The academic year 2022/2023 saw BIS embark on a journey to strengthen our values-led culture based on the best available evidence for Professional Learning. At BIS we are a community of lifelong learners, where we share the responsibility for contributing to one another's learning. To emphasise the difference between attending courses and learning from each other, we began by distinguishing two distinct, but complementary, modes of teacher learning: Continued Professional Learning (CPL) and Continued Professional Development (CPD). CPD are usually delivered by an external provider. They have an endpoint and typically culminate in the awarding of a certificate. In contrast, CPL is where staff learn from each other’s experience and perspectives, collaborating, discussing and reflecting together.
We value teacher expertise, and want to ensure that our teachers have autonomy in their Professional learning and are able to work collaboratively.
As such, we devised a range of options on a ‘menu’ of CPL – Learning Forums, Action Research, Lesson Study and Chartered Teacher Status. Within a Learning Forum, staff work in groups of 6-8 where they read articles, listen to podcasts, engage in research etc around a shared theme before discussing what this means in their contexts. This year themes include - cognitive science, additional educational needs, wellbeing and learning tech.
Lesson Study involves triads of teachers collaboratively planning an activity/lesson and observing one another delivering the lesson, before reflecting on its impact and refining it as a result. This year, we had staff looking at scientific literacy, methods of peer student support and ToK in the mainstream classroom, to name but a few.
Action Research allows colleagues to delve deep into a particular area, conducting small-scale research in their own classrooms and identify evidence-informed strategies to improve learning. Areas of research this year included the impact of additional time on student attainment and dialogic teaching in the physics classroom.
A further 15 members of staff embarked on the rigorous journey to obtain Chartered Teacher Status through the UK-based Chartered College of Teachers. During their study, these teachers have been exposed to evidence-informed practice, looking deeply at questioning techniques and reviewing their own practice in a chosen area.
All of this requires an investment of time. In order to work on these valuable projects, teachers had protected time each fortnight to work in their collaborative groups, share their reflections, learn from each other, and improve student learning as a result.
We wanted to recognise the variety and benefits of this approach. We ended this year’s programme with a celebration event where staff shared their experiences and how it has improved student learning. Adam Morson and Ioan Morgan shared their experiences of the new NPQ courses that are designed specifically for their roles.
As every moment is a pastoral moment, Jane Hall shared her experience of the Accidental Counsellor Course and the importance of upskilling ourselves in this area. We then heard from members of different Learning Forum groups, sharing their learning journeys in areas from Retrieval Practice to Learning Technologies. Mark Jones shared how peer interactions have been enhanced through a Lesson Study model across the disciplines. Finally, Sean Stockley and Ian Young shared their findings on how providing all students with additional time in assessments can be beneficial to teachers and students alike.
It was a culmination of the fantastic efforts that teachers at BIS HCMC have made this year, and testament to their drive to develop their practice and enhance the learning experiences of all our students. We look forward to continuing on this journey next year—in the words of educationalist Dylan Wiliam: “Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better”.
Matthew Lambert and Lyn Stanley
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