The modules of our various courses are simply the online content aspect of the blended learning programme which, when blended with Professional Learning Teams and Classroom Based Enquiries is guaranteed to help the school achieve the desired outcomes.
A Professional Learning Team is the support mechanism in the blended learning cycle. Time for PLTs will need to be built into the rhythm of the school’s meeting cycle, and offer teachers a safe, supportive space to discuss and explore the craft of the classroom. PLTs encourage teachers to learn with and from their colleagues – to become, in John Hattie’s words, ‘learners of their own teaching’.
Classroom Based Enquiries are the third aspect of the blended learning programme. Classroom based enquiries involve changing aspects of teachers’ practice in order to develop student learning behaviours. Enquiries are likely to involve them in making small changes in the classroom, monitoring the impact of those changes, and sharing these outcomes at the next team meeting for professional discussion. Most schools tend to blend these 3 aspects into a 4-week/monthly cycle.
The new standards of staff development
Changing the habits of a professional lifetime isn’t simple. It involves un-learning and re-learning: unpicking, readjusting, trying things out and seeing what works. This approach is about staff using their own learning power to effect changes in themselves. Becoming proficient, and then developing further so that the ‘new approach becomes second nature, takes time and effort.
Comments are closed.