CPD Update has often pointed out that the further implementation of changes to 14-19 education will create demand for professional learning. We have also made the point, reflected in the recent legislation, that, in order to respond effectively to these changes, schools, together and separately, will have to work with FE colleges. This means collaborative professional learning across a number of boundaries.
We have been talking to Lee Davies of the Institute for Learning (IfL) and in a forthcoming issue we expect to be able to bring you information about the plans for CPD in the post compulsory sector. You might find it useful to look at www.ifl.ac.uk/cpd_portal/cpd_index.html.
For now it is worth reminding ourselves of the scale of future demands upon our CPD capacity. The goal is 90% of young people remaining in post-16 education by 2015. The new specialised diplomas will be introduced by 2008 and by 2013 there will be 14 of them. As a permanent part of the new public examination system what is done to prepare colleagues for 14-19 will also be reflected in Ofsted inspections.
Be prepared
When GCSE was introduced it was generally felt that an extra year of Inset was needed so that everybody could be ready. But there was no extra year of preparation so those who left things to the last minute suffered. Or, rather, their students suffered.
Leaders of CPD will need to be very careful to ensure that the professional learning needed for the further implementation of 14-19 is not confined to the classroom.
And remember, no one ever gets that extra year of preparation.
The UK Educational Evidence Portal
During the autumn term teachers will be able to access the new UK Educational Evidence Portal (EEP). The pilot has been developed this year with the purpose of making available evidence that will be of interest to professionals and others interested in education.
The portal makes it possible to locate evidence from a wide variety of reputable sources on a topic of your choice:
- search all available documents or select ones of a specific type;
- choose to search simply for documents from all websites associated with EEP or in a more advanced way with a selected group.
- EEP is being developed by a consortium of eight core partner organisations. The resources you can search come from these partners plus a wider group of associated organisations.
The Educational Evidence Portal is part of a growing range of electronic resources designed to support the professional learning of teachers and related professionals. See also the article on the Teacher Training Resource Bank below.
In order to access EEP, go to www.eep.ac.uk. You are reminded, however, that the resource is only just coming to the end of its pilot stage
The Teacher Training Resource Bank (TTRB)
The title of this resource bank might mislead leaders of CPD into thinking that there is little in it for them. This would be a mistake. Although it is focused upon teacher education it is also a treasure trove for anybody interested professional learning.
The TTRB is a three-year project supported by the TDA that aims at the following.
- Making the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) professional knowledge base more easily accessible.
- Referencing effective practices in all subject areas and across phases.
- Increasing the quality and range of ITE resources available.
- Raising the status of ITE research and knowledge.
- Promoting and effecting change by supporting tested knowledge transfer and adoption strategies.
- Providing a personalised support service for teacher educators and those training to teach.
The development of the resource bank is managed by:
- Research Machines
- Canterbury Christ Church University
- Institute of Education
- British Education Index.
To see an example of its usefulness to CPD, go to www.ttrb.ac.uk. If you go to the Elibrarian part of the website you can see how the resource bank has responded to a range of professionally relevant and useful questions. One question was about problem-based learning. The response provided a full range of sources of useful information.
In order to take full advantage of the TTRB, you will need to log in with a user name and password