CPD should focus on mastery and innovation to improve teaching. Effective CPD models include lesson study, coaching, research projects, and learning communities. Barriers to meaningful CPD include lack of time and an emphasis on compliance over growth. Schools should create conditions where teachers can thrive through purpose, challenge, autonomy, growth opportunities, and recognition. This involves developing an evaluative culture centered on intelligent performance review and tailoring self-directed CPD. Research-engaged learning communities can engage with and in educational research to continuously improve practice.

1. Making CPD
Count
Tom Sherrington
@headguruteacher

2. What is CPD for?
• Old Dogs needing New Tricks: Innovation?
• Biases and Myths: Values and attitudes?
• Rules and regulations: Compliance?
• Getting better at what you do already: Mastery?
• Deepening what you know already: Expertise?

3. CPD Models:
One-off in-house
sessions
Courses
A visiting
speaker
Teaching & Learning
Communities
Research
Projects
Lesson Study
Coaching and
mentoring
Books and
Blogs
Online
tutorials
Masters,
NPQSL/ML,
OTP
Departmental
Meetings
The Research
ChampionConferences

4. What makes a great teacher?
• they are relentless in pursuit of excellence and their
language with students is infused with this sense of urgency
and drive:
• there is no argument about expected standards of
behaviour. They achieve this in different ways – sometimes
through the gravitas of maturity and experience;
sometimes through amazing warm, interpersonal
interactions with every child
• they have the ability to explain complex concepts in ways
that make sense; they ask good questions and give really
good feedback; however it is done, students feel that they
are learning; they know where they stand and feel
confident about the process

5. What have you learned from CPD?
• Close the gap marking – school visit
• Think Pair Share – a National Strategies INSET
• Lesson Study – from NTEN; online materials
• Ideas about memory and testing: blogs and books
• Behaviour Management – Bill Rogers videos
• Science demos – Observing lessons and sessions
in departmental meetings, Alom Shaha videos
online
• Ideas about groups, exemplar essays, teaching
measurement – from Lesson Study
• Co-construction and Edmodo – from personal
research and exploration.

6. Research vs The Basics

7. Culture + Systems

8. “Creating the conditions for great teachers
to thrive”
Purpose
Challenge
Autonomy
Growth
Recognition
Care

9. Shared values and language

10. Evaluative culture +
Intelligent accountability

11. Professional Culture
• Intelligent Performance Review . Rigour without F.E.A.R.
• Focus on inputs as well as outcomes; engagement with CPD
is a bottom-line
• CPD is tailored and self-directed to greatest extent possible,
given a teacher’s context.
• CPD for mastery vs CPD for innovation
• CPD is individual and collective
• CPD includes: behaviour, subject knowledge, assessment
knowledge and pedagogy

12. Barriers
• Time – too ad hoc, too inflexible, insufficient
• The blind leading the blind
• A Bang and a Whimper
• Plantation Thinking
• Opportunity costs. Deck chairs on the Titanic
• OfSTED compliance: inertia and inhibition
• The jaded eye-rollers of doom.
• The hyper-puppy evangelists of the new

14. A Research-Engaged Learning
Community #1
Engaging WITH research
• Reading Research
- blogs, books, journals, examiners’ reports
• Sharing the Learning from the Reading of
Research
- the pedagogy champions, the bloggers, the
myth-busters, the challengers

16. Research-Engaged Learning
Community #2
Engaging IN research
• Masters, CamSTAR
• KEGS T&L Workshops: 6 key sessions across the year
–Key Question
–Evidence Collection
–Evaluation: qualitative; quantitative
–Conclusions
–Dissemination : The marketplace; Learning
Lessons

22. • Improving behaviour using IRIS as a tool for self-reflection. Here a
couple of teachers used IRIS videos of their lessons to evaluate their
skills in relation to behaviour management, identifying their verbal
and physical mannerisms as key factors – more than their use of the
formal sanctions systems. Very interesting work eg: “It’s about HOW
you consciously develop a postural, gestural repertoire which can
have a multiplier effect on instructions and interventions”
• Introducing 1:1 interviews as part of teaching AS Biology units. A
group of biology teachers had explored the value of conducting
individual interviews with students as a built-in part of the teaching
process. It was obviously time intensive but they found that it has
some very positive gains in terms of getting to know students and
setting standards

28. NTEN Peer Review Framework
• Leadership and Culture
• Focus on Learning and Pedagogy
• Evaluation of Impact
• Support and Challenge
• Processes, Systems and Resourcing
• Research, Innovation and Evidence

30. Summary
• Get the basics right – keep the rest in
perspective
• Create a culture of intelligent accountability
and self-evaluation
• Develop the culture and systems for
engagement WITH and IN research
• Make tailored CPD the key driver of
improvement at individual and team level