Staff Development Matters: Leading the Learning

1
Staff Development MattersLeading the Learning

• Hong Kong, May 2009
• Sara Bubb Peter Earley
• Institute of Education, University of London

2
Structure

• Staff development matters
• Leading the learning
• Developing staff

3
Do you agree that staff development is ?

• an on-going process encompassing all formal and
  informal learning experiences that enable all
  staff in schools, individually and with others,
  to think about what they are doing, enhance their
  knowledge and skills and improve ways of working
  so that pupil learning and wellbeing are better.
• (Bubb Earley, 2007).

4
Staff development

• It should achieve a balance between individual,
  group, school and national needs encourage a
  commitment to professional and personal growth
  and increase self-esteem, resilience,
  self-confidence, job satisfaction and enthusiasm
  for working with children and colleagues. (Bubb
  Earley, 2007)

5
The journey - professional development

• A logical chain of procedures, which
• entails identifying school and staff needs,
  planning to meet those needs, providing varied
  and relevant activities, involving support staff
  alongside teachers, monitoring progress and
  evaluating the impact of the professional
  development (Ofsted, 2006).

6
                           
Identification of CPD needs
 
Analysis of needs
Evaluation of impact
Planning a CPD programme
  Monitoring it
Doing it!
Bubb Earley, 2007
7
Write your definition of CPD/ staff development

• Discuss its rationale

8
Staff development outcomes studywww.tda.gov.uk/up
load/resources/pdf/s/staff_development
outcomes_study.pdf

• How can staff development lead to improved
  outcomes for pupils staff?
• Qualitative 35 case studies 25 high performing
  schools 10 less successful. A third with high
  levels of deprivation. 485 people interviewed.
  Jan-July 08
• Quantitative 1612 questionnaires completed by
  support staff, teachers senior team. Sept-Nov
  08

9
Main Findings

• There was a positive association between school
  outcomes and staff development.  
• We found an association between the quality of
  staff development and levels of pupil
  deprivation. Schools with low FSM were best at
  developing staff and having a whole school
  impact.
• Finance, time and support were the barriers to
  staff development most frequently mentioned in
  questionnaire responses.

10
Where staff development was most effective

• Ethos was strong. Leaders fostered, and all staff
  felt a sense of entitlement to and responsibility
  for their own development closely linked to
  benefits for pupils.
• Staff turnover was low and morale was high at the
  case study schools with strong staff development.
  
• Staff development was led managed by
  experienced senior staff who were well-informed
  and gave it much time, linking it strategically
  to school improvement in efficient and
  cost-effective ways.

10
11
Identifying meeting needs

• Procedures such as PM were well thought through
  and long-established.
• Half of senior staff teachers considered PM
  useful and 1/5 very useful. A quarter of
  teachers and senior staff considered that PM was
  not useful.
• Flexible systems allowed for needs to be
  identified and met as they arose without losing
  the impetus on original priorities.
• Needs were met in the most effective way chosen
  from a wide menu of opportunities, many
  school-based.

12
Time for development activities

• Projects and courses spanning a term, with
  activities to trial or research and involving
  purposeful collaboration, made most impact on
  school improvement.
• Staff in primary special schools spent more
  time on development activities than in secondary.
• Only 19 case study schools were using all their
  allocated closure days for staff training.

13
Consequences for pupils

• Pupils in 10/35 schools felt that staff
  development was disruptive
• When our teacher is out its horrible the
  classes behave badly and we dont get any work
  done. Im not sure training is a good idea.
• Support staff and sixth form teachers especially
  were concerned that their work was not covered.
• 16/35 schools covered SD well
• It doesnt really matter who teaches us because
  they know the plans.

14
Impact

• Training and development were having a profound
  effect on individuals.
• But people found it hard to prove that staff
  development was making a positive difference to
  pupils.
• Dissemination was a weak link at many of the
  schools. Sustaining development was easier when
  staff turnover was low and communication
  relations strong.

15
Recommendations

• Minimise disruption to pupils by reducing
  activities that happens during lesson time.
• Make some use of school holidays.
• Ensure that training days are used for staff
  development.
• Improve staff development leadership and
  management.
• Ensure that all staff have access to materials
  e.g. intranet, libraries, resource areas.
• Reprofessionalise teachers and support staff by
  encouraging more reading and discussion.

16
What are the issues in your school?

• Minimise disruption to pupils by reducing
  activities that happens during lesson time.
• Make some use of school holidays.
• Ensure that training days are used for staff
  development.
• Improve staff development leadership and
  management.
• Ensure that all staff have access to materials
  e.g. intranet, libraries, resource areas.
• Reprofessionalise teachers and support staff by
  encouraging more reading and discussion.

