impact of ite partnership project report

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The Impact of ITE Partnershipson Teachers ProfessionalLearning and Development:A Selection of Case Stories ofGood Practice

Start: 1st January 2008Finish: 31st December 2008

Report to the Teacher Development Agency forSchools

Submitted by:

Dr Marion Jones, Liverpool John Moores University

In collaboration with

Prof Anne Campbell, Leeds Metropolitan University and

Prof Olwen McNamara, The University of ManchesterDr Grant Stanley, Liverpool John Moores University
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Contents

Page

I. List of abbreviations 3

II. Acknowledgements 4

1. Introduction 5

2. Purpose, aims and objectives 5

3. Methodology 6

4. Quality assurance 7

5. Findings 8

6. Conclusion 8

7. References 9

8. Vignettes 128.1 Learning collaboratively 128.2 Professional renewal and reorientation 168.3 Whole school development and cultural enrichment 208.4 Developing a learning community 248.5 Building teaching capacity 298.6 Facilitating beneficial contacts 338.7 Towards a collegiate culture 368.8 Developing critical self-awareness and professional sensitivity 398.9 Driving improvements in teaching and learning 438.10 Experiencing new perspectives 46

Appendices 491 Email/letter of invitation to schools 492 Participant Information Sheet and consent form 54

3 Interview schedule 57

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I. List of Abbreviations

AST Advanced Skills Teacher

CPD Continuing Professional Development

GNVQ General National Vocational Qualification

GTP Graduate Teacher Programme

ITE Initial Teacher Education

ITT Initial Teacher Training

LA Local Authority

MFL Modern Foreign Languages

NQT Newly Qualified Teacher

PDS Professional Development School

PPA Planning Preparation Assessment

PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education (with Qualified Teacher Status)

SAT Standard Assessment Tests

TA Teaching Assistant

TDA Teacher Development Agency for Schools

TLRs Teaching and Learning Responsibilities

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II. Acknowledgements

The project team would like to thank:

The teachers from the following schools for generously giving their time for

conducting interviews:Accrington Academy, Sports College, AccringtonBramhall High School, Specialist Science College and Training School,StockportCanon Slade High School, Specialist Arts College, Training School, BoltonCedar Mount High School, ManchesterChorlton Park Primary, ManchesterDeyes High School, Specialist Science College, Sefton, LiverpoolLander Road Primary School, Sefton, LiverpoolMab Lane Primary School, LiverpoolShorefields Specialist Technology College, LiverpoolTemple Primary School, Manchester

We would also like to thank the Teacher Development Agency for Schools for fundingthe project on which this report is based, in particular Andrew Ettinger, whoencouraged us to submit this proposal and provided us with support and advice.

Marion Jones, Project Leader

Contact details:

Dr Marion JonesFaculty of Education, Community & LeisureI M Marsh CampusLiverpool John Moores UniversityBarkhill RoadLiverpoolL16 7BD

0151 231 [email protected]

Professor Ann CampbellLeeds Metropolitan [email protected]

Professor Olwen McNamaraThe University of [email protected]

Dr Grant StanleyLiverpool John Moores University

[email protected]

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1. Introduction

This report is concerned with Phase 2 of a study into the impact of ITE on schools.Phase 1 was a questionnaire survey conducted in 2006 of primary and secondaryschools in partnership with 5 HEI providers of ITE in the Northwest Government Office

Region. The survey instrument was developed from a common framework butadapted to accommodate the roles of ITE co-ordinators and class teachers in primarypartnerships and professional and subject mentors in secondary partnerships.Responses were received from a total of 1073. The predominantly positive responseapparent in the quantitative data of the survey was supported by qualitativecomments, which indicated that working with trainee teachers provided mentors with adiverse range of learning and development opportunities. One of the key themesemerging from Phase 1 was the contribution mentoring could make to the continuingprofessional development of teachers. Over three quarters of teachers reported gains.A fuller discussion of Phase 1 primary findings can be found in Hurd et al(2007).

