Dubai College CPD Booklet

The Philosophy

Continued Professional Development at Dubai College

Continuing Professional Development at Dubai College

“All teachers need to improve their practice not because they are not good enough, but because they can be better”

Dylan Wiliam Center

Mission: to design a world class CPD programme for Dubai College, which enables all staff to deepen their knowledge and develop new skills. All staff will be expected to evaluate fully their training and then disseminate the most effective examples to their colleagues in-house. Staff will also be invited to deliver training within the broader educational community beyond the College as part of our Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre.

Who is involved?

Every single employee within a school must engage with their own continuing professional development. In order to support them students and parents may occasionally be involved in training and development sessions as well. Before we start with ‘why’, we must ensure that we have the right ‘who’ on board. Only when we have staff who embrace the need and desire for professional development will CPD become effective across the school. We need a staff who view every workplace interaction as an opportunity for continuing professional development as we fulfil our moral responsibility to provide the very best possible education to our students..

Why do we need it?

There are four main reasons why an effective and well-designed CPD programme is essential for any institution or organisation and therefore for Dubai College:

Professional teachers want to improve their personal practice in line with the latest research into the most effective and engaging pedagogy; effective in that it improves student outcomes and engaging in that it inspires students. In order to fulfil teacher’s professional potential, a comprehensive CPD programme becomes a necessity for every institution.

Teachers also have an obligation to train themselves and be trained in line with the latest legislation and regulatory requirements of their given jurisdiction. MOE and KHDA are the two regulators who most commonly makes statutory demands of teachers at Dubai College as does our membership of COBIS and HMC. In order for teachers and the College to remain compliant it is essential that we engage with appropriate statutory training.

As salaried employees of any given institution teachers also have a responsibility to contribute to the whole school development plan of their employer. Therefore, CPD should also enable teachers to fulfil the institutional strategic vision.

Education is the solution to society’s need to preserve its values and ensure its future. CPD then becomes a social and moral responsibility. Personal, regulatory, institutional, social and moral needs apply equally to ancillary staff within a school as they do to the teaching staff. For CPD to be effective employees must recognise that it is as much their responsibility to receive CPD as it an institution’s responsibility to provide it.

What does it look like?

We have taken the time to map personal, professional, regulatory and institutional training needs across the college in order to determine what the weekly, termly and annual CPD menu looks like. These professional development pathways are there to guide staff to recommended training depending on their aspirations. We recognise that not all staff wish to be promoted upwards so the recommended training can either help staff deepen their current expertise or prepare for promotion or both.

That said, our CPD programme will continue to include traditional training in the form of expert presentations, external lectures, specialist online courses, individual reading and summative lesson observations as part of the annual review process. Crucially there will also be an expectation that DC staff disseminate training they have received to their colleagues as part of in-service training.

These pathways mean that CPD take on new and fluid forms including collaborative research, group discussion, joint reflection, coaching triads, reflective journals, best practice sharing, lesson coplanning, action learning sets, teacher learning communities, data analysis cycles, personal learning networks, subject-based outstanding learning communities, 360-degree performance appraisals, a school R&D hub, marketplace carousels, social networking sites like Twitter, education blogs, online webinars, teachmeets, education festivals and research conferences, and classroom filming and feedback through IRIS and other similar systems.

Personal

Staff must be empowered to take ownership of their own personal development. Part of their line management conversations need to involve discussion of their personal development needs and desires. These must be considered alongside their professional, regulatory and institutional training needs. Due to budgetary restrictions not all personal training needs can be paid for by the school in addition to their professional, regulatory and institutional training. Notwithstanding these limitations, all reasonable requests for time to complete self-funded training should be given.

Institutional

Given that the professional development needs of staff are many and varied it is imperative that we can recommend quality, tailored and effective training opportunities to staff. Broadly speaking staff will either be seeking to enhance their teaching or tutoring practice in order to become even more effective practitioners or they will be seeking to enhance their careers through leadership and management training. Based on a database of feedback from previous training in addition to our recommendations, staff should be encouraged to follow particular tried and tested routes in addition to their own suggestions and requests. The focus of professional training, either for classroom practice or leadership and management, should be explicitly linked to the vision document and the strategic vision.

Regulatory

First Aid, Child Protection and Safeguarding Training, Fire Training, as well as KHDA, OFSTED and COBIS-linked training such as teacher licensing, Safer Recruitment training and data analysis training must all happen periodically as and when new requirements come into effect or the validity of current certification lapses. A timetable of training needs to be mapped and automated reminders will be sent out to all staff.

How will we know it is effective?

The evaluation of training must be systematic if we are to know whether it is effective. All training must be evaluated both immediately after training and after implementation of the training. Feedback must be made publically available to all staff and in particular to the Deputy Head of Learning and Teaching (see appendix).

Professional Development Days and Monday Meetings

We have five professional development days granted by the Ministry of Education calendar in addition to the Monday meeting slots. These days and sessions will involve a combination of blanket statutory training, and the types of CPD listed under each pathway.

Where will it take place?

Our CPD programme needs to be built in-house with our needs and desires in mind and consequently will be blended in its approach. Some training will take place onsite either delivered by our own resident experts and practitioners or by visiting speakers, while other training will necessitate external visits. With the creation of our very own online professional development platform, we are now able to offer custom-made courses that can be delivered in a blended capacity. Over time our training programme will then be made available to all schools in Dubai as part of our public service benefit.

Talent Pathways

The Teacher Development Landscape

LEADING CPD: THE CONTENT OF EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

For the first time the Teacher Development Trust (TDT) review highlights the equal importance of both pedagogic and subject knowledge. Professional development programmes must consider both subject knowledge and subject-specific pedagogy in order to achieve their full potential. Findings from the strongest review went even further, showing that professional development focussed on generic pedagogy is insufficient. Effective professional development should be underpinned by a number of “key building blocks” to be able to progress to being an expert experienced teacher:

• Subject knowledge

• Subject-specific pedagogy

• Clarity around learner progression, starting points and next steps.

