The Cpd Curriculum

Co-authored by Zoe Enser and Mark Enser, The CPD Curriculum: Creating conditions for growth shares expert and practical guidance for schools on designing and delivering continuing professional development (CPD) that truly lives up to its name. There is a wealth of research available on professional learning, from both within and outside the education sphere, and in this book Zoe and Mark pull it all together to help school leaders optimise teachers' ongoing learning and growth. Zoe and Mark explain how schools can overcome issues with CPD that can leave teachers plateauing in their development after just a few years, and share a variety of case studies that illustrate the key components of an effective CPD programme that builds on teachers' prior knowledge. The authors spell out the importance of CPD and explain how, when done well, it gives teachers the agency to make professional decisions informed by the best evidence and experience they have to hand. Furthermore, they explore how high-quality professional development contributes not only to a collaborative culture within the school staff team and enhanced job satisfaction for teachers, but also to improved student outcomes. Split into three parts - intent, implementation and impact - the book covers a range of key areas, including: coaching and mentoring, subject-specific CPD, empowerment and self-efficacy, delivery methods and quality of materials. They also examine the current issues and common pitfalls surrounding CPD and offer guidance on how it can be improved, with clear end goals in mind. Suitable for school leaders, heads of department and CPD leads in all settings.

All successful schools have one thing in common - they are full of brilliant teachers. This doesn't happen by chance. If schools are to develop their teachers into first rate reflective and high performing practitioners, they need a varied and personalised CPD programme - based on collaboration and sharing best practice. This book looks at how schools can move away from the 'one size fits all' approach to CPD that still exists in a number of schools, to a CPD programme that will appeal to a range of teachers, unlocking the potential that exists within the staffroom. It's about excellence from within.

In the past few years, the way we think about assessment has undergone a revolution. From the re-organisation of qualifications and examinations at national level (including removing National Curriculum levels at secondary school) to the increasing focus on active research to develop feedback strategies with a measurable impact, assessment has never been so much at the forefront of educational thought. While previously assessment was bound to the curriculum, now there is a demand for schools to develop assessment systems that are merely driven by it. Despite raising serious questions and challenges, these dramatic changes provide a reason for teachers to evaluate their practice. Simultaneously, the nature of CPD has been reinvigorated in the 'digital age', with teachers galvanised by online resources, Twitter and educational blogs. The result? Teachers can take their development into their own hands, and re-professionalise teaching! Bringing together these two movements, this book provides an opportunity for teachers to grasp what formative assessment means, how it complements the curriculum when used effectively, how to employ it in their classroom and school, and how they can improve their assessment systems and practice within the classroom. Divided into two parts, train yourself and teach others, this book will dispel concerns, and help teachers and school leaders to embrace and excel in all areas of formative assessment!

Drawing on best practice for the continuing professional development (CPD) of practising physical education teachers, this book encourages teachers to reflect on their own practices and how these can be developed as they continue their professional journey to support student learning. The book covers three main themes: improving students’ learning and supporting student progress; the teacher as learner – developing your expertise as a teacher; and supporting professional development – how as a teacher you can lead and own your continuing learning in a sustainable manner. Throughout the book, teachers are encouraged not just to reflect on where they are now, but also what changes they INTEND to make to their practice, how they IMPLEMENT those changes and then to review the IMPACT this has had on students’ learning. Each chapter includes tasks embedded within the content to encourage the reader to reflect on how they could apply the new knowledge they are acquiring from reading and engaging with the chapter. Written for a global audience, the book brings together examples from the Singapore Physical Education and Sports Teacher Academy (PESTA), which provides CPD to teachers in the high-performing Singaporean system. Offering high quality research and practice, this book is a pivotal resource for physical education teachers undertaking CPD all over the world.

Teachers are the most important determinant of the quality of schools. We should be doing everything we can to help them get better. In recent years, however, a cocktail of box-ticking demands, ceaseless curriculum reform, disruptive reorganisations and an audit culture that requires teachers to document their every move, have left the profession deskilled and demoralised. Instead of rolling out the red carpet for teachers, we have been pulling it from under their feet. The result is predictable: there is now a cavernous gap between the quantity and quality of teachers we need, and the reality in our schools. In this book, Rebecca Allen and Sam Sims draw on the latest research from economics, psychology and education to explain where the gap came from and how we can close it again. Including interviews with current and former teachers, as well as end-of-chapter practical guidance for schools, The Teacher Gap sets out how we can better recruit, train and retain the next generation of teachers. At the heart of the book is a simple message: we need to give teachers a career worth having.

Schools need to have purchase on the curriculum: why they teach the subjects beyond preparation for examinations, what they are intending to achieve with the curriculum, how well it is planned and enacted in classrooms and how they know whether it’s doing what it’s supposed to. Fundamental to this understanding are the conversations between subject leaders and their line managers. However, there is sometimes a mismatch between the subject specialisms of senior leaders and those they line manage. If I don’t know the terrain and the importance of a particular subject, how can I talk intelligently with colleagues who are specialists? This book sets out to offer some tentative answers to these questions. Each of the national curriculum subjects is discussed with a subject leader and provides an insight into what they view as the importance of the subject, how they go about ensuring that knowledge, understanding and skills are developed over time, how they talk about the quality of the schemes in their departments and what they would welcome from senior leaders by way of support. We have chosen this way of opening up the potentially difficult terrain of expertise on one side and relative lack of expertise on the other, by providing these case studies. They are suggested as prompts rather than the last word. Informed debate is, after all, the fuel of curriculum development. And why Huh? Well, 'Huh?' may be John's first response when he walks into a Year 8 German class but, in fact, we chose 'Huh' as the title of our book as he is the Egyptian god of endlessness. As Claire Hill so eloquently comments in her chapter, “Curriculum development is an ongoing process; it’s not going to be finished, ever.” And we believe that 'Huh' captures a healthy and expansive way of considering curriculum conversations.

dfg

In the rapidly evolving education landscape, many challenges confront educators, policymakers, and researchers alike. The shifting demands of students and society, coupled with global disruptions to traditional educational systems, necessitate a comprehensive solution to reshape the learning environment for the digital age. Recognizing these challenges, the book Revitalizing the Learning Ecosystem for Modern Students emerges as a beacon of insight and innovation, providing a holistic exploration of the intricacies within learning ecosystems and offering practical strategies to overcome the hurdles education stakeholders face. For educators seeking innovative strategies, policymakers aiming to craft effective policies, and researchers diving into the forefront of educational exploration, Revitalizing the Learning Ecosystem for Modern Students stands as an invaluable resource. By offering a roadmap not only to identify but also overcome the challenges within the academic domain, this book catalyzes positive change, ensuring that learning ecosystems are revitalized to meet the ever-changing requirements of students in the future.