Transcript

The central aim of any teacher, parent, and education system is to provide the best opportunities for our young people. Every child is different and requires engaging, personalised learning. Teachers are key to enabling this. To do the best they can for their students, teachers need high-quality, personalised learning opportunities, too. But sadly, most professional development as we know it is broken. The education system spends millions providing training, which can expertly deliver ideas for change. But very few of these ideas actually get put into practise. Why? Because these ideas don't immediately fit with the reality of our classrooms. So how can we help teachers make sustainable change? Having time to think about their lessons can help, as can observing other teachers and working with a coach. Only these collaborative classroom-based activities can effectively fit ideas into practise. But there's a problem. Tight timetabling, restrictive budgets, and closed-door cultures can make sharing practise difficult. And teachers often remain isolated in their classrooms. Schools need to break down these barriers to release the collective knowledge and experience of teachers so we can build professional capital and improve outcomes for everyone in a school, a region, a country. Only by helping teachers collaborate can we all play our part in improving outcomes for all of our young people.