• Content and activities dedicated to helping teachers understand how pupils learn

Programmes should also put forward: Alternative pedagogies for pupils with different needs and focus on formative assessment, to allow teachers to see the impact of their learning and work on their pupils. Input should allow for the consideration of participants’ existing theories, pedagogies, beliefs and practice, and for opportunities to challenge these in a non-threatening way. It is important that participants receive support to understand the rationale that underpins the practices being advocated. The strongest review went further still, highlighting the importance of participants’ critical engagement with course content; creating room for professional discretion; and providing repeated opportunities to encounter, understand, respond to and reflect on new approaches and related practices (TDT, 2012.

For these reasons and those outlined in our philosophical approach to professional learning we allow staff autonomy and time in order to develop of both the school priorities and those that are important to them and their professional development. We encourage staff to reflect and explore different pathways in order to mirror the best opportunities that globally available so that they can continue to grow and flourish professionally. We do that by encouraging staff to develop their own professional learning portfolio to share with their coach as part of their professional review cycle.

Early Careers Framework Training and PCGE Support

The Early Career Framework (ECF) was designed to make sure early career teachers focus on learning the things that make the most difference in the classroom and their professional practice. There are five core areas to the ECF:

•behaviour management

•pedagogy

•curriculum

•assessment

•professional behaviours

The content of the ECF builds on and complements ITT. The ECF underpins what all early career teachers should be entitled to learn about and learn how to do based on expert guidance and the best available research evidence. As is the case for other professions, areas covered in initial training will be covered in greater depth as part of induction as teachers continue on their journey to becoming experts.

The college has a number of experienced mentors who would be ready and willing to support teachers through both their PCGEs and NQT year. So far the sole focus has been in supporting students through the PGCEs from Birmingham University and The TES Institute, many of our trainees has gone on to secure excellent positions and we are proud of the partnerships we have established in the process.

Dubai College Talent PATHWAYS

Schools that have a culture of prioritising professional development build a climate in which teachers feel increasingly confident in their role (West-Burnham, 2009).

Talent Pathways

Talent pathways are professional development pathways for staff across the organisation; they map out professional development opportunities for staff that lead to strengthening practice, while building opportunities for career progression. At Dubai College there are a variety of professional routes you can take to develop yourself as a teacher and enhance your career aspirations if you so wish to.

Dubai College Teacher Development Stages

These stages are not all based on tenure, but the level of expertise that is demonstrated in the classroom, engagement in professional learning demonstrated as part of an individual’s professional portfolio and a leader’s growth against the Dubai College leadership competencies if in a leadership position.

Trainee Teacher Emerging Teacher Expert Teacher

Middle Leader Senior Leader

Initial Teacher Training Regulatory Training

Mandatory Regulatory Training

Ministry of Education Teacher Licence

The Educational Professions Licensure System was launched in line with the vision of the UAE in order to develop a Knowledge Economy and to insure a high quality of education along with the best standards of education One initiative in this goal is to license all education professionals according to the high standards in pedagogy and subject matter specialisation The educational professions license will become a requirement for education professionals in the UAE by the end of 2020. This will contribute in advancing this profession and providing a guarantee of high-performance in the education system and will equip UAE education professionals with a high level of know-how and competence in order to compete globally

The license is obtained by passing two tests, one in pedagogy and the other being a subject-matter specialisation test. In the case that the exam criteria is not met by the test-taker, the system then introduces training courses that are customised based on the level shown in the exam to achieve the required outcomes. Duration of the training varies based on the needs of the candidate, and retaking the examination is possible upon completing the courses Education professionals will be invited to register at scheduled stages in coordination with schools, after which professional exams are booked according to their specialisation and geographic location.

All teachers need to ensure that they take the initiative to sign up and add all of the relevant documentation and attend and pass the relevant tests. Please sign up via: https://tls.moe.gov.ae/home#!/about

KHDA Permit

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is responsible for the growth and quality of private education in Dubai. Pursuant to its responsibility for quality, KHDA established requirements for teachers in Dubai’s private schools. The aim of these requirements is to safeguard and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in Dubai private schools A basic requirement for enhancing quality in teaching and learning is for a teacher have appropriate qualifications. This requirement must be met by the teacher before an Initial Appointment is issued. The Initial Appointment allows a teacher to teach at a school Thereafter, KHDA continues to enhance quality in teaching and learning by supporting teachers in meeting the requirements for the KHDA teacher registration on the Educator Permit System.

Teacher Appointment

1. After a private school in Dubai selects a teacher for an available teaching position, the school applies for the Initial Appointment for the teacher. The Initial Appointment is needed to obtain a UAE work permit for the teacher. For the Initial Appointment, a teacher must have a degree in a particular field, depending on whether the teacher is a class teacher or subject teacher A class teacher must have a recognised Bachelor Degree in Education [B Ed] or postgraduate certificate/diploma in education or Master Degree in Education [M.Ed].

2. A subject teacher must have a minimum of recognised bachelor degree relevant to the subject taught

3. Upon receiving the Initial Appointment, the teacher at a Dubai private school is required to register on the website..

To complete the registration, a teacher must meet the requirements of: Subject Qualification

• Teacher Preparation Qualification for Subject Teachers

• Additional Qualification Requirements

• Language Proficiency

• Legal Status

• Fitness to Teach

• Good Standing

• Mandatory Professional Development

We are currently awaiting an update as to how the permit links into the MOE licence, staff can sign up via this link: https://www khda gov ae/Educators/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2feducators

Please contact Nadia in HR.