17
Learning-centred leadership

• Where leadership and management are weak or
  ineffective, it is so much harder to do a good
  job as a teacher. Where it is effective then not
  only can teachers teach, but staff and students
  are better motivated, people know what is going
  on because communications are clear and frequent,
  and everyone feels they are pulling together and
  working towards shared goals.

18
Learning-centred leadership

• Head as lead learner
• Learning is paramount (pupils, adults)
• Operating through
• Modelling
• Monitoring
• Dialogue (Southworth, 2005)
• Mentoring Coaching (West-Burnham, 2006)

19
Learning-centred leadership is about

• .. the simultaneous use of these strategies in
  ways which mutually reinforce one another. It is
  their combined effect which creates powerful
  learning for teachers and leaders and which, in
  turn, inform teachers actions in classrooms and
  lead to improved teaching and student learning.

20
To establish a persistent, focus on learning
school leaders might

• Regularly visit classrooms and participate in
  professional learning activities with staff
• Keep up to date with the field and share their
  learning with others
• Initiate and guide conversations about student
  learning

21
School culture

• When the structures, systems and processes become
  embedded and staff collaboration and peer
  learning become the norm, the culture of the
  organization takes on a particular form.
• Leaders shape organizational cultures but culture
  is not shaped by leaders saying what should
  happen, although such descriptions do have a part
  to play. Rather, culture changes by them putting
  in place certain processes and by restructuring
  the school through specific systems. Leaders
  bring about reculturing by restructuring.

22
Learning-centred schools

• Types of schools in which teachers work
• Learning impoverished vs
• Learning enriched (Rosenholz, 1989)
• Imagine that you could become a better teacher
  just by virtue of being on the staff of a
  particular school just that fact alone
  (Little, 1990).

23
Learning Schools

• Learning impoverished
• teacher isolation
• teachers compete with each other
• lack of positive feedback
• pulling in different directions
• avoidance of risk-taking
• a sense of powerlessness
• made to do PD
• PD treated negatively
• (Bubb Earley, 2007)

• Learning enriched
• collaboration and sharing
• continuous teacher talk about practice
• a common focus
• a sense of efficacy
• belief in life long learning
• looking out as well as in
• focus on improving things for pupils
• feedback is welcomed
• safe to take risks and try out new things
• teachers share values

24
Learning-centred schools

• Such schools are professional learning
  communities where everyone sees themselves as a
  learner. They also appreciate that professional
  learning goes on as part of their work the
  workplace is a learning workshop.
• Teachers share their work and collaboratively
  seek to develop innovative practice since staff
  believe these to be valuable and productive ways
  to improve students learning experiences. Nor do
  the staff discount learning opportunities at
  other sites and events such as conferences,
  seminars and courses of study outside the school.

25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
PLC - a definition

• an inclusive group of people, motivated by a
  shared learning vision, who support and work with
  each other, finding ways, inside and outside,
  their immediate community, to enquire on their
  practice and together learn new and better
  approaches that will enhance all pupils
  learning. (Bolam et al, 2005)

28
Professional learning communities -
characteristics

• shared values and vision
• collective responsibility for pupils learning
• collaboration focused on learning
• individual and collective professional learning
• reflective professional enquiry
• openness, networks and partnerships
• inclusive membership
• mutual trust, respect and support. (Bolam et al
  2005)

29
(No Transcript)
30
Discuss the leadership of staff learning in your
setting?

• What are you most pleased with?

• What would you like to improve?

31
Professional development (PD) has had little
impact.

• Short term, reactive and lacking in strategic
  vision
• Insufficient link with school improvement plan
  performance management
• Teachers dont analyse needs
• People only think about courses
• PD takes little account of peoples knowledge and
  experience
• People dont follow through and sustain PD
• Teachers undertake PD in isolation
• Most schools dont evaluate impact of PD
• Inadequate information about providers (TTA,
  2005)

32
Is staff development an input or an outcome?

• A key obstacle to a better appreciation of the
  impact of SD lies in the way that it is
  conventionally defined. In most cases school
  staff think of it as activities to be engaged in
  rather than as the actual development of their
  knowledge and expertise, which may (or may not)
  result from their participation in such
  activities.
• They conceive of SD in terms of inputs and not as
  the changes effected in their thinking and
  practice. There is little reference to outcomes
  what will happen as a result of this staff
  development activity?