2. Purpose, aims and objectives

Phase 2 of the study was originally planned to develop deeper understanding ofselected themes emerging from the findings of Phase 1 and consequently it wasdecided to focus on the contribution of mentoring to teachers professional learning.Funding for this phase was offered by the TDA. This study seeks to illustrate in avariety of settings how ITE mentoring can provide a diverse range of opportunities forworkplace learning and the development of learning communities. It is thus locatedwithin the wider context of the TDA National Strategy for CPD for Teachers (May2007) in that it sought to examine the critical factors inherent in teachers workplaceenvironments that promote individual professional learning and whole schooldevelopment through involvement in ITE partnerships.

Traditionally, in school-based models of teacher training the focus of learning is firmlyplaced upon the pre-service teachers and how they can best benefit from mentoring,with the mentor having a central role as guide, supporter, monitor of progress andassessor of competence. This study, however, sought to identify the reciprocalbenefits for mentors, in terms of the opportunities for professional learning anddevelopment that it generates, by posing the following questions:

1. How does working with ITE trainees provoke teachers to engage in criticalreflection?2. How does the ITE partnership assist teachers, departments and schools to

develop their knowledge and skills base?3. What are the dynamics between individual teachers learning and how does this

extend across departments and the school as a whole?4. Do ITT partnerships provide opportunities for teachers professional learning to

extend beyond and across school boundaries and contribute to thedevelopment of local learning communities linked to partner universities?

The study was funded by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) with a view

that one output would be the development of materials to illustrate good practice inschool-based training, focusing specifically on the role of the mentor. Vignettes

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embedded within case stories of whole school mentoring practices were consideredsuitable formats, easily accessible for an audience of teachers.

With this remit in mind the study aims to provide insights into the relationshipbetween mentoring trainee teachers and teachers workplace learning and thus

make explicit the hidden curriculum of ITE Partnerships with regard to teachersprofessional learning, as individuals, within and across departments andschools. It also considers in what way these outcomes can be related to theconcepts of expansive learning environments (Fulleret al, 2005), workplacelearning (Cofer, 2000; Garrick, 1997; McGivney, 1999) and communities ofpractice (Lave & Wender, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and to what extent theseconcepts are manifest in the selected school settings.

3. Methodology

A multi-site approach comprising 4 primary and 6 secondary schools was adoptedwith the aim of generating rich data (Geertz, 1973). For ease of access, and toharness the benefit of trusting relationships, the sampling frame consisted of ITEpartner schools in the two major conurbations in the North West of England. Thepurposive sample represented a range of settings including: specialist (teacher)training schools, schools involved with a range of training providers and trainingroutes, inner city and suburban schools and a newly founded academy. In each of theten settings data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 46 teachers (4 ineach primary, 5 in each secondary), encompassing those who held specific roles andhad varying levels of involvement with ITE partnerships. These participants includedvarious ITE co-ordinators, class teachers working with pre-service teachers,curriculum co-ordinators, subject mentors, and teaching staff on the margins of ITEpartnerships.

The intention was to contextualise accounts of the professional identities and careersof the staff that inhabited the various school settings to portray the experiences ofprofessional development through authentic voices of the mentors/teachersthemselves. The particular power of narrative, biography and telling stories aboutprofessional development is an important way of researching teachers lives andcareers (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999).

The format of vignettes embedded in case stories has been selected to illustrateteachers experiences involved in ITE partnerships. Each case story is based on oneof the 10 school setting and centres on an emergent theme. By employing thisstrategy we aimed to capture mentors reality of working with trainee teachers and indoing so highlight the potential opportunities it can generate for their professionalgrowth. The case stories can also be used as a learning tool with the aim of providinga focus and stimulus for critical reflection and discussion (Barter & Renold, 2000;Hughes, 1998; Sim, 1998) and thereby facilitate deeper understanding of teachersperceptions and beliefs of how working with trainee teachers could have an impact ontheir professional development and workplace learning.

