cpd for inservice computing teachers - the story of plan c
TRANSCRIPT
Implementing Donaldson – the story of PLAN C
Peter Donaldson23rd September 2015
Scottish Learning Festival 2015
About The Core Team
Peter DonaldsonPrincipal Teacher of ComputingCrieff High SchoolPerth and Kinross
Quintin CuttsProfessor of CS EducationUniversity of Glasgow
Sophie Murray SmithPLAN C Local hub coordinatorUniversity of Glasgow
Kate FarrellComputing TeacherCastlebrae High SchoolEdinburgh City Council
Digital Creativity Project
Special Mention To
Derek SummersPerth UHI
Roger McDermotRobert Gordons
University
Kirsty McFaul & James Lally
Education Scotland
Alan BundyUniversity of
Edinburgh
Judy RobertsonMoray House
Janet HughesUniversity of
Dundee
Craigmount High School
Edinburgh City
Karen PetrieSICSA
Education
Richard Connor
University of Strathclyde
Michelle Wallace and Barbara
MortonLearning
Directorate
During this sessionPast
1. Professional Learning Challenges
2. Key Features of Effective PL
3. CS in Scotland
Present
1. The PLAN C Model
2. Impact of the programme
Future
1. Exploiting network effects
2. What we’ve learned about TLC’s
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CHALLENGES
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
Can You Relate To Any of These Issues?
I tried the technique/activity once but it didn’t quite work.
It’s not for me. It’s a great idea but I don’t have time to put it into practice
How did my colleagues apply that professional
learning? Wish I had time to ask them
I could change but the pupils I teach do ok already.
If it ain’t broke!
I don’t see how this professional learning
will improve my teaching
Some pupils just don’t get my subject. It’s not
for everyone.
KEY FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
• Generic aspects of pedagogy must be related to specific subject content
• Self-evaluative
• Work in partnership with other professionals
• Engage with well-researched innovation
CPD most effective when peer-led, collaborative and
sustained2010 Teaching Scotlands Future
• Is sustained over time• Has multiple, iterative
activities and reflection• Explores and challenges
existing theories, beliefs and practices
• Has peer support to encourage risk taking
• Directly relevant to day to day teaching
• Combines pedagogy with subject knowledge eg PCK
• Has input from external experts2015 Developing Great Teaching
Key Design Features of Effective PL
• Generic pedagogic CPD on it’s own
• Telling teachers or giving materials without a chance to develop skills or explore impact.
Failing to provide • Strong focus on
aspirations for pupil learning
• structured opportunities to engage with, understand and reflect on implications of new approaches
What Definitely Doesn’t Work
Activity
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Inspiration From Existing Communities
ADiCOST- strong support & sharing
ethos- long-lived
Perth and Kinross Curricular Improvement Networks-supported by local authority
-regular meetings
Regional Hubs
SETTING THE SCENE- COMPUTING SCIENCE IN SCOTLAND
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
Particular Difficulties• Many existing
approaches don’t work that well
• Continuous change in underlying technologies
• Teaching novices to solve problems using computation is hard
• Confusion between using existing technology and understanding the underlying principles
Experiences of Being Taught CS Ourselves
1. Shown one or two examples using new concept
2. Write code of our own that makes use of it
3. Rinse and repeatAssumption that a brief explanation of the concept and how it works is enough
• Examples were often mathematical in nature or artificial and lacking broader connections
• Competitive nature of course meant limited discussion
• Priority often on creating a working program
Why Don’t Others Understand CS?
Computational Thinkers
Large number of people in
Scotland
Long learning path – hidden behind the cliff, most people focus on the device not the thinking skills required
Gulf of Confusion
A kind of amnesia causes them to forget their early learning
The Language BarrierNatural LanguageLots of built in redundancyForgiving of grammatical mistakes and missing information.Reliance on external context and prior knowledgeConversational in natureCan be interpreted in many different ways
Formal LanguageEvery single symbol and word is importantUnforgiving of any mistakesPrecise language definition determines how it’s interpreted.Command orientated.Language defines a specific hidden mechanism.“Can you go over there” “Speed = Distance / Time”
THE PLAN C MODEL
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
Why PLAN C ?
