Teaching Approaches/Planning for professional development
Selecting and Using Resources
ORBIT materials are appropriate for pre-service, in-service and upgrading programmes at a variety of levels and for teachers with a huge range of existing skills. Teacher educators working in different contexts (universities, colleges, regional and school level) are able to use them in a variety of situations and programmes.
It is important to remember that ORBIT is not an entire curriculum for a formal teacher education programme. The purpose of ORBIT materials is to enhance areas of teacher education curricula and less formal teacher development activities in particular relating to interactive pedagogy and the use of ICT to support such teaching. (Adapted from TESSA Working With Teachers, section SelectingResources).
Mapping into a programme
For existing formal programmes the starting point is to look at both
- your own teacher education curriculum
- the ORBIT materials, and the Teaching Approaches we describe
to decide where it will be most appropriate to use the ORBIT materials. The Teaching Approaches described in the wiki may provide useful entry routes for ‘focus’ points in Professional Development.
The next step is to consider the format of use of the ORBIT materials, how teachers’ use of the ORBIT materials will be supported and how you might assess this use. This will depend on a number of factors:
- The purpose and intended learning outcomes of your programme or course.
- The number of teachers on your programme and its format (on – campus, distance learning etc).
- Access to technology; internet and computers.
- Support: the number and frequency of contact sessions and the expertise of tutors/ supervisors/ mentors.
We envisage 3 types of approach, as in the table
Table 3 Different types of use of ORBIT materials
| Form of use of materials | Highly structured | Loosely structured | Guided use |
| Characteristics | Selection of a set of ORBIT activities for all student teachers/PD members to carry out | Lecturers select appropriate ORBIT activities for their own course | Designated time for student teachers to select ORBIT activities |
| Teacher access to materials | New teacher books which include several ORBIT sections | Website and
printed ORBIT sections incorporated into pre-existing material |
Website access by individuals |
(Adapted from TESSA Working With Teachers, section MappingResources).
Building Capacity for CPD
The resources have been designed with maximum flexibility in mind. They do not require attendance at external courses. Teachers of varying experience and competence can use them. While they are best used by groups or pairs of teachers working collaboratively, they could be used by an individual teacher (who should still have the support of a mentor or coach). They focus on the classroom as the workshop for professional development. However, while the study units offer flexibility, there is also a need to introduce an element of rigour into their use. Successful changes in practice depend on an understanding of the theory behind the change, so it is important not to ‘cherry pick’.
The resources offer a means by which teachers can investigate and develop a teaching competence or skill in a practical manner that will have an immediate impact on classroom activity and pupil learning.
The way in which the resources are used in a school will depend on the culture of the school, current and competing priorities, resources, and strengths and weaknesses of teaching and learning. It will depend on the maturity and robustness of the schools’ CPD provision. Some possibilities are described in Table 1.
Table 1
| Mode of use | Advantages and disadvantages |
| Whole-school use of single unit | Provides a whole-school focus on a single set of related issues, and a coherent set of expectations and experiences for pupils but
… could compete with alternative priorities for some teachers. |
| Subject department use of single unit | Provides a whole-department focus on a single set of issues but … may have less impact on pupils if not supported by whole-school approaches. |
| Whole-school use of a range of units | Provides a whole-school focus on strengthening teaching and learning based on priorities identified by audits but … individual changes in teaching and learning styles may have less impact on pupils if not supported by whole-school approaches. |
| Teaching and learning development group use of a single unit or range of units | Allows schools to build expertise and experience of new approaches where whole-staff involvement may not be possible but … may not have significant impact on pupils until new approaches are more widely adopted. |
| NQT, GTP or trainee use of a single unit or a range of units | Based on an assessment of needs and the use of the NQTs’ career entry development profile, could provide a useful ‘rolling programme’ of skill acquisition but … needs to be part of a coherent induction programme and have the support of an induction tutor or mentor. |
| Use of units across a group of schools, e.g. a LIG collaborative | Provides valuable opportunities to share and build on experiences beyond those available in a single school but … confidence and expertise may need to be developed before it can be shared. |
(Adapted from Teaching and Learning How to Use the Units, section Whole).
The table below explains the characteristics of a school or department with a well-developed capacity for improvement in teaching and learning approaches.
| Attribute | Examples at whole-school level | Examples at department level | How are you doing? |
| It routinely shares its expertise | Staff meetings regularly feature teachers demonstrating or illustrating how they teach | Collaborative planning involves teachers sharing their ideas on how work can be delivered. The department shares demonstration lessons with staff | |
| It uses external support and challenge to enhance practice | Teachers are regularly encouraged to attend external INSET. LEA school advisers are drawn in to contribute to school self-review processes | The department uses the LEA KS3 consultants to observe lessons and provide feedback | |
| It has a clear, operational focus | The SMT signals clearly that certain items in meetings are significant in improving teaching and learning and ensures they are given significantly more time | Meetings are focused on teaching and
learning issues. The team is clear about which items require only a little time. Administrative items are given later slots in meetings |
|
| It has a well- developed set of priorities | It has a clear and operational (not cosmetic) development plan which guides resource decisions and action taken | The department has an action plan based firmly on an audit of teaching strengths and weaknesses. Resource decisions are based on declared priorities
of strengths and weaknesses |
|
| It elevates professional development to a continual process | Individual teachers are enabled to watch colleagues teach on a regular and systematic basis | An audit of each team member’s skills is used as a basis for termly review discussions and lesson observations |
(Adapted from TESSA Working With Teachers, section Whole).