Data collection and analysis

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In this study, a semi-structured interview was designed to collect relevant datacovering the teachers perceptions of professional learning as a result of mentoringITE trainees. Following the interviews with teachers, the data (transcribed interviews)were assembled and an analytical framework devised for analysing key characteristicsof ITE was developed. The framework was drawn from themes emerging from the

data and drew conceptually on previous research in the field, notably that of Day(1999; 2004); Garet et al(2001), Harland and Kinder (1997), Ovens (1999), Smith andColdron (1999), Lieberman and Miller (2001) and Darling-Hammond (1996). Theframework included:

Effect, value and impact of ITE mentoring on individuals professional learning

Tensions between ITE mentor role and professional role

Ownership and autonomy and participation in ITE agenda

Constraints/facilitators of professional learning within an ITE partnership

context

The data collection process adopted involved the team:

Conducting and transcribing interviews

Reading all the transcripts

Systematically analysing a sample of interview data (biographic detail, career

history, professional development experiences, attitudes)

Identifying commonly occurring key features, issues, critical incidents

Triangulating the analysis with other team members

In this way, the 10 case stories are based on empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews. Recurrent and common issues were identified and logged. Theteam then identified a number of emergent themes based on their reading of thetranscripts and relating to the sample of teachers interviewed. Each researcher offeredtheir case stories and embedded vignettes to others to read and comment on and acheck was made on issues arising in each vignette to ensure balance and coverage inrelation to the data collected.

4. Quality assurance

Throughout this study, the project team was cognisant of their responsibilities asindependent researchers to the various stakeholders (higher education andemployment-based providers of initial teacher training and policy makers) andadhered to the Liverpool John Moores University Ethics Code of Practice. Accordingly,gatekeepers (primary and secondary headteachers) permission to participate wassought via existing ITE partnerships links. Participation in the project was voluntaryand based on informed consent. All participants were assured of their anonymity(unless they wished to be named) and the information provided is being treated in thestrictest confidence.

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5. Findings

The study generated convincing evidence that for individual teachers mentoringtrainee teachers can lead to professional renewal and re-orientation, opening up

unexplored avenues for career progression and professional growth, and theaffirmation of individual career trajectory, thereby affording teachers agency andownership of their professional learning and renewal.

The themes emerging from the 10 schools determined the focus of the vignettes, areas follows:

Learning collaboratively

Professional renewal and re-orientation

Whole school development and cultural enrichment

Developing a learning community Building teaching capacity

Facilitating beneficial contacts

Towards a collegiate culture

Developing critical self-awareness and professional sensitivity

Driving improvements in teaching and learning

Experiencing new perspectives

From the 10 case stories, we can also identify some strong indicators of collaborativeprofessional learning communities:

Workplace and situated learning of a high quality;

Leadership of learning by the practitioners themselves;

Highly specific, contextual learning which can be articulated by the participants;

Intergenerational learning between very experienced teachers, newly qualified

teachers and trainee teachers;

School wide innovations and dissemination of practice;

Positive effects on pupil behaviour and achievement.

These indicators reflect ways in which the teachers participating in this study

experience professional learning and development through being involved in ITEpartnerships and resonate closely with the concepts of expansive learningenvironments (Fuller et al, 2005), workplace learning (Cofer, 2000; Garrick, 1997;McGivney, 1999) and communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998).

Each of the 10 case stories gave rise to questions which practitioners might find usefulto consider with regard to their own and their colleagues professional developmentand workplace learning through involvement in ITE partnerships and which areattached to each account.

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6. Conclusion

Over the last two decades, education in England has undergone dramatic changes interms of the numerous and fundamental reforms and innovations of systems and

curricula. This trend has been particularly evident in the way in which teachers andschools have been challenged to endeavour to raise standards in teaching andlearning. In this context the provision of good quality in-service training and continuingprofessional development for teachers are regarded as major contributing factors notonly in achieving this goal (Strong, 2005), but also in addressing recruitment andretention issues.

In addition to this schools have been allocated a central role in the preparation andinduction of new entrants to the profession. Teachers play a pivotal role in thisprocess by making a valuable contribution as mentors to both the training and supportof novice teachers (Kwo, 2007). To assist newcomers to the profession in managing

the transition from training to professional practice, experienced classroompractitioners are expected to share their expertise and to take responsibility formonitoring progress and assessing competence against a framework ofpredetermined professional standards (TDA, 2008). This, we would argue, is a highlycomplex role, but one which is also rewarding in terms of the reciprocal benefitsderived by mentor and mentee. It is hoped that professional learning, which is evidentin the attached case stories, results from the mentoring of trainee teachers inpartnership with universities, should be given high status in the schools, highereducation institutions, government and teachers organisations. The time is also ripefor an exploration of the wider partnerships between schools and universities, inrelation to professional learning and research with a view to investigating the role ofacademic partners in working with schools for change and development.

