WIREDGOV

The Institute for Learning (IfL) has published its fourth annual review of members’ continuing professional development (CPD), based on evidence from more than 40,000 teachers and trainers who declared their CPD for the year ended 31 August 2012. The declarations showed a similar pattern to previous years: there was almost an equal split between activities based around teaching and learning and those based around vocational or subject specialism; the average number of hours declared was 53; and 68 per cent of respondents said they had shared their professional development with colleagues and employers.

Dr Jean Kelly, IfL’s director of professional development, said, “We have been ambitious in our attempt to provide a collective and powerful analysis of professional learning with thousands of teachers and trainers in a hugely varied and complex further education and skills sector. Our focus for 2011-12 was on the strategies employed by teachers and trainers to assess the impact of their professional learning and the evidence gained about CPD that improves teaching and learning and benefits learners most. The results of our review show that there is a good understanding of the depth of professionalism needed and the great challenges involved, as well as a keen interest in identifying professional learning that is worth investing in and will have real benefit for individual teachers and trainers, organisations and learners.

“A key message from this year’s review of CPD was about the power of teachers and trainers to have a significant impact by making their professional learning visible and explicit to students and peers, learning from and talking to each other about planning, success criteria, progression and the results of analysing impact. Knowledge is deepened through trying things out and assessing the results, so the analysis of practice in the classroom, workshop or workplace must be integral to the professional learning process.

“Our recommendations include that teachers should routinely gain feedback about their impact; that peer observations should be of learners, their learning and the effectiveness or otherwise of different practices; and that teachers should engage in collaborative action research, supported and entrusted by the leaders of their organisations to exercise their professional autonomy, learn collaboratively and improve teaching and learning.

“IfL has started to make a real difference to the way the sector thinks about CPD, and our support for members is being developed to include professional training modules, action research, guides and vocational area or subject-specific CPD, with options for accreditation.”

Click here to download the 2011-12 IfL review of CPD: Making professional learning work in PDF format (members only).