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FACING THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE AND CREDIBILITY How should HEIs respond in uncertain times and go forward positively to the future?. Dr Samantha Twiselton, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Cumbria March 2011. What gets you out of bed in the morning?.
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FACING THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE AND CREDIBILITY How should HEIs respond in uncertain times and go forward positively to the future? Dr Samantha Twiselton, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Cumbria March 2011
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why do you believe your job matters?
Potential Opening doors Children's lives Making a difference Learning Transformation Enquiry Society Innovation ….bringing the transformational and opportunity-giving qualities of Higher Education to all who can benefit…(University Mission) …a belief in the transformational ability of education to change and improve lives…(Faculty Vision) Moral Purpose – The Engine of Teacher Education Our guiding principle for action - making a difference to the life chances of children, young people and adults. Universities, schools and settings – we are in it together and we need each other to achieve our shared aspirations
ResearchCo-enquiry Deconstruction Placement progressStudent Journey Depth and breadth Academic expertise Service ProvidersITE/CPD SCHOOLS AND SETTINGS: COMPETITORS OR PARTNERS? Shared Moral Purpose:knowing ourselves - what we have to offer – what our partners want from us Pupils first Placement pressures Teaching Schools Academies Free schools Students first Devolved/reduced funding Multiple agendas Uncertain Curricula Conflicting priorities
CURRICULUM DELIVERERS TASK MANAGERS CONCEPT/SKILL BUILDERS Seeing the Wood for the Trees Twiselton, 2008 I wanted to get the word level in before the sentence level, like the clock says Really I was just concentrating on getting it done. It all depends on what you’re trying to cover and what you want to get out of the children. You have to have that in mind and take an approach which is more effective – not tick boxes all the time. be flexible in the discussion so you haven’t like got a set of questions that you just … like a script – so be flexible so you can respond … go with the flow The story structure was the key to the reading and the writing they would do later I wanted to show them in different ways - help them see what it was all about.
Comparing pre-NLs and post NLS NLS It’s like a steam roller – you don’t have time to think about it – you just go to the next thing • Pre- NLS • Distribution is fairly even across categories • Distribution roughly reflects stage of progress in course • Immediately post- NLS • Distribution is clustered around Curriculum Deliverer • No Task Managers - fewer Concept/Skill Builders • Beyond NLS • The development of a ‘meta-knowledge’ of curricula and the relationships with wider contexts means student teachers are much more likely to be able to scaffold children’s learning effectively
The importance of ‘seeing the bigger picture’ - the curriculum as a tool, a means not an end The need to connect up the curriculum to other frameworks, in particular a deeper understanding of the subject(s) and the child within it The importance of multiple, contested perspectives The need to teach responsively – not stick rigidly to plans inappropriately The central role of values and beliefs Key Findings it’s given me a much deeper understanding of why I’m doing what I’m doing with children in classroom.
What makes an expert teacher? Tochon and Munby - synchronisation of knowledge sources Sternberg and Horvath – knowledge, insight and efficiency Greeno - ‘generality of knowing’ Edwards and Collison - school based mentors main job of ‘unravelling’ – left to HE
IMPLICATIONS • Student teachers need time and support to develop their understanding of : • the underlying frameworks for subjects • the relationship between curricula and broader contexts beyond the immediate demands of the classroom context, but in a way that is readily transferred back into it. • How to ‘deliver’ the requirements of the curriculum. To do this effectively though they need help to explore and conceptualise the frameworks that underpin it. • School setting is central - scaffolding strategies that help children to transfer their understanding cannot be fully understood away from their context. • However, student teachers ideally need to experience a range of contexts and a range of curricula in order to develop a ‘meta-knowledge’ of the learning they are trying to promote. • AND SO …
Research Bigger picture Depth and breadth Relevance Compare/contrast/contest Immediacy Student journey Deconstruction Co-enquiry Pupil focus Practitioner
The ITE Portfolio:Threats and Opportunities Urgent discussions with TDA, UCET and Westminster Scenario planning - employer and student engagement Creative positioning through revalidation Possible re-positioning of university HEFCE portfolio
Tim Farron’s Early Day Motion This house believes that British teacher education is amongst the best in the world, notes that teacher education forms a very significant part of UK higher education, supports undergraduate teaching degrees being delivered through the current partnership approach between higher education institutions and schools, would resist any attempts to move postgraduate or undergraduate teacher training wholly or mainly away from a higher education setting given that to do so would lead to disintegration, a loss of accountability and quality, would provide an unwelcome administrative and managerial burden on schools and would constitute a severe blow to many excellent higher education institutions, and calls upon the Government to maintain a partnership approach when it publishes its anticipated white paper
SCENARIO PLANNING Common framework HEFCE route(s) to QTS – 2 year degrees Modelling of financial impact Flexible staffing strategySecondary consolidation Scenario 1 Removal of 4 Year Primary and EY Degrees and secondary UG ITE HEFCE routes to QTS 2 year degrees Multiple career options Masters level Access Increased PGCE Scenario 2 Removal of all UG ITE Service provider for school based ITE and CPD:Clinical model: Glasgow/Aberdeen, Joint staffing – employment embedded Scenario 3 Removal of all University Based ITE Seizing of enterprise opportunities and additional funding sources: LA down-sizing, End of National Strategies, International potential in London/NW
What do HEIs offer that it is hard for schools to do alone? A research based approach to learning and teaching Critical reflection An ability to synthesise knowledge and experience across contexts and disciplines Compare, contrast, critique and contest Depth and breadth A deep understanding of all aspects of the student journey THE BIGGER PICTURE