7. References

Barter, C & Renold, E (2000) I wanna tell you a story: exploring the application ofvignettes in qualitative research with children and young people, Social ResearchMethodology, 3(4), pp. 307-323

Cofer (2000) Informal workplace learning. Practice Application Brief No 10ERIC

website: http://www.ericacve.org/fulltext.asp.[accessed on 15th

June 2007]

Connelly, F M & Clandinin, D J (1999) Shaping Professional Identity: Stories ofEducational Practice. New York: Teachers College Press

Darling-Hammond, L (1994) Professional Development Schools: Schools forDeveloping a Profession

Day, C (1999) Developing teachers: the challenges of lifelong learning. London:Falmer Press

Day, C & Hadfield, M (2004) Learning through networks: trust, partnership and thepower of action research, Education Action Research, 12 (4), pp. 575-586

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Fuller, A., Hodkinson, H., Hodkinson, P. & Unwin, L. (2005) Learning as peripheralparticipation in communities of practice: a reassessment of key concepts in workplacelearning. British Educational Research Journal, 31(1), pp.49-68

Garet, M S, Desimone, A C, Birman, B F & Yoon, K S (2001) What makes professionaldevelopment effective? Results from a national sample of teachers,AmericanEducational Research Journal, 38 (94), pp. 915-945

Garrick, J. (1997) Informal learning in the workplace: unmasking human resourcedevelopment. New York: Routledge

Geertz, C (1973) The Interpretation of Culture. New York: Basic Books

Harland, J & Kinder, K (1997) Teachers continuing professional development: framinga model of outcomes, British Journal of In-service Education, 23 (1), pp. 71-84

Hughes, R. (1998) Considering the vignette technique and its application to a study ofdrug injecting and HIV risk and safer behaviour, Sociology of Health and Illness, 20,pp. 381-400

Hurd, S, Jones, M, McNamara, O & Craig, B (2007) Initial teacher education as adriver for professional learning and school improvement in the primary phase,Curriculum Journal, 18 (93), pp. 307-326

Kwo, O (2007) Towards a learning profession: Understanding induction in a district-based community, in J Butcher & L McDonald (eds) Making a Difference: ChallengesforTeachers. Teaching and Teacher Education. Rotterdam/Taipei: Senses Publishers

Lave, J & Wenger, E (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Lieberman, A & Miller, L (eds) (2001) Teachers Caught in the Action: ProfessionalDevelopment that Matters. New York: Teachers College Press

McGivney, V. (1999) Informal Learning in the Community. A Trigger for Change andDevelopment. Leicester: NIACE

Ovens, P (1999) Can teachers be developed? Journal of In-service Education, 25 (2),pp. 275-306

Sim, A. J., Milner, J., Lovew, J. & Lishman, J. (1998) Definition of need: can disabledpeople and care professionals agree? Disability and Society, 13, pp. 53-74

Smith, R & Coldron, J (1999) Conditions for learning as a teacher, Journal of In-service Education, 25 (2), pp. 245-260

Strong, M (2005) Teacher induction, mentoring and retention: a summary of the

research, The New Educator, 1 (30), pp.181-198

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Wenger, E (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. London:Cambridge University Press

Teacher Development Agency for Schools (TDA) (2008) Professional Standards forTeachers. Website: http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/s/standards_a4.pdf

[Accessed on 31st December 2008]

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8. Vignettes

8.1 Learning collaboratively

Bridge Lane is a larger than average, urban primary school in an area of significantsocial and economic disadvantage. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage andthe proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is high. However,the school holds a number of prestigious awards, including the Healthy SchoolsAward, Investors in People Status, Basic Skills and Inclusion Charter Marks and EarlyYears accreditation. Its strengths are reflected in a very strong staff team that fullyengages in the schools self-evaluation and in development planning. The ethos of theschool is one of sharing and collaboration with a strong focus on professional learningand development, as explained by the Deputy Head:

There is a great sharing of professionalism and of the work thats going on. We

have done an awful lot of training in-house. We have not been sending peopleout on individual courses. We just feel that we can all benefit and that of we areall learning together, were all moving forward together, taking on newinitiatives.