New Staff Induction

New Staff Induction Programme

The aim of the programme is to ensure that new colleagues

• Understand and use effectively the systems and procedures operating in the school

• Provide relevant and high-quality learning experiences to the students on a consistent basis as soon as possible after arriving at Dubai College

• Participate fully in the co-curricular programme of the school

• Settle well and have an enjoyable and rewarding professional experience

STAGE 1: Online Induction

The instructions will be emailed to all new staff prior to the summer break to allow them to orientate themselves through a series of short tasks. This is designed to help them to understand the ethos and skills needed to work at the college. To enable this process to happen new staff must log into their accounts via an email send by the Head of HR to allow them access to the New Staff Induction

OneNote book. An online induction meeting on Teams has taken place over the last two years to ensure that staff are digitally on boarded.

STAGE 2: Induction Day

During this day new colleagues will:

• meet with the SLT and the Bursar

• tour the school

• spend some time with the IT Services Team (MIS, passwords etc)

• meet with their Subject Leader and/or Subject Mentor who will be the key point of contact for support and guidance within the department

• have an opportunity to meet with each other and some members of the existing staff

STAGE 3: ‘Start-Up Week’ and New Staff Pedagoos

Join the rest of the staff in whole school INSET and general preparation for the start of term

When Where

New Staff Pedagoos

What?

Wednesday 19th January Board room

Thursday 27th January

Board room

Thursday 3rd February E10

Tuesday 8th February Board room

Educating Able Students (Dee Saran)

Introduction to the Science of Learning (Laura Causer)

Introduction to Harkness (Sarah Lambert)

Useful Digital Tools (Jerry McIlveen)

STAGE 4: Subject Leader/Mentor (From the start of term)

Work with their appointed subject mentor, (designated member of their department), with, initially, weekly meetings arranged in advance to review progress and clarify issues. The SL/Subject Mentor will pop into lessons, provide guidance and support and identify any areas for development.

New teachers will also have a short interview/meeting with the Deputy Head Learning and Teaching in the first 2-3 weeks of the new year to check settling-in arrangements, offer feedback on their induction experience and discuss next steps and the arrangements for lesson observations and probationary period

STAGE 5: Review Meeting (early/Mid October)

A series of information sessions will take place in the first half of the Autumn term with members of the SLT. CPD/Professional Review, Safeguarding, Timetabling, Cover, upcoming Consultation Evenings/Reports and Assessment procedures will be outlined. The Deputy Head Learning and Teaching meets with new staff before October half term to ensure that they have settled well and to address any professional development needs.

STAGE 6: Probationary Reviews

These commence from mid-October and will be completed by December. Probationary Reviews consist of lesson observations by the Subject Leader and Headmaster and professional opinions will also be sought from immediate colleagues Colleagues will either

i) pass the probationary period

i) have it extended for a period of one or two terms

i) fail the probationary period.

To pass their probationary period new colleagues will be expected to

i) consistently provide good to outstanding lessons which challenge, motivate and inspire our talented student body

ii) participate fully in the co-curricular programme

iii) settle well into the team ethos of the school

iv) abide by the staff professional code, contractual obligations of conduct and be a positive role model to all stakeholders

STAGE 7: Term 2

Occasional on-going classroom observation by the Subject Leader or Mentor or member of the SLT

One to one meetings between a member of the SLT and ‘new’ staff to review the induction process, professional development of the individual and to clarify procedures for upcoming events (examinations, full reports)

Talent Pathways

DC LearnED

DC LearnED is Dubai College's online professional development platform. It is designed to provide high quality blended, research-informed, application-focused, impact-driven CPD.

The purpose of CPD is to have an impact. Otherwise it is a waste of time. Our courses are firmly focused on application and impact on your practice and ultimately on the students in your school and classroom.

We translate research into strategies you can apply and use in your school and your classroom. We have used our extensive experience of working in schools and leading teacher CPD to ensure our courses are as practical and useful as possible.

The courses on LearnED allow staff to learn at their own place, work through workbooks that focus on the science of implementation. Courses are designed by our own experts, engaging content and external providers. Our courses are always crystal-clear and concise. The courses on DC LearnED are designed to deliver staff with brilliant insights, tips, ideas and strategies in easy to digest learning bites.

All of our CPD courses follows a strong, research and evidence based process. Our ‘Responsive Learning Cycle’ helps us to make sure your learning is effective. All of learning is designed for

https://dubaicollege.guidetraining.org

Access codes available on MSTeams:

Oracy

Learning and Teaching PATHWAYS

Complete LearnED

An Introduction to Oracy

Read and watch Voice 21 materials relating to The Oracy Skills Framework

Attend Oracy Pedagoos

Attend Harkness Pedagoos

Join Oracy Focus Group as departmental lead

Join Harkness Collaborative Learning Group

Complete a T-SEDA Research Inquiry Cycle

Complete Voice 21 International Oracy Leaders Programme

Science of Learning

Attend DC 3-day Harkness Training Course

Attend a Phillips Exeter Harkness Institute

Complete LearnED

An Introduction to the Science of Learning

Attend Science of Learning Pedagoos

Join Science of Learning Focus Group as departmental lead

Conduct Action Research in partnership with University of Birmingham, Dubai

Train to become an Evidence Based Education Science of Learning Leader

Oracy and Harkness Training Programme for Teachers

Emerging Developing Highly Accomplished Embedded Excellence

Preparation

• Familiarity with the four strands of The Oracy Skills Framework & glossary.

• Familiarity with The Oracy Benchmarks.

Lessons

• Establish discussion guidelines and oracy norms with all classes.

• Use student talk and whole class dialogue in lessons fortnightly.

• Model active listening, good questions and encourage critical thinking.

