83. ■ Burtonwood, N., 2002. ‘Holocaust Memorial Day in schools – context, process and content: areview of research into Holocaust education’, Educational Research, 44 (1), pp. 69-82. ■ Carrington, B. & Short, G., 1997. ‘Holocaust Education,anti-racism and citizenship’, Educational Review, 49 (3), pp. 271-82. ■ Clements, J., 2006. ‘A very neutral voice: teaching about the Holocaust’,Educate, 5 (2) [online]. Available at: http://www.educatejournal.org/index.php?journal=educate&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=60&path%5B%5D=56 [Accessed 30 March 2009]. ■ ITF, 2004. Handbook for teachers. Guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust. Documentsof the Education Working Group [online]. Available at: http://taskforce.ushmm.org [Accessed 21 December 2009]. ■ Pettigrew, A., Foster, S.,Howson, J., Salmons, P., 2009. Teaching About the Holocaust in English Secondary Schools: An empirical study of national trends, perspectivesand practice. London: HEDP. ■ Russell, L., 2006. Teaching the Holocaust in school history. London: Continuum. ■ Short, G., 1994. ‘Teachingabout the Holocaust: a consideration of some ethical and pedagogic issues’, Educational Studies, 20 (1), pp. 53-67.Figure 3: Teachers and their response to workshop activity"
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Professional Development

Transforming teaching and learning about the Holocaust

22 Jul 2010

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      string(409) "... like the conceptof a royal college’, Times Educational Supplement, No 5014, 12 October 2012, p.18 ■ Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (2012) Professional Capital:transforming teaching in every school, Oxford: Routledge. ■ Hargreaves, D. (2003) Education Epidemic: transforming secondary schoolsthrough innovation networks, London: Demos. ■ Hargreaves, D. (2010) Creating ..."
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PDT Bumper issue 15.1/2"
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      string(5763) "Society (2012) Teaching and Leadership for the Twenty-First Century: the 2012 International Summit on the TeachingProfession, Asia Society: Partnership for Global Learning, available at: www.AsiaSociety.org/teachingsummit. ■ Brandon, J. (2012) Personalcommunication. ■ Cheng-Yong Tan (2012) ‘Instructional leadership: towards a contextualised knowledge creation model’, School Leadership& Management, Vol 32, No 2, 183-194. ■ Department for Education (2012) Teachers’ Standards, London: DfE. ■ Erebus International (2008)Report to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Scoping study on the development of teaching standards inthe broader Asia-Pacific Region, Brisbane: Erebus International. ■ Government of Alberta (2012) The Alberta School Leadership Framework:Building leadership capacity in Alberta’s education system, Edmonton: Government of Alberta. ■ Exley, S. (2012) ‘Arise if you like the conceptof a royal college’, Times Educational Supplement, No 5014, 12 October 2012, p.18 ■ Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (2012) Professional Capital:transforming teaching in every school, Oxford: Routledge. ■ Hargreaves, D. (2003) Education Epidemic: transforming secondary schoolsthrough innovation networks, London: Demos. ■ Hargreaves, D. (2010) Creating a self-improving school system, Nottingham: NationalCollege for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services. ■ Helsby, G. (1999) Changing Teachers’ Work, Buckingham: Open University Press.■ National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (1989) What teachers should know and be able to do, Arlington: NBPTS, available atwww.npts.org ■ Ontario College of Teachers (1999) Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession, Ontario: Ontario College of Teachers.■ Power, S. (2008) ‘The imaginative professional’ in Cunningham, B. (Ed) Exploring Professionalism, London, Institute of Education BedfordWay Papers. ■ Schleicher, A. (Ed.) (2012) Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st Century: Lessons from aroundthe world, Paris: OECD Publishing. ■ The Independent Review of Teachers’ Standards (2011) Second Report of the Independent Reviewof Teachers’ Standards: Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher Standards, London: Department for Education. ■Whitty, G. (2008) ‘Changing modes of teacher professionalism: traditional, managerial, collaborative and democratic’, in Cunningham, B.(Ed) Exploring Professionalism, London, Institute of Education Bedford Way Papers. ■ Wilkins, R. (2011) Research Engagement for SchoolDevelopment, London: IOE Press. ■ Willis, R. (2012) The development of primary, secondary and teacher education in England: a history ofthe College of Teachers, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press. ■ Woolcock, N. (2012) ‘Heads in challenge to union power with plans for a RoyalCollege of Teaching’, The Times, 8 October 2012, p.6. ■ http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/moe_280 Teachers Lawof the People’s Republic of China, (enacted 1993-94), Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, accessed September 2012.autonomy that matters is professional autonomy, whichreaches its fullest expression through a professionalbody structure. Such professional autonomy reducesthe significance of the school as the organisational unitfor collaborative professional learning. When that isachieved, the issue of administrative school autonomywould become largely redundant.■■■ Practitioner research as the cement inthe structurePower (2008) identified that the realities of transparentaccess to information, accountability and pressureto perform had permanently changed the contextfor modern professionals. Even if teaching isprofessionalised and there is a genuine increase inprofessional autonomy, there could be no going back totraditional professionalism, with its lack of transparencyand accountability. This is why practitioner research isso central to the development of the new emergent formsof professionalism in teaching. Conducting and sharingpractitioner research is a way of turning modern access toinformation from being a threat to teachers’ professionalautonomy to being its driving force and justification.Ultimately, rational argument based on relevant evidenceis what underpins expertise and authority when systemsmove away from the ‘do it because I say so’ culture.Access to accumulated evidence must be an elementin decisional capital (Hargreaves and Fullan 2012).Involvement in undertaking practitioner research, andcollaborative use of research, provide the structure andlanguage for dialogue within the profession (of teachersand headteachers) which is different from a dialoguedominated by positional authority. Information gainedby using or undertaking research enables teachersunder pressure to become Power’s (2008) ‘imaginativeprofessionals’ who can distinguish between, and seethe connection between, their private problems andsystemic issues.Research enables teachers to contextualise their workand to evaluate it more objectively, and gives themthe facts and confidence to challenge unreasonableexpectations. It gives them the knowledge and processesto develop their own efficacy in improving educationaloutcomes for students. Research engagement, especiallyif combined with active participation in professionalbodies and learned societies, gives teachers a supportiveprofessional community which is independentfrom their employing institution. In these ways,undertaking and supporting practitioner"
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Professional Development

