Changing the Culture of CPDThrough Action Research and Peer Coaching

John Webber & Sam AlvarezSussex Downs College, Feb 2010

What is the question? Can we, through these projects:

Encourage the development of evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning?

Meet the wide variety of emerging Professional Learning and Development needs effectively?

Stimulate ongoing innovation and sharing of good practice?

Be better able to evaluate impact? Shift people’s expectations of, and approach to, CPD? Develop a learning and action research culture

throughout the college?

The pilot project (Spring ‘09)

Action Research, Peer Coaching and Formative Assessment / AfL

Three key elements: Action Research & Reflective Practice Peer Coaching Formative Assessment / AfL

Why action research?

CPD as training

Difficulties with this include: Providing a timely response to needs Meeting the range of needs from a core

team Limited stimulation of innovation and

sharing good practice The lack of follow-through from

training to changes in practice The lack of evaluation of impact

(commonly only the training itself is evaluated)

Learning activity(Training, observing

others etc.)

Intended Outcome (Need or

aspiration)

Links?

The cycle of minimal impact?

An Action Research approach to Innovation and CPD:

Compare

An Action Research approach to Innovation and CPD:

Why peer coaching?

Why Peer Coaching?

Remember these difficulties? Difficulty of timely response Development team has limited

capacity to meet the range of needs The lack of follow-through from

training to changes in practice The lack of evaluation of impact

(commonly only the training itself is evaluated)

Learning activity(Training, observing

others etc.)

Intended Outcome (Need or

aspiration)

Links?

The benefits of peer coaching

Joyce and Showers comparison of different schools responses to same intensive training 30 hours intensive CPD for each school in district

at start of year Only schools where reflective dialogue was part

of the culture sustained any significant change Minimal cost and time commitment for significant

impact Joyce and Showers (2002, 3rd edn.)

“Student Achievement Through Staff Development”

What we mean by peer coaching

Commitment to work with a colleagueMutually supportiveTaking turns to actively listen while the other..

Articulates their aims Identifies possibilities Decides on an action / plans Reflects on what happened Considers what to do next

Peer coaching - what participants said:

“Whereas you might otherwise have only tried something a couple of times, and it become an isolated sort of activity, with the peer coaching it can become much more of an ongoing dialogue with students, with staff, with other departments.”

- English Lang/Lit team

Peer coaching - what participants said:

“The most positive outcomes came from evaluating our own practice and sharing our experiences with each other in feedback sessions.

We fully intend to continue this collaborative working and have plans to create a full series of keyword games over the summer which will be available to all the staff in the team.”

- Carpentry team

Peer coaching - what participants said:

“I found it [peer coaching] really useful to help me find my own solutions to a problem. The formality of it meant that I did follow it up and actually reflect on it. It was a very positive experience and one that I would like to develop more.”

- MFL team

Why formative assessment?

Evidence-based practice

Many studies have shown the importance of ‘formative assessment’ and engaging students in dialogues and reflection about learning

E.G. TLRP (Teaching and Learning Research Programme)

E.G. John Hattie’s synthesis of 800 meta-analyses: Which highlighted feedback and formative evaluation

of students’ learning as the two teaching strategies with the greatest positive impact on learning

Link to Sam Alvarez’s slides

A changing culture of CPD?From:

To:

Learning activity(Training, observing

others etc.)

Compare

Collaborative action research:

A Changing Culture of CPD?

This approach has the support of:• The IfL: who see this as well aligned to their vision

of CPD• CUREE: the Centre for Research Evidence in

Education who are working with us• LSIS: who are funding several projects

Some examples of current projects:

Each of the following are benefitting from the addition of AR and peer coaching techniques: Developing students’ skills in peer and self assessment Making peer observation really work as a tool for

sharing good practice Exploring new approaches to using digital media for

learning Developing & evaluating the use of Social Networks for

learning

What is the question? Can we, through these projects:

Encourage the development of evidence-based approaches to teaching?

Meet the wide variety of emerging Professional Learning and Development needs effectively?

Stimulate ongoing innovation and sharing of good practice?

Be better able to evaluate impact? Shift people’s expectations of, and approach to, CPD? Develop a learning and action research culture

throughout the college?

What might the answer look like?

Set within the messy reality of current FE

Open to questions and discussion

Emails:sam.alvarez@sussexdowns.ac.ukjohn.webber@sussexdowns.ac.uk