CPD in association with
MTL explained
Holiday? What holiday?
With the holidays
helps to extend people’s capabilities, so all learning
is good learning. Learning about subjects that interest
approaching,
you, even if they have nothing to do with your work,
is also good for your motivation and morale. Your
school benefits if you are well motivated, and you
you may well be
benefit too.
troubled by all
Take a broader view of CPD
In the holidays allow yourself to learn about whatever
that you have not managed
interests you. It does not have to be relevant to your
teaching. It does not have to be relevant to your job. It
to do this year. If so, heed
is just what you want to learn about right now.
Accept that at other times you might define what you
are learning in the holidays as trivial and unimportant. A
Margaret Adams’ words
song that you sing on the beach, a new way of cooking
a meal, a new route to your closest friend’s house all
of advice
count as learning and development. You are keeping
your brain active by doing these things. You are
demonstrating you can change the ways in which you
do things. This means you are sustaining your capacity
ERE YOU are with the summer to complete work-related CPD too.
H
holiday just ahead of you.
You are thinking about the
Remember what holidays are for
coming weeks away from school, When you return to school in September your school
but you are also thinking about will expect certain things of you.
those tasks you have not done this Leaders will expect you to be rested and refreshed.
term, along with all the things you They will expect you to be revitalised and full of
need to do to be ready for next year. enthusiasm for the coming term. They will expect you
On top of that, you know you have been putting to have thrown off the tiredness you were feeling at the
to one side the task of learning how to use that new your teaching. Allow yourself to stop researching Given that there is so much you could learn, it end of the summer term.
software package, because you did not have time your subject and preparing your new set texts. Allow cannot be a shortcoming on your part if you find that If you are going to meet your senior people’s
during the year. You also know you have four, or is it yourself to make a trip to that interesting location someone else knows something that you do not. When expectations, take a holiday. Your entitlement to take
five, books on your subject you really must read before without spending a couple of hours taking photographs you next find yourself in a situation where you would holidays is set out in your contract of employment.
September comes. for your next set of assignments. be tempted to say that another teacher knows more than Everyone accepts that you need holidays. You even
Suddenly, instead of thinking about your holiday, Remember also that you do not need to watch you, say instead that both of you know different things get paid to take holidays, so why work against these
you hear yourself say: “Holiday? What holiday?” television with your notebook on your lap, ready to jot about a subject. That’s all. expectations by carrying on working, even if it is your
If that is the situation you find yourself in, give down interesting information for your year 11 group. You are always going to come across people who CPD you are working at?
yourself permission to take a holiday this summer, even Take a look at that list of CPD activities you had know things that you do not. It is nothing to feel guilty Make the decision now. When the end of term
from your CPD. Here is how. planned to work on in the summer. Decide which about. It is a fact, not an indictment. comes, switch off from school. That includes switching
tasks could be scheduled for next term, and leave off from your school-related CPD too. Enjoy the break.
Accept that CPD is a legitimate activity
them until then.
Take part in other types of development.
Enjoy your holiday. SecEd
You do not need to save up your CPD for the holidays. Take a long hard look at what is left and what you Some organisations take a very broad view of what
CPD is part of your life as a teacher. You need really must do in August. Decide how many days of constitutes CPD. Any learning is counted as CPD. It • Margaret Adams is the author of Work-life balance: A
to undertake CPD to keep up with your job, to keep your holiday you will trade for this updating. Set them does not have to be linked to a person’s job. Practical Guide For Teachers (David Fulton Publishers,
abreast of developments in your subject, to enable you aside now. Use them as planned but keep within the The argument in favour of this is that all learning 2006).
to lead a team or a project and so on. limits you have defined. Then make a commitment to
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that your CPD yourself to plan your CPD differently for the future.
is an extra activity that can wait until the holidays. You
Stop feeling guilty about taking time off.
Talking CPD: GTCE
need to stop yourself from saying you will go on that
course later, or you will work through that e-learning Teachers find it easy to feel guilty about not doing what
module when you have more time. they think they should be doing.
You need to make time during the term to complete Unfortunately, it is easy, as a teacher, to feel guilty
your CPD, for the simple reason that you need new all the time. There is more to do than you will ever have
Progress is being made
learning in order to be in a position to do your job time to do. There is more to learn about your subject or
about the teaching and learning process than you will expansion is the launch of the TLA Community, a
Create a CPD-free zone in your life.
ever have time to cover. These realities present you
Keith Bartley
virtual environment that further supports teachers’
When the summer holiday comes, make sure that with opportunities to feel guilty about your perceived learning, by giving access to a wealth of resources,
you take time off from your CPD as well as from shortcomings. gives an overview support groups and knowledge created by teaching
colleagues.
of the CPD
The growing use of research to enhance teachers’
everyday practice is another reason to celebrate. In
Creative intelligence
landscape and the work
fact the area of our website that consistently attracts
the most visitors is our research summaries, now
of the GTCE to support
known as Research for Teachers. Here you can find
more than 50 studies on a wide variety of topics that
Dot
Random word, picture or object
teachers
have been selected and summarised by the Centre for
the Use of Research and Evidence in Education.
