(Individual response) (Note: I was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Strathclyde, 2001-2007; but I am now retired, and write in a personal capacity)
Section A – Teacher Education Today
A4) When thinking specifically about continuing professional development in Scotland today what do you believe are the MAIN strengths and areas for improvement and why?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
1. Introduction
This submission takes a view on which factors are important in good CPD. This evidence is based on analytical, literature- and theory-based study, on practical experience and on lessons learned from ex-colleagues in many places in the world. My thanks go to ex- colleagues for comments on earlier drafts. Errors, whether of omission or commission, are my personal responsibility.
2. Effectiveness of CPD
The following issues are worth noting in relation to effectiveness in CPD strategies:-
2.1 How extensive and dispersed over time the nature of the training is
With some exceptions, e.g. Chartered Teacher training (Kirk et al, 2003) and SQH courses, CPD experiences for most teachers in Scotland are comparatively brief single events. But the relative ineffectiveness of short self-contained experiences, for example of isolated day conferences or of one-off school events, has been well-established for many decades (Joyce and Showers, 1980).
2.2 The importance of a high degree of management commitment at all levels: national, regional and school.
Little et al (1994) include administrative commitment and the provision of support and monitoring systems in what they identify as important issues in teacher development.
This was also seen as a key success factor in one positively evaluated project:
"The most important factor in the success of ALPS is that it is seen to meet the real needs of teachers. Inservice training in the 1970's failed to accomplish this because of its ad-hoc nature. Learning from this experience the ALPS training programmes are school and district based ..... a sense of belonging is created through the involvement of teachers, headteachers and inspectors at the preparation, implementation and evaluation stages" (Moegiadi & Gardner, 1994).
Scotland’s CPD record is patchy in this respect. National follow-up evaluation of the Management Training of Head Teachers (MTHT) initiative in the 1990’s suggested that the high degree of national commitment to it was not always mirrored at education authority or school level. More recently, we have seen little of the sustained CPD efforts at national and local authority level that characterised, for example, the implementation strategies of Standard Grade and of the 5-14 guidelines.
2.3 Multiple numbers of personnel from any one school participating in the same CPD experience.
Joyce and Showers (1980) long ago produced compelling and exceedingly well-researched evidence that one-off external training events have limited developmental potential for the school, especially when only single participants attend them from each school. As one commentator (on an earlier draft of this document) said, with a vivid imagery which shows little regard to 21st century political correctness, “Single Indians get scalped when they return to the reservation”. The current Scottish experience in this respect is probably better than it was 20 years ago i.e. with less reliance on single participant attendance at external CPD events. But it is far from perfect.
2.4 School-based mentoring built into the overall course design.
Providing a knowledge of (and actively modelling) a variety of teaching methods is a factor which McGinn and Borden (1995) cite as related to teacher effectiveness.
But some of the most persuasive and influential research-based evidence comes again from Joyce and Showers (1980): this has been described as "the paper on inservice; all you need to know about the design of inservice courses in six pages" (p.201, Hopkins, 1989). In the context of school improvement and institutional development, Joyce and Showers argue cogently for a model which puts heavy emphasis on school-focused activities and on school-focused development, providing opportunities for:-
1) the modelling and demonstration of new teaching techniques;
2) concrete suggestions on how to apply new teaching techniques;
3) practice in non-evaluative environments;
4) the provision of immediate classroom feedback.
Additionally, they and other authorities also emphasise the developmental value of groups of teachers working co-operatively together on developmental tasks, largely in the location of the school itself.
It is uncertain how much of this currently occurs in Scottish schools, although the approach has certainly been heavily promoted by the CPD Scotland Team and by organisations such as Tapestry.
2.5 A trainee-centred problem-solving CPD pedagogy.
Lockheed (1993) suggests as a factor in effectiveness the degree of provision of active student (i.e. trainee) learning.
Hawes and Stephen (1990) cite as quality factors the use of techniques such as demonstration, modelling and coaching in a trainee-centred manner. They especially stress learner autonomy as an important factor in the quality of teacher education.
In other words, CPD which is about promoting more pupil autonomy and more pupil independence (as with a Curriculum for Excellence) has itself to mimic what it seeks to promote.
Tripp (1993) rationalises it as follows:-
1. Members of a profession are valued for their ability to act in situations where a lack of knowledge (there not being a “the right answer”) demands sound judgement
2. Professional judgement is a matter of expert guesses and has more to do with reflection, interpretation, opinion and wisdom, than with the mere acquisition of facts and prescribed right answers.
Many Scottish CPD programmes (but not all) have therefore used the adult learner-centred ideas of Schön (1983), Kolb (1984) and Boud (1985) and explicitly introduced to participants the four phases of the Kolb cycle:
· Do – concrete experience.
· Review – reflective observation on the experience (sometimes on course-based experience, sometimes on the experiences which participants have already had back at work).
· Learn – abstract conceptualisation (In this approach, the abstract conceptualisation is neither student-controlled nor trainer-controlled, but rather emerges through a process of dialogue and negotiation.)
