Teachers
Teachers matter most
Barnaby Lenon reviews the basics of good and effective teacher training
All research evidence tells us that of the many things that can determine the success of a child’s education, after the influence of his parents comes the impact of individual classroom teachers. They are more important than the overall reputation of the school the pupil goes to. In an ideal world parents would choose their child’s teachers, not their school. A really good teacher gets their class to the same point after six months that an average teacher reaches after a year. A weak teacher reaches that same point after 18 months. But at the moment we face a crisis with teacher supply in England. The school population is rising (up 15% 2019-2020), but teachers are leaving faster than they are joining. A third of teachers quit within five years and in physics last year the number of trainees was 47% of the numbers needed. The two main factors are low unemployment (so there are plenty of alternative jobs to go to) and perceived stress and lack of work-life balance during the term. That is why the government has just launched a new framework for new teachers in the state sector designed to limit their teaching timetable and provide them with more support. Because teachers matters most, I was glad to be asked to help run the School of Education at the University of Buckingham, not far from where I live. The School was established by Chris Woodhead (former Chief Inspector of schools) and Professor Anthony O’Hear, based on two main ideas – that other university teacher training departments were often teaching completely false concepts, and that the most effective teacher training takes place in school classrooms. Today much of our training happens by using trained tutors and mentors to guide teachers by
observing them in the classroom. Most of our younger students already have jobs in schools but they are untrained. Buckingham is a private university and I find that I have a great deal of freedom. So my first job is to decide what I believe as a basis for deciding what types of training to run. These are some of the things I believe: 1. School teaching can be the most fulfilling job – creative, autonomous and a major influence for good on people’s lives. 2. Good subject knowledge is a principle characteristic of the best teachers. 3. Good teacher training focuses on the details of classroom management and understanding what good research and experience tells us works best. 4. Most so-called professional development does not work. What does work is deliberate practice – focusing on doing things the teacher cannot yet do well enough, ideally with feedback. This is why at Buckingham we believe in classroom-based teacher training. Teachers can improve throughout their working lives, but will only do so if they experiment with methods they have not used before. 5. Different school subjects are different and need specific teaching methods. 6. I believe in the value of some learning being hands-on, including science practicals and geography fieldwork. 7. There is no one correct teaching style, but some methods are more effective than others. Direct instruction works well. 8. Many children can do better at school than they are doing. We can expect more.
Summer 2019
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