For this very reason, the headteacher is keen to be involved in ITE partnerships, asshe believes that there are benefits to be derived by individual staff as well as theschool as a whole.

As a manager, I think that having students [trainees] in is a good move forwardto actually move staff forward and to model good practice as well. So, if youhave got students [trainees] coming through on a yearly basis, then you can asan institution maintain that model of good practice.

At the same time, if there was something interesting or exciting brought in by atrainee, it would be shared and discussed with the whole staff and implemented ifconsidered an improvement on current practice. The virtues of mentoring are extolledby the Headteacher, who believes that working with trainees can develop staffspeople management skills, which subsequently will stand them in good stead whenapplying for more senior posts. Jackie, who is Assessment Co-ordinator and MathsCo-ordinator, has been teaching for fifteen years and been working with trainees for

eight. She highlights the mutual relationship of mentoring and its effect on the learningprocess:

I think once the students [trainees] are aware that it is a constant learningcurve; then I think youre sort of on an equal partnership, for they have lots ofskills for us. I think quite often that the students [trainees] have other skills aswell and other experiences, particularly IT. The IT skills of the younger teachersare far superior to what we had when we were being trained. I think theirknowledge of the new programmes available helps us. I would never know howto work an interactive whiteboard, unless I have students [trainees] in. Theyshow you and their enthusiasm rubs off on you. So, I think it is a working

partnership. And I do think that they have a lot to offer. And they have lots ofnew ideas and things. And although they havent got the experience subject-

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based, I do think that they have experience in other ways as well, yeah. Its ateam thing.

Jackie has also discovered that trainees can provide access to valuable resourcesand knowledge relevant to the planning and development of the curriculum, such as

the university library.

Students [trainees] can go to the library, we cant. So, quite often, when we aredoing topics, we say, Go to your library and get this, because we know theUniversity has it. They may only be teaching a part timetable, literacy andnumeracy, but your topic may be the Victorians. So, you would then say, Getanything youve got on the Victorians. And then, together, we would plan thetopic. Because the more materials youve got, the better.

In her endeavour to keep up-to-date with educational developments and pedagogicalknowledge, Jackie appreciates the link with the University:

Well, the students [trainees] tend to bring a handbook, which they normallypass to the class teacher. It will give us detailed information as to what theyshould be doing, what strategies theyre applying. Obviously, the newframeworks have come in. So, hopefully, on the students [trainees] manual itwill say that they should be following the renewed framework objectives. So,then, as a staff we know.

The concept of collaborative learning is fully embraced within the ITE partnership andthis collaboration helps Jackie to achieve a creative learning approach to pedagogy,an approach which schools are now being asked to implement. . Jackie illustrates howcollaborative learning is part of the mentoring process of trainees:

Its all about creative learning now. So, I think its a case of trial. See if it worksand then go with it. We do try things out as a staff. Weve tried the newspelling. We took on a reading scheme. Weve gone into looking at creativethinking, mind mapping and accelerated learning. As a teacher, I appreciateanything new, even classroom management techniques and games thatstudents [trainees] bring in. And if you see it works, you just take it, you know.

Observing trainees practice is seen as another opportunity to engage in collaborative

learning:

When you are doing an observation, its quite nice to sit back and watch thedifferent skills. You dont often, on a day-to-day basis, look at yourself and say,Professional knowledge, professional skills, understanding, assessment forteaching and learning. You dont break that down when youre teaching. Butwhen youre observing, and youre taking notes on the quality of teaching andlearning, the quality of classroom management and control, you sort of sit backand think, Oh, I do that! Oh, what could I do instead of ? Or, what could Isuggest to the student[trainee]? And it makes you sit back and think of all theother strategies and techniques that you can use as well. You know, thats

where your reflection is, when you are doing observation with the student[trainee].

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Particularly in the case of an excellent trainee, a true working partnership ofcollaborative learning can manifest itself in mutual observation and modelling of goodpractice, as Jackie explains in greater detail:

The students [trainees] that weve had have done fantastic displays. Now, I amdire at Art. But they are coming in and teach lessons and the children haveproduced fantastic work. And you think, Wow, I need to do something likethat. So, you try it. Its a steep learning curve for us. I have been doing the jobfor sixteen years, but I still havent stopped learning.

