Faculty of Education

Dr Samantha Twiselton, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education,University of CumbriaMarch 2011

FACING THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE AND CREDIBILITY

How should HEIs respond in uncertain times and go forward positively to the future?

Faculty of Education

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Why do you believe your job matters?

Faculty of Education

….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 EducationOur 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

Faculty of Education

SCHOOLS AND SETTINGS: COMPETITORS OR SCHOOLS AND SETTINGS: COMPETITORS OR PARTNERS?PARTNERS?

Placement pressures

Conflicting priorities

Multiple agendas

Students first

Teaching SchoolsAcademies Free schools

Pupils first

Uncertain Curricula

Devolved/reduced funding

Shared Moral Purpose:knowing ourselves - what we

have to offer – what our partners want from us

ResearchCo-enquiry

Deconstruction

Service ProvidersITE/CPD

Depth and breadthAcademic expertise

Placement progressStudent Journey

Faculty of Education

CONCEPT/SKILL BUILDERS

TASK MANAGERS CURRICULUM DELIVERERS

Really I was just concentrating on getting it done.

I wanted to get the word level in before the

sentence level, like the clock says

I wanted to show them in different ways - help them see

what it was all about.

The story structure was the key to the

reading and thewriting they would

do later

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

Faculty of Education

Comparing pre-NLs and post NLS

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

NLSIt’s like a steam roller – you

don’t have time to think about it – you just go to the next thing

Faculty of Education

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.

Faculty of EducationWhat 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

Faculty of EducationIMPLICATIONS

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 …

Faculty of Education

Practitioner

Pupil focus

Imm

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Rele

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Bigger picture

Co-e

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Deco

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Research

Stud

ent j

ourn

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Compare/co

ntrast/

conte

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Depth and breadth

Faculty of Education

The ITE Portfolio:The ITE Portfolio:Threats and OpportunitiesThreats 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

Faculty of Education

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

Faculty of EducationSCENARIO PLANNINGSCENARIO PLANNING

Scenario 1 Removal of 4 Year Primary and EY

Degrees and secondary UG ITE

Scenario 2 Removal of all UG ITE

Scenario 3 Removal of all University Based

ITE

Common frameworkHEFCE route(s) to QTS – 2 year degrees Modelling of financial impactFlexible staffing strategySecondary consolidationHEFCE routes to QTS2 year degrees Multiple career optionsMasters level Access Increased PGCE

Service provider for school based ITE and CPD:Clinical model:Glasgow/Aberdeen,Joint staffing – employment embedded

Seizing of enterprise opportunities and additional funding sources: LA down-sizing, End of National Strategies, International potential in

London/NW

Faculty of Education

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