• Harkness: set occasional preparatory homework with short follow-up talk tasks in lessons based on prep.

Training & reading

• Attend Oracy Pedagoos.

• Watch Voice 21 Masterclasses.

• Complete LearnED An Introduction to Oracy.

• Read ESU & Voice 21 (2016) Speaking Frankly

• Read Gaunt & Stott’s (2019) Transform Teaching and Learning Through Talk: The Oracy Imperative

• Read The Oracy Benchmarks Report

• Harkness: attend Harkness’ Pedagoos

• Harkness: read ‘Hark the Herald Tables Sing! Achieving higher-order thinking with a chorus of sixth-form pupils’ (Orth, Lacey & Smith 2015), ‘Harkness Learning: Principles of a Radical American Pedagogy’ (Williams, 2018) and How to Harkness: Strategies and Advice (Donarski, 2016).

Preparation

• Lesson planning includes explicit focus on elements of The Oracy Skills Framework (OSF).

• 1-2 Teacher Benchmarks explicitly focused on in planning.

• Baseline assessment taken for each class (with a subsequent follow-up).

Lessons

• Student-led talk tasks are used weekly.

• Students are familiar with different roles or tactics in discussions.

• Talk tasks develop skills from the OSF

• Clear preparatory homework expectations; students often prepare for lessons in advance.

• Student-led discussions based on prior knowledge/learning are scaffolded, structured and clearly focused.

• Harkness: Student-led discussions are short miniHarkness exercises.

Training & reading

• Observe Oracy leads & Harkness practitioners.

• Attend Oracy or Harkness Pedagoos.

• Join Oracy Focus Group (OFG) or Harkness Collaborative Learning Group (HCLG) as department lead.

• Watch Voice 21’s ‘Talking Twilight’ on Teacher Oracy Benchmarks (pptx)

• Read The State of Speaking in Our Schools (Voice 21, 2016) and Classroom Talk (Knight, 2020)

• Harkness: Read ‘A Harkness Literature Review’ (Lambert, 2019).

Preparation

• Planning maps strands and elements of the OSF across the year.

• 3-4 Teacher Benchmarks explicitly focused on in planning.

• Baseline assessment and T-SEDA inquiry cycle are planned &conducted for a focus class.

Lessons

• Oracy tasks embedded within schemes of work.

• Range of groupings and tasks used across classes.

• Students often lead talk. Students can peer assess and discuss oracy skills (metatalk).

• Students reflect on their oracy skills and set own targets.

• Inquiry cycle is focused and conducted using Lesson Study.

• Harkness: used often, perhaps summatively.

• Harkness: teacher only contributes their equal share of a discussion.

• Harkness: discussions are mapped to provide feedback; students reflect on lessons.

Training & reading

• Read Exploring Talk in School (Mercer & Hodgkinson, 2017)

• Harkness: attend A Seat at the Table (3 day DC course).

• Harkness: read A Classroom Revolution: Reflections of Harkness Learning and Teaching (Hassan, 2015) and The Best Class You Never Taught (Wiggins, 2017) and other Harkness articles and materials on the Sharepoint site.

Preparation

• OSF underpins teaching.

• Teacher Benchmarks are explicitly focused upon in lesson planning.

•Baseline assessments identify areas of focus for each class.

•Inquiry cycles are planned and conducted for classes.

Lessons

• A dialogic environment exists with high expectations for talk.

• Students question, challenge and evaluate classroom talk.

• Students confidently work on a range of tasks & in a variety of groups.

• Group talk is exploratory, solo talk is impressively developed.

• Harkness: adopted as main pedagogy with mapping, coding & tracking tools used.

• Harkness: students selfassess using rubric & discuss progress.

• Harkness: teacher sits silently off-table to track discussions; students occasionally map.

Training & reading

• Train to be a Voice 21 International Oracy Leader.

• Run DC Oracy/Harkness training for and INSET.

• Mentor other teachers.

• Film lessons and be observed; discuss the observations/footage afterwards to reflect on practice.

• Read widely from recommended oracy reading list.

• Harkness: attend Phillips Exeter Academy course (Humanities, Maths or Science Institutes).

Science of Learning Training Programme for Teachers

Emerging Developing Highly Accomplished Embedded Excellence

Preparation:

• Read ‘Strengthening the Student Toolbox’ and Pooja Agarwal's guide to Retrieval Practice

• Familiarise yourself with these Retrieval Practice templates and adapt as required

Lessons:

• Provide students with timely and constructive feedback that identifies strengths and areas for development linked to a success criteria

• Understand the importance of quizzing and model techniques to students using online resources, selfmade flashcards and Throwback Thursday Questions

• Trial retrieval activities in lessons to encourage students to retrieve learning from their longterm memory

Training & reading:

• Complete LearnEd An Introduction to the Science of Learning

• Watch this TEDx Talk on behaviours of highperforming students

• Read ‘Make it Stick’ and 'Retrieval Practice' by Kate Jones

• Watch The Learning Scientists video on Retrieval Practice Strategies

Preparation:

• Read Pooja Agarwal's guide to Spaced Retrieval Practice

• Map out a range of retrieval activities using spaced practice to ensure key content is regularly retrieved

Lessons:

• Students reflect on their current study habits using the Revision Technique Questionnaire

• Self- and peerassessment opportunities activate students in the learning process

• Students regularly use a range of retrieval strategies in lessons and homework opportunities

• Students know the disadvantages of cramming and are provided with spaced learning opportunities

Training & reading:

• Read Rosenshine’s Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington

• Watch The Learning Scientists video on Spaced Practice

• Watch the Durrington Multi Academy Trust’s video on ‘Getting to Grips with Feedback’

• Watch this talk on the habits and behaviours of effective learners

Preparation:

• Dual coding and elaboration techniques are used to enhance learning opportunities

