Programmes Professional learning at STAHS. Creating the conditions for growth

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AT STAHS. CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH

Dylan Wiliam said: ‘Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better'. STAHS’ professional learning programme helps teachers achieve this goal, says Stephen Ramsbottom.

In 'Inconvenient truths about teacher learning’, Fred Korthagen1 argues that there is a gap between what is known about making teaching more effective and the practice on the ground. Unfortunately, the lived experience of this gap has not been a neutral one.

Building on Dylan Wiliam’s argument that ‘every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better’,2 the professional learning programme at STAHS has several key pillars that collectively aim to bridge the gap between knowledge and implementation: 1. A sustained and strategic focus on teaching and learning, with a focus on enhancing pupil outcomes. 2. The development of extended programmes rather than one-off events. 3. A robust foundation of evidence and expertise: research evidence cannot provide all the answers but ‘it can provide a beacon of sorts to provide light where before we were stumbling around in the dark’ (Hendrick, 2018)3 . 4. A commitment to providing more domain-specific time for professional learning. Ultimately, the key question about any research is 'How can this be applied in my subject?' or: 'What does this look like in my classroom?’. 5. Providing choice – to cater for diverse levels of experience, interest, and departmental foci. 6. Encouraging deliberate practice to shift the emphasis from knowledge acquisition to implementation.

Operationally, this breaks down into six half-termly cycles, as follows:

The next section of the Teaching and Learning Journal reflects on the intent, implementation, and impact of a selection of these programmes.

1 Korthagen, F., 2017. Inconvenient truths about teacher learning: towards professional development 3.0.

Teachers and Teaching: Theory and

Practice, 23 (4), 387-405 at 387. 2 Wiliam, D, 2021. How do we prepare our students for a world we cannot possibly imagine? [Speech delivered at the SSAT National Conference,

Liverpool, 4-5 December 2012.] 3 Hendrick, C., 2018. Ask the expert.

Durrington Research School [online]

Available at: https://researchschool. org.uk/durrington/news/ask-theexpert-carl-hendrick.