5 Sustaining and developing professional learning

Introduction

Module 1 section 5 Recap

A range of professional activities contribute towards professional learning, for example:

  • Professional reading and enquiry
  • Meetings with colleagues
  • Attending events
  • Short courses – e.g. this module
  • Extended courses and award-bearing courses

Four broad elements of Career Long Professional Learning have been identified by Education Scotland in figure 23:

Described image
Figure 23 Four broad elements of Career Long Professional Learning
Show description|Hide description

Four broad elements of Career Long Professional Learning - Education Scotland.

Figure 23 Four broad elements of Career Long Professional Learning

Reflection on practice:

  • Asking questions, being curious and looking closely at practice
  • Ensuring that professional practice is evidence-based
  • Developing skills in observing what is happening
  • Developing skills in analysing and evaluating what is happening
  • Exploring roles and approaches in professional practice
  • Ensuring that professional practice is collaborative

In literacy and dyslexia this could translate into:

 

  • Engaging in ongoing enquiry into relevant evidence and research into language development, literacy and dyslexia
  • Keeping a professional learning journal including self-reflection on practice
  • Ensuring the child’s views are listened to and valued
  • Ensuring good communication with the parent/carer in the educational planning and identification process
  • Using video to capture and analyse learning and teaching
  • Asking colleagues to observe and feedback on practice
  • Devising questionnaires and other research methods to capture learners’ views on practice

Experiential learning:

  • Trying out and exploring the impact of multi-sensory approaches
  • Ensuring good practices are implemented when supporting children and young people with literacy difficulties and dyslexia
  • Monitoring and tracking progress and outcomes

In literacy and dyslexia this could translate into:

  • Ensuring multi-sensory approaches are embedded and evaluated
  • Ensuring that children and young people with literacy difficulties and dyslexia are given appropriate opportunities to achieve the four capacities within Curriculum for Excellence – Confident, Successful, Responsible and Effective learners.
  • Ensuring all individuals are achieving progress and are meeting their targets and potential

Specifically, these broad approaches could lead to focussed CLPL activities as follows:

  • Self-evaluation and reflection
  • Experiential, action or enquiry-based learning
  • Focused professional reading and research
  • Curricular planning
  • Peer support e.g. coaching or mentoring
  • Classroom visits/observation
  • Work shadowing
  • Co-operative or team teaching
  • Participation in collaborative activity e.g. professional learning community, learning round
  • Leading or participating in a working or task group
  • Planning learning which is inter-disciplinary or cross-sectoral
  • Participation in activities relating to assessment and moderation
  • Secondments, acting posts and placements
  • Accredited courses or activity related to achieving national professional standards for teachers

The National Framework for Inclusion

The National Framework for Inclusion is a web based resource developed and designed by the Scottish Teachers Education Committee inclusion group (STEC) to guide the future development of inclusive education in Scotland in line with the newly revised Standards for Teacher Education in Scotland. The purpose of the STEC Framework is to ensure that all students and teachers are appropriately guided and supported from the outset and throughout their careers towards gaining the required knowledge and understanding of inclusive education.

The Scottish Government, through the Scottish Teacher Education Committee (STEC), set up a Working Group to develop the Framework for Inclusion.

Who is the Framework for?

  • Teacher educators designing ITE programmes
  • Student teachers
  • Teachers
  • Teachers following advanced professional studies

STEC Framework attempts to promote inclusion as being the responsibility of all teachers in all schools and aims to identify and to address the needs of teachers at all stages of their careers and to emphasise the need for career-long and life-long learning.

The link for the website is below.

http://www.frameworkforinclusion.org/ pages/ index.php?category=0 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

5.1 Supporting Professional Learning