• An understanding of the limitations of working memory means that opportunities to activate prior knowledge are preplanned

Lessons:

• Trial some of Mrs Humanities ideas on marking, DIRT time and feedback

• Students regularly engage in self-reflective, metacognitive strategies, such as Think-Alouds, Exam Wrappers and/or Learning Journals

• Dual coding and elaboration activities are effectively implemented

Training & reading:

• Watch The Durrington Multi Academy Trust’s video on Improving Memory

• Read The Craft of Assessment by Michael Chiles and Dual Coding Theory by Oliver Caviglioli

• Listen to the Learning Scientists podcast

• Read The Deans for Impact guide to the Science of learning

• Read Poweful Teaching by Pooja Agarwal

Preparation:

• Implement a rigorous curriculum which builds upon prior knowledge, uses worked examples and elaboration to direct student attention and ensure learning is encoded into long-term memory

• Resources demonstrate an understanding of the limitations of working memory and the need to avoid cognitive overload

Lessons:

• Students take ownership of their learning, identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, setting their own targets, selfregulating their feelings and behaviours around learning and take targeted action to improve

Training & reading:

• Read Cognitive Load Theory in Action by Ollie Lovell and Understanding How We Learn by Weinstein-Jones, Sumeracki & Caviglioli

• Watch this Chartered College webinar on ‘How Learning Happens’

• Complete the Evidence Based Education Science of Learning Leader course

Pastoral

Pastoral PATHWAYS

Positive Education

Emerging

Developing

Highly accomplished

Embedded excellence

How to be a good tutor at DC Course

Mental Health First Aid Light House Arabia

Subject

Curriculum PATHWAYS

Curriculum

Digital and Assessment PATHWAYS

New Staff DC Digital Induction and self evaluation

Digital T&L Assessment

SLE Digital Diagnostic Training based on self evaluation

Developing Confidence in using MS Teams and OneNote

Using the MEI Courses to develop skills around

Watching SPARK Videos to support the use of padlet, carousel, quizzes and MS Streams to develop Oracy and SoL

Developing learning through Luckin’s 6 Learning Acts. See ideas overleaf

DC iSAMs and Reporting Induction

Read: What is the purpose of assessment

Utilise the DC Studios to encourage teachers and student content creation: MetaTalk Emerging

Read: What makes good progress?

Using CEM Baseline Data HMC

GL Courses and Events

Digital Training Programme for Teachers

Digital Training Programme for Teachers

Know the full functionalities of the i3 boards: writing, sharing and projecting Know how to save and share documents on OneDrive and SharePoint.

Recommended Training

Pedagoos, SLE Coaching

Pedagoos and Director of Digital Technology

https://dubaicollege sharepoint com/learning-and-teaching/digitalpedagogies

Survival skills

Barriers to digital learning and how to overcome them

The basics to using the Microsoft suite. One Note in the classroom.

Microsoft Teams: The basics. How to create visual slides with impact

https://education microsoft com/Learning/LearningPrograms/Detail/4 39

https://preview education microsoft com/course/e597ca7b/overview

https://education microsoft com/courses-andresources/courses/collaborating-and-communicating-to-transformlearning-environments-with-teams

https://education.microsoft.com/courses-andresources/courses/presentation-design-101-how-to-create-visualslides-with-impact

https://preview education microsoft com/course/87c99804/overview

Mastery skills

Introduction to Microsoft Teams – the digital hub for educators and students DC L&T SharePoint for Teams.

Create content to flip the classroom through screen casting

https://dubaicollege sharepoint com/learning-and-teaching/microsoftteams

https://preview education microsoft com/course/8ebc6daf/overview

https://education.microsoft.com/blendedlearning

Impact skills

Blended, personalised learning. Dyslexia Awareness: In partnership with Made By Dyslexia. Introduction to Skype in the Classroom

Problem Based Learning

Digital Story Telling

Using Technology in Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning (4 weeks)

https://education.microsoft.com/courses-andresources/courses/dyslexia-awareness-in-partnership-with-made-bydyslexia

https://preview.education.microsoft.com/course/e177a1e7/overview

https://preview.education.microsoft.com/course/903e75a1/overview https://preview.education.microsoft.com/course/2b57129d/overview

Future Learn with Chartered College of Teaching: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/technology-teaching-learning

Innovation skills

Data collection and assessment: Boost student-centred assessment with Flip grid (presenter-led training)

Education Transformation Framework: Modern teaching and learning.

Computational Thinking and its importance in education

Leadership of Education Technology in Schools (4 weeks).

https://education.microsoft.com/courses-and-resources/courses/datacollection-and-assessment-boost-studentcentered-assessment-withflipgrid

https://education.microsoft.com/courses-andresources/courses/microsoft-education-transformation-frameworkmodern-teaching-and-learning

https://preview.education.microsoft.com/course/a41b9507/overview

Future Learn with Chartered College of Teaching: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/education-technologyleadership-in-schools

School Ecosystem Office 365: One Note Class Notebook, Teams, Sway, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Forms, Stream; SharePoint, Solstice.

Toolkit Padlet, Quizlet, EdPuzzle, YouTube, Kahoot, iMovie, Seesaw, Masolit, GCSEPod, Century Tech, CoralDraw, Fusion 360, Photoshop, Autograph, MyMaths, Geogebra, E-Chalk, Google Earth, Edmodo.

The Science of Learning:

Creating metacognitive awareness to enhance selfregulation and high order thinking

Digital Pedagogical Guide for Teachers

Students are enthusiastic and take responsibility for their own learning in sustained ways.

They focus well (fully immersed) and reflect on their learning to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses accurately They take targeted actions to improve

Students consistently question themselves, one another and the teacher.

