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How can research improve classroom practice?. Philippa Cordingley The Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE). Systematic reviews about CPDL.
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How can research improve classroom practice? Philippa Cordingley The Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE)
Systematic reviews about CPDL • 4 quality assured reviews into impact of Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) to shape policy, practice – and CUREE’s work • Explored impact on pupils as well as teachers • Over 2,000 studies via comprehensive searches • Double blind filtering and weighing of evidence • 300 relevant studies identified & coded • Data extracted & evidence weighed for 45 • Very strong coherence with findings from the Timperley CPD Best Evidence Synthesis
Benefits of structured CPDL revealed by the reviews • Evidence from 4 systematic reviews about CPD/L linked to improvements in student: • motivation, responses to specific subjects & curricula • performance e.g. test results and specific skills • organisation e.g. collaboration, selection of strategies • questioning skills, thinking & responses to stimuli • And teachers’ • self-confidence e.g. in taking risks and efficacy • willingness to continue professional learning • willingness & ability to make changes to practice • knowledge & understanding of subject & pedagogy • repertoire strategies & ability to choose between them
Characteristics of CPD with these positive outcomes from across reviews • The use of specialist external expertise • Peer support to create trust, enable risk taking, generate commitment and Safety To Admit Need (STAN) • Observation & deconstruction/feedback from specialists (what isn’t within reach on one’s own) • Observation for learning - learning to learn from looking • Structured dialogue rooted in evidence of experiments with learners • Scope for participants, via collaboration, to identify own CPD starting points (within a given framework) • Processes to encourage, extend & structure professional dialogue & reflection • Effective use of time to embed practices in classrooms e.g. on-course planning
What does that means for how research improves practice? • For individuals, research outputs need to prompt: • Collaborative, active learning, • Demonstrating an expectation that findings will be have to be interpreted for context • Diagnosis – in context of student experiences • Learning from looking • Use of specialist expertise to explore beliefs challenge thinking with new ideas etc
Checking this out • We obviously also check that directly too via: • Primary research eg with the National Teacher Research Panel • Frequent Focus groups • Monitoring use and take up
At system level it means • Encouraging and/or supporting practitioners in interpreting, testing & refining strategies from research in their own context • Providing access to theory / the underpinning rationale to enable transfer • Enabling practitioners to relate products to own experiences. • Securing understanding of core facts and issues • Awareness raising re: range of useful research • Investigating the issues of interest to practitioners
Stepping stones from.. • 2.5 minute “bites” – power points • Tasters – micro enquiry tools based on nuggets of evidence ( 400+) ( see next slide) • Web digests • Major summaries of cornerstone academic studies – hot linked to teachers’ studies • A wide range of CPD tools and resources eg mystery games, treasure hunts • Coherent development programmes and packages • This is a lot of material – so we create navigations tools too… ( see next slide but one)
Research tasterswww.gtce.org.uk/research/tasters/ Key features: • nuggets of evidence taken from the RfT summary • enquiry activities to find out how learners experience phenomena now • Ideas for taking next steps • where to find out more
A case study of system level use in England • Systematic reviews translated into a national Policy Framework for mentoring and coaching • 4 pages – principles, skills, core concepts ( who, what, where, why ,when) and a venn diagram showing links • Use of research as improvement tool central eg: • facilitate access to research and evidence to support development • draw on evidence from research and practice to shape development.
Take up of coaching as a research rich strategy… • Sits at centre of: • Work on National Strategies for improvement • General Teaching Council, Teacher Learning Academy • National College of School Leadership work on leading coaching • Training & Development Agency’s leadership of CPD • Specialist Schools and Academies Trust work on 14-19 and lead practitioners • New Masters in Teaching and Learning
Contact Details philippa.cordingley@curee.co.uk www.curee.co.uk Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education 4 Copthall House Station Square Coventry CV1 2FL England +44 2476 524036