Practitioner research and professional identity

20 May 2013

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      string(5218) "funding indicated by the government(Department for Education, 2012). Teachers in federatedschools will be able to be part of a strategic solution tothe long running issue of carry out multiple roles beyondtheir classroom by sharing these across a group of schools.Once schools are part of a formal federation, ideas suchas the bursaries offered to groups of schools in Walesto support participation in longer term professionaldevelopment (Estyn, 2007) could be introduced.In the near future it is possible that formal federationsof small schools will develop into academy chains.In their recent report, The Academies Commissionrecommend that more academies develop a collaborativeculture across schools that has professional developmentat its heart (Academies Commission, 2013). By becomingpart of an academy chain this could be realised and rolesand responsibilities could be allocated across the chain,avoiding duplication and enabling teachers to develop in-depth expertise in an area that they then led colleagues inimproving. This could lead to more outstanding schoolstaking on the role of Teaching Schools to realise thevision of professional learning being centred on meetingthe needs of the teachers that work in their locality.References: Academies Commission (2013). Unleashing Greatness: Getting the best from an academised system. London: RSA and Pearson.■ Bubb, S. and Earley, P. (2010). Helping Staff Develop in Schools. London: SAGE Publications. ■ Department for Education. (2012). SchoolFunding Reform: Arrangements for 2013-14: Department for Education. ■ Earley, P. and Bubb, S. (2007). From self-evaluation to schoolimprovement: the importance of effective professional development British Educational Research Association Annual Conference. Instituteof Education, University of London. ■ Eraut, M. (1994). Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence. London: The Falmer Press.■ Estyn. (2006). Small Primary Schools in Wales. Cardiff: Estyn. ■ Estyn. (2007). The Impact of the Continuing Professional DevelopmentProgramme on Teachers, Schools and the Raising of Pupil Achievment. . Cardiff: Estyn. ■ Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (2012). ProfessionalCapital. Transforming Teaching in Every School. Abingdon: Routledge. ■ Local Authority (2012). Proposal for a County Strategy for StructuralSolutions in the Forming of Formal School Partnership Arrangements Local Authority. ■ Merilinen, M. and Pietarinen, J. (2003). Contextualrelated professional activity – primary teachers’ career stages in the small rural school, European Conference on Educational Research.University of Hamburg. ■ Ofsted. (2010). ‘Good Professional Development in Schools. How does leadership contribute?’. [Online]. Availableat: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/good-professional-development-schools. [Last accessed 22nd July 2011]. ■ Opfer, V. D. and Pedder,D. (2011). ‘The lost promise of teacher professional development in England’. [Online]. The European Journal of Teacher Education, 34 (1),3 – 24[Last accessed 25th September 2012]. ■ Stoll, L., Halbert, J. and Kaser, L. (2012). ‘Deepening learning in school-to-school networks’.In C. Day (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Teacher and School Development. Abingdon: Routledge. ■ Stoll, L., Harris, A.and Handscomb, G. (2012). Great professional development that leads to great pedagogy: nine claims from research. In U. o. L. Institute ofEducation (ed). London: Institute of Education.Over the next year, it is important that the LAcontinues its support for the future development ofpartnerships of small schools in formal federations. Thisis a strategic route for improving the effectiveness ofprofessional learning for teachers in these schools. Thecurrent interest in this version of school collaborationmay have been instigated because of fears by governingbodies or headteachers for the sustainability ofindividual schools. However, for a partnership to havea positive impact on teachers’ professional learning andhence the effectiveness of their teaching it needs to gobeyond structural and administration arrangements tohaving the characteristics identified in ‘deeper networks’(Stoll, Halbert and Kaser, 2012).The LA has begun to influence the organisation ofprofessional development by groups of schools and thiswill need to continue in the short term with a clear visionbeing developed with headteachers on how, throughteachers learning together across schools, the learningof pupils can be enhanced. However, the vision of theAcademies Commission (2013) is that the role of the LAin brokering, commissioning and delivering professionaldevelopment will cease within the next three years. Inits place is recommended the establishment of ‘licensed,school-led excellence networks’ (Academies Commission,2013, p. 10) led by the National College. These wouldwork with local providers of professional development,such as Teaching Schools, and broker connections. It willbe important that the specific professional developmentneeds of teachers in small schools are considered as thesenew ways of working develop.http:"
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Professional Development

Effective professional development for teachers in small primary schools

9 Apr 2014

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