Developing effective approaches to CPD
There has been much research, particularly in the past two decades, on the effectiveness of staff development. In particular, Joyce and Showers have shown that in order to really embed change in pedagogy, a number of elements are required. These are indicated in the table on the next page, where elements of training are related to impact in terms of long-term change.
| Training method | General awareness of a new approach |
Understanding of how to implement the approaches in a new context |
Internalising the new approach |
Able to apply the new approach in a range of contexts |
| Presentation of the approach through workshop or reading | evidence | |||
| Modelling of the new approach by demonstration or video | evidence | evidence | ||
| Practice in non- threatening settings, e.g. simulated | evidence | evidence | evidence | |
| Constructive feedback on performance | evidence | evidence | evidence | evidence |
| In-class support such as coaching by peer or expert | evidence | evidence | evidence | evidence |
Adapted from Hopkins, Harris, Singleton and Watts (2000) Creating the conditions for teaching and learning. David Fulton Publishers. ISBN: 1853466891. Used with permission. (Adapted from Teaching Learning Developing Approaches to CPD, section Whole).
{{{3}}} (Adapted from Teaching Learning and Whole School Improvement, section A systematic and integrated approach to staff development, that focuses on the professional learning of teachers and establishes the classroom as an important centre for teacher development, is central to successful school improvement.
Hopkins, Harris, Singleton and Watts (2000) Creating the conditions for teaching and learning. David Fulton Publishers. Used with permission.
The Pedagogy and practice materials consist of a suite of 20 study guides supported by a series of video sequences on DVD. They have been created to support the professional development of teachers working at secondary level and have been refined in the light of a national pilot involving over 500 schools. The materials are designed to be used in a variety of ways, for example by teachers collaborating in networks across schools; by groups within schools (subject or cross-subject teams); by pairs, as in peer coaching or coaching and mentoring; or even by individuals.
ASTs and other leading professionals can use them to support their work with colleagues.
The principles in the following table may be used to ensure that CPD can play an integral part of school improvement.
| Principles of school improvement | Implications for CPD |
| Focus systematically on teaching and learning | The classroom should be the focus and the primary site for improving teaching and learning. CPD will involve both enquiry into and reflection on classroom practice, and opportunities to learn from good practice. |
| Base all improvement activity on evidence about relative performance | Professional development needs should be identified at three levels: school, team and personal. School and team development needs should be identified through whole- school review; personal needs should be identified through performance management. |
| Build collective ownership and develop leadership | CPD should draw in as many people as possible to build expertise across the school, enable individuals to both contribute and lead, and so make the success of whole- school initiatives more assured. Professional development arising out of school and team priorities places individual development in the context of whole-school improvement. |
| Involve collaboration with other organisations | Teachers should have regular opportunities for collaborative working (e.g. joint planning, team teaching, observation and feedback, coaching). Successful collaboration requires time for teachers to share their learning with colleagues. It may be necessary to go beyond the department or school to find suitable colleagues to work with. |
| Create time for staff to learn together | It is important to create opportunities, both internally and externally through links with other schools, for staff to learn with and from others. The value of informal learning as well as effective use of structured time should also be recognised. |
| Embed the improvements in the school’s systems and practices | The professional development system should be integrated with other planning and review cycles. Individual professional development should endeavour to meet whole-school, team and personal needs. |
Many schools have improved by applying these principles and by paying particular attention to teaching and learning. The headteacher in video sequence M1 makes this point. Notice the emphasis on developing the school as a professional learning community.
‘The two main areas of activity that have had the greatest impact on our improvement have been the focus on teaching and learning and the professional development of teachers. We set out a strict priority to become a professional learning community. In other words, we are all here to learn and we are all here to do our jobs better.’
It is worth pausing at this point to watch the whole sequence.
Two teachers in video sequences M2 and M3 also make the point that a whole- school focus on teaching and learning can bring dividends. One explains how they created agreement across the whole staff about what a ‘good lesson’ should look like. Developing and agreeing a teaching and learning policy across the whole school, or partnership of schools, is a powerful strategy. It brings ownership and a sense of community to the school or partnership.
The second teacher in the sequence explains what happened in their school:
‘Across the whole school we are using the same approach, so the pupils are comfortable and know what to expect. … It may be true to say that teaching experienced teachers how to plan a lesson would have been treated with a bit of suspicion, but it is also true to say that everyone is completely convinced that this has added real quality to our work.’
You might like to watch video sequences M2 and M3 now, and consider as a senior leadership team or as a subject leader how you might use the video to introduce staff to the Pedagogy and practice materials.
Unit 1 Structuring learning provides a good starting point for schools wishing to develop their own ‘good lesson guide’. Particularly important are the actions taken by some schools to include the entire school community in promoting a whole- school approach to teaching and learning. Increasingly, schools are involving not only teachers and teaching assistants, but also other adults such as governors and parents. Another very powerful strategy is to invite the pupils themselves to contribute to the policy).