Explicit instruction focuses on the learning process to facilitate critical thinking and problem solving skills which are intrinsic features of learning

Teachers use strategies that very successfully meet the individual needs of students Teachers have high expectations of all groups of students They provide very challenging work and excellent support

Learning through Making:

Digital technology offers a variety of creative outlets to enable students to enhance and share their understanding (dual coding, thinking maps, graphic organisers, wrappers)

Learning with Others:

Collaborating in virtual spaces to foster a mutual understanding when approaching a problem Sharing knowledge with others to further build understanding and challenge them

Learning through Inquiry:

Teachers and learners are able to curate research and collaborate to plan a route to enquiry Learners are able to work collaboratively to ask and answer questions in creative ways with or without technology Teachers and learners use technology to seek out new challenges and solve problems creatively

Dialogic and Collaborative Learning:

Creating an equitable classroom where students feel confident and challenged

Supporting students to build their confidence in communicating their learning very clearly

To encourage students to interact and collaborate very effectively in a wide range of learning situations to achieve agreed goals They communicate their learning very clearly.

To ensure students are compassionate in seeking and accepting help and support when collaborating

Students consistently question themselves, one another and the teacher

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are intrinsic features of learning

Teachers use strategies that very successfully meet the individual needs of students Teachers have high expectations of all groups of students They provide very challenging work and excellent support

Learning from Experts:

Technology can support dialogue between the learner and the teacher Technology helps to support discussions and consolidate knowledge beyond the classroom

Learning with Others:

Teachers use technology to flip learning to support students to interpret ideas and to create more time for facilitating questioning and in-depth discussions Online group discussions should ensure all students participate to build a community of knowledge

Beyond the Curriculum:

Creating opportunities for students to gain context to their learning and provide additional challenge

Stretching and challenging students beyond the specification when appropriate

Allowing the teacher to provide relevance to enable students to regularly make meaningful connections between areas of learning and relate these well to their understanding of the world

Students consistently question themselves, one another and the teacher

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are intrinsic features of learning

Teachers use strategies that very successfully meet the individual needs of students Teachers have high expectations of all groups of students They provide very challenging work and excellent support

Learning from Experts:

Helps to support discussions and consolidate knowledge beyond the classroom through the use of visuals and videos to flip learning out of the classroom Then creating more time for facilitating questioning and in-depth discussions

Learning with Others:

Collaborating in virtual spaces to foster a mutual understanding when approaching a problem Sharing knowledge with others to further build understanding and challenge them

Learning through Inquiry:

Teachers and learners are able to curate research and collaborate to plan a route to enquiry. Learners are able to work collaboratively to ask and answer questions in creative ways with or without technology Teachers and learners use technology to seek out new challenges and solve problems creatively

Assessment:

Assessment information is used skillfully and effectively to influence teaching and the curriculum in order to meet the learning needs of all groups of students and to optimise their progress

Teachers have in-depth knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of individual students. Teachers provide excellent personalised challenge and support. Feedback to students is comprehensive and constructive (active constructive feedback) Students are routinely involved in assessing their own learning

Learning through Assessment:

Technology can be used to support assessment in a variety of ways It can be used to compile learning activities to enable teachers and learners to track the progress of learning Data drawn can inform and suggest relevant interventions.

Learning through Practising:

Whatever is being learned, practice makes perfect Technology can support practice and AI can offer personalised pathways, challenging problems and appropriate feedback to students instantly

Research Pathways

Evidence Informed Professional Development

To ensure that the learning potential of all students is maximised the College encourages an evidence informed approach to all professional learning opportunities. These focus on developing all areas of school life from leadership, wellbeing, pastoral, teaching, learning and leading research groups.

“Inaschoolwhereresearchengagementandevidence-informedenquiryiswellestablished,theprocessproduces powerfulinsightsthatsupportpositivemeasurablechange.” (McAleavy, 2016 p34)

There are now a wide range of perspectives on research in schools – how research is used and carried out and for what purposes. Research engagement is defined as both engagement inand engagement withresearch (DfE):

Engagement in research – school-based research/practitioner enquiry/action research to interrogate and improve practice.

Engagement with research – schools’ and practitioners’ use of external research to inform pedagogy and drive school improvement.

This is encouraged through a diverse and cutting-edge professional learning menu where teachers can choose specific training that is relevant to them or for areas they would like to further develop. The College has published a series of evidence informed research compendiums in partnership with the Oxford University Education Deanery, The Learning Scientists, Voice21, The University of Birmingham Dubai, The UAE Research Schools Network and Hughes Hall at Cambridge University.

Our pioneering stance on education provides a wider field of influence via our work with the Oxford Educational Deanery, Hughes Hall, Cambridge University and the Institute of Positive Education. Staff and students have access to research mentors when completing their individual research projects and are well versed in how to be good researchers. Dubai College is also pro The benefits for both students and teachers in belonging to such a uniquely reflective and research informed school are incalculable to developing a learning community.

Research PATHWAYS

Reading evidence informed books and articles

Research

Emerging Developing Highly accomplished

Embedded excellence

Join the Chartered College of Teaching

Attend ResearchED Conferences

Conduct a small scale Action Research Project

Complete

Improving Practice Through Research Course SSAT

Engage in departmental lesson study triads

Oracy Practitioner Enquiry Cycles

Contribute to DC Third SPACE

Become a Research Lead

Masters, MBA, EdD PhD

Evidence Informed Pedagoos

Pedagoos are a great way of sharing short sharp pedagogical tips and research. There are a growing community of pedagoos events run by teachers to collaboratively support, encouraging and sharing innovative and effective approaches to teaching and learning.

Every year Dubai College puts on a series of pedagoos that run over the course of term two and three. In doing so we aim to bring our staff together over a fabulous lunch spread with the sole aim to improve outcomes for our young people through positively and professionally sharing our practice.