33
Successful CPD is dependent on

• Recognition of CPD as a professional
  responsibility and right
• Recognising value of all forms of CPD
• An infrastructure that addresses the
  multi-faceted nature of CPD
• Equity of access to CPD
• Local support and networks (TDA 2007)

34
School workforce consists of

• Trainee, aspiring supply teachers
• Newly qualified overseas trained teachers
• Teachers in their first five years
• More experienced teachers
• Advanced skills and lead teachers
• Middle managers, subject leaders
• Senior managers
• Bursars, business/premises managers
• Teaching assistants, instructors and technicians
• Secretarial, administrative catering staff
• Governors

35
                           
Identification of CPD needs
 
Analysis of needs
Evaluation of impact
Planning a CPD programme
  Monitoring it
Doing it!
Bubb Earley, 2007
36
Identifying needs

• Examine evidence about your teaching test
  results, observation feedback, etc
• Summarise key points
• Think about career development
• Reflect on professional development needs,
  ideally with another person
• Identify goals/objectives are they right?
• Draw up an action plan

37
Look at the whole person Based on Hay McBer
Skills Knowledge
Social Role   Self Image   Traits   Motives
38
How to measure and sustain impact

• Think about impact at the planning stage
• Remember to have systems for recognising
  unplanned impact
• Dissemination
• Sustainability

39
Levels of impact

• Initial reaction
• Learned or improved something
• Organisational support change
• Do something as a result
• Impact on children
• Impact on colleagues, and their children
• Sharing impact on a network of schools
  (Bubb 2007)

40
 
PUPIL
                                                 
                   
TEACHERS KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ATTITUDES
CLASSROOM EFFECT FOR PARTICIPANT TEACHER
  PUPIL LEARNING
(Bubb Earley, 2007)
  PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
SCHOOL EFFECT
PUPIL LEARNING
CLASSROOM EFFECT FOR OTHER TEACHERS
41
Do you have a CPD policy?

• Aims a definition of CPD
• Entitlement responsibility
• Link to school improvement plan, SEF PM
• How needs will be identified analysed the
  range of CPD activities how CPD will be
  monitored and impact evaluated
• CPD programme for school 5 days
• Job description for CPD leader

42
How good is PD in your school?

• Ethos
• School support
• Role of staff development leader
• Systems
• Needs identification
• Approaches
• Evaluation
• Dissemination
• Professional recognition

43
List all the forms of CPD

• Which of the activities have you done?
• Whats been most useful to you?
• What would be most useful to other people?
• What are least disruptive to pupils and staff?

44
CPD range ( day courses)

• Reflection
• Observation
• Being observed
• Learning walks
• Conversations
• Reading
• Internet
• Asking pupils

• Teachers TV
• Action research
• Networks
• Exam marker
• Swapping roles
• On-line communities
• Visiting a specialist
• Longer courses MAs

45
Learning conversations

• All teachers can think of a conversation that has
  changed their practice.
• It doesnt happen as much as it should life in
  school moves at a fast pace.
• www.tes.co.uk/staffroom 171,000
• registered users 7,000 postings a day many more
  just look.

46
Teachers TV www.teachers.tv

• 80 said programmes affected motivation
  improved their ability to perform their job
• 43 claimed that the channel had an effect on
  classroom standards
• 36 of heads claimed that Teachers' TV had
  noticeably affected practices within the school

47
Making the most of your CPD budget - ask

• Why are we doing this?
• What do we need to achieve?
• Is this method the most economical, efficient and
  effective?
• Whats in the best interests of pupils?
• Whats the evidence about needs?
• Are there better ways?

48
Effectiveness
0 Keeness to improve - 10 Based
on Glaser
49
Catering for the full range of people in your
school

• Who gets CPD in your school?
• Is there an organisational climate in which the
  learning of adults is valued as well as that of
  pupils?
• How does the school judge the quality of its CPD
  provision for these different groups?

50
Cost effectiveness of CPD

• How can we measure it?
• Costs money, time, pupils. Do people know how
  much it costs?
• Economy minimal costs
• Efficiency right time
• Effectiveness makes a difference
• Equity transparent fairness, not necessarily
  equality

51
Responsibilities entitlements

• Many companies expect staff to undertake up to 10
  working days per annum on CPD
• Prof bodies continuing membership dependent on
  undertaking CPD
• Heavy workload of teachers CPD being squeezed
  out?
• Inset days

52
CPD matters

• Good schools make good teachers
• Good teachers make good schools
• Staff most important and expensive resource, so
  need to be good employers that means getting
  balance right meeting needs of whole school
  (SDP) its staff (IDPs).
• To learn from one who is still learning is like
  learning from a running stream.
• To learn from someone who has stopped learning is
  like learning from a stagnant pond.

53
Think of CPD as an umbrella

• Thanks
• Sara Bubb
• Peter Earley
• s.bubb_at_o2.co.uk
• p.earley_at_ioe.ac.uk
• www.sarabubb.com