When you are working on a problem, select a With the option of a full report or a précis, among
Struthers
random word, picture or object from your office I STARTED writing these regular columns two the benefits is that time-pressed teachers don’t need
and write down a list of words that spring to mind years ago, as part of our mission to bang the drum to read a lengthy piece of research to discover if it’s
shares a
as you reflect on its purpose, colour, texture, shape, to highlight the importance of teachers’ CPD. Some relevant for them. It’s clear that using this resource
size, movement, and surroundings. Now review things don’t change and now – as then – we believe pays tangible dividends. As one teacher told us: “It
what you have written down and see if it generates that participation in effective, sustained and relevant meant that I started closer to the answer.”
few ways to
any new thoughts or ideas that might help with your CPD remains critical to improving both the quality of So there is much to be pleased about. However, I
problem. teaching and the achievements of pupils. know from my regular conversations with teachers at
develop your creativity
Of course there is still much to do and little room our various events around the country that far too many
Develop your senses
for complacency, but looking back on the shifting still face considerable hurdles in accessing appropriate
We make sense and communicate through our landscape of the last couple of years, I’m heartened to professional education and development. Urgent action
CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE is the ability to think senses and the more we develop them the more see the considerable progress that has been made, as is needed now to resolve what teachers are entitled to
in new ways, to be original, and where necessary we are able to associate and find connections investment in teacher learning gains the prominence expect and who is responsible for providing it.
stand apart from the crowd. between apparently unrelated things, e.g. a frog it deserves on school agendas. As we take stock, there are other pressing issues
It requires four things: and school bus – they both need water to keep Among the developments worthy of note is the that must be addressed – the alignment between
• Fluency – the speed and ease with which you them cool and they both have eyes – add your rapidly growing popularity of the Teacher Learning initial teacher training, induction and early career
can “rattle off” new and creative ideas. own! Academy (TLA), which is led by the GTCE. development, for example. We have some concerns
• Flexibility – your ability to see things from When you are outside see if you can spot 15 Launched in 2004, and designed with teachers in about a lack of continuity and coherence, which we
different angles and from opposite points of different colours and textures of green. And the next response to listening to the profession’s needs, the plan to explore further in our own work.
view. To take old concepts and re-arrange them time you listen to a song see if you can pick out the TLA provides a national framework for teachers’ Meanwhile, assessing the impact of teachers’
in new ways and to reverse current ideas. It is instruments and vocalists. professional development. professional development has proved to be an
also about using your senses, i.e. what you see, You can give your taste buds a test by trying And according to independent research, taking essential element in the art of persuading others to
hear, feel, in developing new thinking. to guess the ingredients of a surprise meal. Close part has an immediate and continuing positive impact support our cause.
• Originality – being able to produce ideas that are you eyes and imagine you were blind, can you find on teachers’ practice, pupils’ learning, and overall Finding new ways of evaluating the effects on
unique, unusual and eccentric or different. the things on your desk easily? Give your brain school improvement. Already more than 18,500 standards of teaching and learning is vital if we are to
• Expand ideas – being able to build on, develop, a challenge by wearing your watch on the other teachers have enrolled in the TLA, gaining formal continue the improvement in teachers’ professional
embellish and elaborate upon thoughts and hand for just one day. You will be amazed at how it professional recognition for the innovative work that development – and in so doing, transform the
concepts. develops your sense of touch and feeling. is happening inside their classrooms every day. experiences of children and young people in schools
We all have the ability to be creative by using The successful completion of a pilot programme throughout England. For, as always, the two go hand-
our right brain, but we are also good at blocking it • Dot Struthers runs workshops for teachers on to extend the TLA into a national system this year in-hand.
by limiting our thinking and believing there is only creativity. If you would like some free resources heralds a gear change, enabling every teacher in
one way to look at things. Sometimes we reject ideas and tools and a monthly CPD newsletter, register at England to harness the advantages for themselves, • Keith Bartley is chief executive of the General
outright because we cannot see how they will work. www.merechats.co.uk their pupils and schools. Coinciding with this exciting Teaching Council for England. Visit www.gtce.org.uk
SecEd • July 2 2009 13
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