Example Lunchtime DC Pedagoo CPD Schedule: 12.40 – 13.25 Themes focusing on Thinking, Active Learning and Questioning

When Where

Wednesday 19th January

Thursday 27th January

Board room/ SPARK channel

Educating Able Students (Dee Saran)

Boardroom Introduction to the Science of Learning (Laura Causer)

Thursday 3rd February E10 Introduction to Harkness (Sarah Lambert)

Tuesday 8th February Boardroom Useful Digital Tools (Jerry McIlveen and Steve Briggs)

Half Term

Tuesday 22nd February Dee’s WebEx

Monday 28th Feb

Thursday 10th March

The Metacognition Handbook: Practical Ideas (Jenny Webb aka https://funkypedagogy com )

Boardroom Thinkers Games: Making Thinking Physical (Dee Saran)

Boardroom Tracking, Coding and Appraising Talk (Sarah Lambert)

Monday 14thth March Dee’s WebEx

Wednesday 23rd March

Boardroom

The Feedback Pendulum (Michael Chiles, author of The Feedback Pendulum)

Passive is the New Disruptive: Encouraging Students to be Active Participants in their Learning (Laura Causer)

Spring Break/ Ramadan

Tuesday 17th May

Week beginning 23th May

Week beginning 30th May

Boardroom/ SPARK channel Encouraging Students to Ask Better Questions (Dee Saran)

Boardroom/ SPARK channel

Boardroom/ SPARK channel

The Ladder of Inference: Enhancing your coaching skills (Mike Lambert)

Challenging students to think philosophically at KS4 (Helen Bastable)

Improving Practice Through Action Research Course

Engage with effective research and improve classroom practice with the new digitally-badged course from SSAT and The Open University

https://www.ssatuk.co.uk/cpd/teaching-and-learning/improving-practice-research/

• Improving Practice through Research recognises the education landscapes’ need for evidence informed practice, and engagement with research at a practitioner, school and multi-academy trust wide level. The programme was commissioned following several years of consultation with schools. With the advent of research schools and research networks, SSAT and The Open University wanted to develop a learning course that helped practitioners better understand how to engage with research and apply it to their own context, generating positive impact on teaching and learning.

• This course is intended for practitioners who wish to make positive changes to teaching and learning practice which is based on sound understanding of ‘what works’. The course is accessible to all educators, be they teachers, leaders or support staff, across all phases and learning contexts, whether that is mainstream, special, pupil referral units or prisons. Delivered online and on-demand, it can be completed anytime, anywhere.

How does it work?

• The course consists of 8 online lessons of approximately 3 hours duration each, which can be completed at a time to suit the practitioner. The course is interactive and iterative in that it asks participants to reflect on the learning, translate to their own context and to build their knowledge and application over time. The outcome is measured through an online assessment that can be repeated, resulting in a digital badge. This course is the first of a series which will unpack and explain a whole range of issues in teaching and learning.

The eight sessions

• Introduction to practitioner research

• Reading education research critically

• How do I decide what to research into?

• The stages of research

• Thinking ethically

• Methods of collecting data

• Analysing and presenting data

• How might I disseminate my research?

What will participants learn?

The course has three founding principles:

1. Making effective use of evidence to transform your practice and that of others, emphasising the SSAT Four E’s model; engage, enact, embed and extend

2. Stimulating critical analysis, debate and reflection, as well as understanding some of the research methods you can engage in

3. Recognising the teacher as a knowledgeable professional who is constantly reflecting on their practice in order to make enhancements on a day-to day basis and how learning and working with others (collaboration) amplifies the impact of research

After studying this course, you will be able to:

•Design and carry out a small-scale educational research project

•Understand some of the methodological traditions within educational research that are relevant to practice settings

•Understand some of the issues around collecting, analysing and presenting information/data

•Identify the most appropriate way(s) of disseminating your research findings

•Understand what constitutes practitioner research and discuss with confidence the debates around teachers as researcher

Throughout the course, practitioners are encouraged to reflect either online or in a learning journal, and translate learning to their own context. This may relate to how you will extend your work on a school development priority.

To see some examples of how staff have engaged in action research, have at a look at the examples overleave. Staff and HODs may want to embark on their own action research project based on an issue within their classroom. We encourage staff to use the DC Action research template to summerise and share their findings to help to share their learning within the community. We also produce a compendium of our research findings in our annual 3rd SPACE Learning and Teaching Innovation Centre Publication.

Action Research Poster Template

Joint Practice Development: Lesson Study

Lesson Study is a way of being a highly professional teacher and a way of running an excellent school that understands its learners and what and how they are learning in great depth.

Lesson Study has become such a natural, unconscious part of being a teacher or school leader that the Japanese have become unaware, unconscious of it as a process separate from any other aspect of their professional lives. The migration of Lesson Study to the rest of the world this century has, for the Japanese, thrown Lesson Study into relief enabling them to see it with fresh eyes. And yet paradoxically, what makes Lesson Study such a great tool for professional learning is precisely its ability to help us as teachers and leaders to see our own practices afresh, to see our learners with ‘x-ray specs’ and to discover that often they are not learning as we had imagined they were and that we therefore need to adjust the way we are teaching them in order to help them learn and progress better.

This process of joint practice development that is a collaborative, deliberate investigation of pupils’ learning, as teachers try out and study new, informed practices in their classrooms, builds strong communities of teacher-learners, enquirers, researchers.

These communities are united in the joint endeavour of helping their students to learn more effectively and deeply by jointly studying and problem solving in great detail, aspects of their students’ learning in lessons. They take risks, focus on the hardest to learn, teach parts of the curriculum and help the hardest to reach learners to improve. Doing this together in this way almost uniquely enables them to tap into each others’ stores of unconscious tacit knowledge of teaching (Dudley, 2013).