· Apply – active experimentation (notably in the school-based development work which is a central plank of the course design).
See, for example, the Leaning and Teaching Scotland website for CPD materials which have elements of this approach. Evidence however suggests that i) these materials are not widely used and ii) they are often promoted as materials for individual self-study rather than for group use. (See points 3.5. 3.6 and 3.7 on pages 8 and 9 as to why ii) is an important point.)
2.6 CPD course delivery modelling the behaviours it is intended to promote i.e. student-centred learning; collaborative managerial styles; the promotion of non-threatening and enjoyable learning environments.
We have already considered the issue of student- and trainee-centred learning. But broader issues related to leadership and management approaches to CPD and the compelling arguments for an inclusive leadership and management style are addressed in an exemplary, comprehensive and practical way by Hughes and Potter (2002); and also by HMIe in Dimension 7 of The Journey To Excellence (2006).
the latter site also providing access to a host of related and excellent CPD resources.)
The work of Fullan (e.g. 1991; 1992) is also pre-eminent in this field, i.e. in giving insights into the management of school change and the need for collaborative and flexible management styles.
And useful Scottish-focused insights on these issues can be found in Boyd (2005).
2.7 A non-threatening and largely non-evaluative approach to assessment and follow-up tasks (even on award-bearing and accredited CPD) and an approach which is focused more on real-life school collaborative development than on theory or on the assessment of individual competence. (Not that the latter are unimportant.)
Hughes and Potter (2002), HMIe (2006) and Joyce and Showers (1980) again provide reasoned and well-researched support for these views. And it is this approach which makes current discussions about proposed re-registration or “re-accreditation” procedures for teachers registered with the GTCS so complex and problematic. Were large numbers of Scottish teachers to be bound up in procedures which were i) compulsory; ii) focused on the individual; and iii) centred on pre-defined classroom competences, then it is indeed difficult to see how one could achieve buy-in to the approaches to CPD advocated elsewhere in this paper. There are however approaches in other professions (notably the medical profession) where evidence of engagement in CPD is a condition of continued professional registration; but where the emphasis is not on re-demonstrating basic professional competence but on showing that one has engaged on an ongoing basis in enhancing one’s professional competence. (See recommendation 4.6).
- Principles of CPD delivery.
We have also, over the years, codified what we see as the central elements of the pedagogy (or andragogy, to try a more recent word) to be used on CPD programmes; and often shared this explicitly with CPD participants, notably with those participants who were selected to become themselves adult (i.e. teacher) trainers. The list of such principles (unsurprisingly some, not all, overlap with points already made) is as follows:-
PRINCIPLES OF ADULT TRAINING
3.1 The principle of relaxation i.e. creating an unthreatening learning environment, probably because adults in particular find it difficult to learn when their anxiety levels are high.
3.2 The principle of activity i.e. promoting active expression rather than passive listening. Much research suggests that adults find it difficult to learn from lectures as single unsupported activities and many adults are limited in how much they learn from reading on its own. (See Schön (1983); Boud (1985); Kolb (1984); and many others).
3.3 The principle of reflection i.e. adults can learn by consciously reflecting on their experience. Experience is a teacher, but only when we are encouraged or challenged to think about what the experience can teach us. (See also, as with the previous principle, Schön (1983); Boud (1985); Kolb (1984); and many others).
3.4 The principle of relevance i.e. adults learn when they are allowed to address problems which have a real life significance for them. It is this principle which leads to the importance of training and upgrading programmes being based on needs analysis and on workplace tasks.
3.5 The principle of discussion i.e. adults can learn a great deal from discussion with each other, not least because they are drawing on each other’s experience; testing out each other’s theories; challenging each other’s assumptions.
3.6 The principle of presentation i.e. adults can learn by being asked to present analyses and conclusions to each other (i.e. mini-teaching to a small group of other teachers is itself a learning activity, probably because it makes us reformulate our ideas, check our own logic, anticipate objections from the audience, etc.).
3.7 The principle of action planning i.e. adults can learn by being encouraged to draw up action points for their real life situation, probably because they can see the relevance of this and because it therefore provides a motivational focus for their learning. It also begins to build links between individual development and institutional development.
3.8 The principle of work-based learning
(See Joyce & Showers 1980; Joyce, Calhoun & Hopkins 1999; Joyce, Calhoun & Hopkins 2002; and earlier discussion above.)
3.9 The principle of work-based mentoring and coaching
(See Joyce & Showers 1980; and earlier discussion above.)
4. Recommendations
On the above analysis, one might tentatively conclude that the following recommendations regarding CPD in Scottish teacher education are worth considering.
4.1 CPD should be primarily, although not exclusively, a continuous process of school-based or workplace-based activity, focused on collective analysis and action by communities of teachers i.e. whole-school communities, departmental-based communities, phase-based communities (and in some cases inter-school communities).