CS in the Curriculum
Group
CPD Proposal
• CommunityBuilding
• Useful sharing
The model in more detailCS
Education Academic
+Practicing Computing Teacher
Series of activities focused
on CS PCK with
formal evidence
of effectiven
ess
Shared with
groups of lead
teachers over 4
sessions in 3
months
Leads try out
approaches with their
classes between sessions
Provide more
detailed activities
and examples for local
hubs
Leads form local hubs meeting 8 to 10 times
over 12 months
Hub members
try out approaches with their classes
between sessions
Sustainable
professional
learning network
IMPACT OF THE PROGRAMME SO FAR
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
Lead Teacher Hub Results51 lead teachers completed the hub sequence98% of them had tried several different teaching approaches in their classrooms24 active hubs across ScotlandCreation of many additional materials and exercises- TRACS and comprehension exercises
Local Authorities with Teachers Regularly
Involved
Lead Teacher Hub Results
“I am always keen to take on new ideas and approaches to my practice and have done this for most of my 25 years in teaching: however, I have never been as enthused to do so as now, since the techniques I am going to use will not only result in improved motivation due to their engaging nature and the prospect that my pupils will perhaps gain a deeper understanding of key concepts”
“I can honestly say that I will be much more likely to make changes to my practice as a result of hub meetings. I firmly believe that the different approaches and strategies will be successful. I believe that they will mainly help to solve some of the issues that I face as a teacher whilst teaching programming. I am in agreement, alongside many other computing science teachers, that my approach to teaching programming has been fairly flawed.”
Compared to other CPD/PL events are you more or less likely to make changes to your practice
Local Hub ResultsWhat did you find most useful?“Haggis & Tracs. Gave me the chance to look at these from a student's perspective. Gave me an insight into how difficult it was for them.”“Enjoyed using the alternative conception methods. Often use the blind vote. Am using the Block Model and finding it useful.”“TRACS and Peer Instruction. I have attempted to use TRACS with senior pupils to try and understand more fully their approach.”
Acceptance Rate• 84% attended 5 or
more sessions• Mean rate of adoption
79% used successfully or plan to use.
• Mean rejection rate 21% used unsuccessfully or no plans to use.
• Techniques with highest acceptance rate TRACS (Tracing for CS) and Peer Instruction.
N=64 from 23 of 24 active hubs
ADVANTAGES OF THE NETWORK
Potential of the Network
Provide experiences for Masters level
learning
Share new approaches and
ideas
Plan and conduct large scale research.
Access wide scale support and encouragement
from others
Distribute pedagogical content knowledge across
the network
Collectively reflect on our teaching
experiences
Starting to See TeachersExtending the core ideas to invent new exercises in different contexts.
Exploring other research in techniques we didn’t have time to include.
Noticing changes in pupil behaviour and attitudes compared to previous years.
Reporting improved attainment and retention to higher levels of study
Creating larger sets of material for particular qualification levels.
Identifying possible alternative conceptions in topic areas where there isn’t any/much existing research.
Making changes to the BGE to include some PLAN C approaches
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT TEACHER LEARNING COMMUNITIES
www.planforcomputing.org.uk
Combination of practising teacher
and active education
researcher crucial
Strong evidence of effectiveness of an approach isn’t sufficient
All examples of particular
approaches should be pitched at pupil
level
Single shared electronic space
more effective than smaller group
spaces
Leads need way to quickly revisit key ideas from lead teacher
hubs
Face to face discussion with other peers increases rate
of adoption and is highly valued
Developing mechanistic reasoning
crucial for STEM
Give teachers ways of
understanding and diagnosing
difficulties
Questions