Teachers and departments are encouraged to use lesson study in term 2 and as part of their subject development plans as vehicle to pass on this knowledge to their colleagues in ways that both engage them and help them to see how they could use the approach in their own classrooms. The teaching profession in the West has been singularly hampered in its ability to do this because of its preference for lone teaching and because of the challenge that leaders of learning face the world over – that of making visible, conscious and transferable, the tacit, unconscious know-how that makes up the vast majority of teachers’ practice knowledge.

Departments have been trained in using the template overleaf and have found working in collaborative triads, co planning and observing exceptionally useful in developing their practice. We have also used Peter Dudley’s Lesson Study Handbook to support new HODs in integrating these opportunities into their approach to developing their teams.

Masters Application Support and Part Funding

This is a college based part funded route which aims to support and encourage the professional learning of teachers using methods of study that take into account the demands on busy teachers. All of the course materials are available online and some courses are flexible Readings supporting the course are also provided online and further reading can be accessed via electronic journals.

The courses are designed to meet the needs of teachers in the early stages of their careers (NQT) though to more experienced teachers with particular interests and needs. There are currently four members of staff who have completed or in the process of completing these courses. They include teachers without leadership positions to those at SLT level.

Both courses have a number of routes that respond to the needs of teachers at different stages in their career development.

We have identified a need to develop more options for teachers who are wishing to continue to engage in quality professional learning. These are often teachers across the school who are predominantly interested in one of two areas:

· Anyone who wants to explore the prospect of becoming a future leader

· Anyone wishing to lead in the continuing development of teaching and learning within the school.

A summary of the courses and how they operates can be found attached.

Who shall I ask to find out more about the course?

Dee Saran (Deputy Head) dee.saran@dubaicollege.org

How do I apply for the course?

Apply in writing to Dee Saran with a supporting statement (maximum of one side of A4), please see specifics below Deadlines for course submission are in July, please ensure that you application for funding is submitted by Sunday the 29th of September.

Application form for part funded Masters or courses

In applying for funding from Dubai College to support an area of professional learning, I fully agree to the following terms:

1. Apply in writing to Dee Saran with a supporting statement (maximum of one side of A4) outlining why you would like to study the course (your personal commitment, the benefits for your professional learning, and the whole school strategy)

2. I understand that there is no allocated time within the timetable that can be used to support this learning, and in applying for funding I take responsibility in meeting all course deadlines

3. I will generate interest in and run training sessions for staff, parents and/or pupils in my area of study at least once per academic year for the duration of the course, either as part of Pedagoo or during Professional Learning Days

4. Outline what part(s) of the Strategic Develop Plan you intend to focus your dissertation on. These can just be initial ideas.

Leadership Pathways

Leadership Pathways

The Leadership Pathway at Dubai College is intentionally designed to advance one's ability develop the leadership of learning in a variety of teams.

Staff have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of leadership foundations and theories while exploring and practicing a range of instructional strategies and pedagogies for use in leadership education. Dubai College has partnered with the Teacher Development Trust to foster collaboration and networking in a supportive and hands-on learning environment across the NFP schools.

The curriculum of these NPQ courses are intentionally rigorous and comprehensive, the facilitation environment remains interactive with a focus on peer and mentor-guided feedback from the regions most experienced leaders. Individual attention and development, of all formal and informal leadership training opportunities for participants and facilitators to connect.

TDT NPQs

• Course Structure & Approach

• Our three specialist NPQs have one year of study followed by an assessment period.

• Our leadership NPQs have 18 months of study followed by an assessment period.

• Our flexible study approach is underpinned by high quality, web-based self-study with plenty of online discussion with your peers and support from your course leader.

Staff can apply through the UAE Research School’s Network website:

https://www.uaersn.com/tdt

Leadership PATHWAY

Preparing to Lead Academic Departments HMC

Leadership

NPQTL NPQLT

ILM Level 5

Coaching

ILM Level 7

Coaching

Introduction to Leadership Coaching HMC

NPQSL

Managing Challenging Conversations HMC

Preparing for Senior Leadership HMC

Aspiring Heads COBIS

NPQH

Preparing for Headship HMC

MBA/ NPQEL

HMC Professional Development Programme

Courses Overview

HMCPD organises around 80 courses and conferences each year for HMC Heads and their staff. Events are organised in six domains, from suites of courses designed for aspiring middle leaders to those for recently appointed and more experienced Heads.

This approach reflects HMC’s commitment to support leadership development at all levels in HMC schools. The domains offer, at the same time, support for those interested in career progression through the six stages of the HMC ‘Leadership Journey’ and professional development opportunities for those wishing to develop their professional practice further.

Courses and Conferences are organised in six sections: events for those Preparing for Middle Leadership (PML), those interested in Developing Middle Leadership (DML), those focusing on Preparing for Senior Leadership (PSL), those interested in Developing Senior Leadership (DSL), those who are Preparing for Headship (PH) and those interested in Developing Headship (DH).

To view the full listing of HMCPD events please see Courses & Events.

The HMC Leadership Journey

Networks and Partners

CPD Library

CPD Library

There's been an explosion of educational books in recent years, many written by teachers still in the classroom and school leaders on the ground.

We try to encourage and promote a love of reading with students, therefore we should role model this, too, leading by example through reading for pleasure and reading to learn. This focus has led to an increase in professional dialogue within the staffroom, with bookshelves of the latest books in education proudly on display. We encourage staff to request books and we are happy to order multiple copies so that all staff can enjoy them.

Most of the books are available in a bookshelf within the staffroom, staff are free to sign books in and out using the library log book and should ensure that all books are returned before the end of the academic year.

If there is a book that you would like to get hold of or order just let Dee know. Happy Reading!