4.2 The role of external consultants, of external conferences and of external award-bearing courses, while important, should be a second-order activity i.e. on tap where needed, but not on top. Although some degree of external input can often provide a useful stimulus and starting point for internal improvement.
4.3 CPD activities should be central to, generated from and anchored to the process of school development and school improvement; individual development of teachers should primarily flow from corporate development, and not the other way round. (For a good synthesis of the compelling US and UK evidence to support this proposition, see Joyce, Calhoun & Hopkins 1999; or Joyce, Calhoun & Hopkins 2002).
4.4 While all teachers should have a responsibility for, and accept a role in, improving their own learning and for assisting the learning of their colleagues, there should be teachers who additionally have specific mentoring and training responsibilities for their colleagues as part of their wider school role. The 1000 or so chartered teachers in the Scottish teaching force are one possible source of such mentors (but not the only one).This would not be a line management post; but it would be a distinct responsibility (just as many university professors are expected to accept a responsibility to provide research mentoring for colleagues without ever becoming line managers as heads of department or deans or vice-principals).
4.5 Such school-based mentors should be supplemented and supported from a national register of “critical friends” (e.g. from sources such as Tapestry) maintained by the CPD Scotland Team. That team should also organise national events to develop and support those who will work (as part of their role) as school mentors and trainers, i.e. CPD Scotland should be a source for training and supporting school mentors. The central aims would be to build within schools a CPD capacity which is generic rather than specific, process- rather than product-oriented and embedded in a collaborative approach to school development. (See Appendix 1 for an expansion of this point.)
4.6 Recommendations about re-registration and re-accreditation with GTCS should take account of the (difficult) issues raised in 2.7 above. An extension of the GTCS’s present scheme for Professional Recognition (already used by about 500 of the Scottish teaching workforce) might be a way forward, e.g. it might be a professional expectation that one goes through this scheme (or something equivalent) once every x years and/or that such a professional profile becomes part of the normal expectation when an experienced teacher applies for a new post.
4.7 Award-bearing CPD work by teachers which is supported (with financial or other assistance) should normally be focused on in-school development. External inputs which take place outside the school are to support in-school development, not the other way round. The BA (Childhood Practice), the Scottish Qualification for Headship and the Chartered Teacher degrees already have substantial elements of this. The present dichotomy between an award-bearing route and a non-award-bearing but experiential route (as in the SQH) is a false dichotomy: professional awards at certificate, diploma and degree level should routinely be centred on experiential and action-based approaches. At least some Scottish universities are sympathetic towards this approach and have expertise in how to support it.
4.8 All CPD should be conducted according to the principles of adult training outlined above; and school-based trainers and mentors should themselves receive training and support in how to apply these principles.
4.9 The current implementation of CfE (particularly, but not exclusively, in the secondary sector) would benefit from a focused, managed and resourced approach to whole school planning and to CPD which centrally develops the learning and teaching approaches, the teaching resources and the collegiate structures and processes required to implement CfE at school level.
Bibliography
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Continuing Professional Development Paisley: Hodder Gibson
Bude U 1993 'Strategies for using information to improve learning conditions and instructional practices at the school level' in Chapman DW & Mahlck LO 1993 From Data to Action: Information Systems in Educational Planning Oxford: Pergamon Press
Chapman DW & Mahlck LO 1993 From Data to Action: information Systems in Educational Planning Oxford: Pergamon Press
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Appendix 1
A training/mentoring scheme run by CPD Scotland might consider some of the following options in its design rationale. In this, it might have some similarities to (but also differences from) the national training run in Scotland in the 1990s in, for example, Staff Development and Appraisal and in Management Training for Headteachers.
1. Like these schemes, the central rationale would be to extend the number of mentors/trainers who can then work back in school or on an inter-school basis in supporting colleagues.
2. Unlike the 1990s initiatives, one might accept that, at least initially, it is not universally accessible. There would be schools who would not want to access such a scheme because they believe they already have the requisite staffing competence and capacity; conversely, there might be schools sceptical, at least initially, of the value of such approaches. So entry to the scheme might be on the basis of application (by the school) and might be subject to competitive bidding for entry. Schools might be expected to fund some of the costs, financial and other, involved.
3. As with the 1990s schemes, one might be looking at something like a 3-day event; but with follow-up activities and support. E-learning approaches (e.g. e-conferencing; web-based resources) could figure heavily in follow-up activities. But the evidence is that one must blend that with face-to-face contact (preferably very early on) to achieve effectiveness. There is much expertise readily available in Scotland on effective approaches to blended learning. The use made by LTS of the seminal work of David Perkins) is but one example of what can be done
4. Unlike the 1990s schemes, the approach would be about generic school capacity-building, i.e. it would not be topic-specific. But it would be closely aligned to the capacities described in a Curriculum for Excellence.
5. Unlike the 1990s, there would be no need for expensive course material development. Such materials are available in abundance from Scottish and other sources. The current problem is not their availability. It is their under-use.
6. Any course should minimally have at least two participants from any one school, one a senior management figure.
Iain Smith, Glasgow, 7 June 2010