When students [trainees] are doing focused observation on maybe literacy ornumeracy, it makes you deliver the best possible lesson. I do produce goodlessons most of the time, but when youve got a student [trainee], you will try tobe absolutely outstanding in every aspect. You pull your ICT, your controltechniques, your management, your use of praise. You pull everything,

because you are going to be modelled up on this platform for them. You know,thats the ultimate what theyre aiming for. Its a challenge for them then. Yeah,I think its great!

The reciprocal benefits for mentor and mentee are thus evident, but are not confinedto this one-to-one relationship. According to the schools open ethos of collaborativelearning, sharing of good practice is commonplace, as Jackie explains:

If students [trainees] have done something fabulous, we might walk into nextdoor and say, Guess what! Such and such just did .. Its brilliant this! Andwe will share it that way. And, you know, if it is absolutely amazing and no oneelse has seen it, I would say to my colleague, Come and watch. And thats theway we would do it. We are very informal and we would share their goodpractice just as we would hope that the student[trainee] would be sharing ourgood practice here.

As highlighted in Jackies accounts learning collaboratively with trainees can result inmutual gains, but, equally, can be highly challenging. One particular aspect in herprofessional development where she has learned a lot is teamwork, for example howto be constructively critical. Having to assess trainees competence against theprofessional standards has made her more aware of other standards, such as the

Excellent Teacher, which she is considering to advance her career further. Herinvolvement in ITE has thus provided her with both opportunities for workplacelearning and career development.

One of Jackies junior colleagues, Kate, has only been working with one PGCE traineeso far. Nevertheless, her experience of the mentoring relationship was extremelyrewarding and beneficial to both their professional development. The followingexample provides an illustration of this process:

I would sit down with the student[trainee] every evening and we would reflecton the day. And it didnt just have to be when the student[trainee] had taught, it

would also be when I had taught. It was almost like co-coaching in a kind ofway, because we pick up on the good points that each other had done. And, I

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think, if you can spot that in your own teaching and you can help somebody outwith theirs, then it is good practice.

I think a lot of the risks that we took were from collaborative talking andplanning together. Because, although my student[trainee] was given some

kind of freedom with her own plans, we did also discuss where I would thentake it once she had left.

When asked to sum up the benefits of experience as an ITE mentor, Kate says:

I think its team work, co-operation and collaboration. uhmm Having timeto reflect. I think thats probably a very big one for me. But since then, I doactually take more time to sit down and reflect upon my own practice, wherethere is a student[trainee] in there or not.

No doubt, the examples provided by these primary practitioners highlight the fact that

schools involvement in the ITE partnership can be a powerful force to motivate andencourage staff to engage in collaborative learning and professional development.

Some questions for consideration:

1. Can you recall an instant when a trainee teacher employed a particularlyeffective strategy or technique?

2. How are examples of good practice demonstrated by trainees shared with otherstaff in your department and the school as a whole?

3. Which aspects of your professional practice do you think could be the focus ofcollaborative activities and learning conversations involving trainees andcolleagues?

4. To what extent do you feel your school ethos reflects and promotes acollaborative learning culture? Could you give an example?

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8.2 Professional renewal and re-orientation

Christine is Professional Mentor at a large rural, high achieving comprehensiveschool, where she co-ordinates ITE provision for undergraduate and postgraduatetrainee teachers following a variety of training pathways, such as the B.A. in Education

with QTS, PGCE and GTP. Prior to taking on this role, she had taught PE at twochallenging inner city and suburban schools, working her way up to Head of Faculty ofPE. However, following a brief career break due to maternity leave, she decided tolook for a post of less responsibility as Second in the PE Department which wouldallow her to dedicate more time to her family. The oversubscribed Specialist ScienceCollege, located in an affluent area in a rural setting, seemed to provide a lessstressful working environment than the previous two schools, and as such seemed theperfect choice. Although Christine enjoyed her new role, it only took two years untilshe felt ready to move on to new challenges. When the post of Professional Mentorbecame available, she realised that a change of direction in her career trajectorymight be appropriate:

It was a nice step for me, because when I came here, I moved down from Headof Faculty to Second in Department. I became interested in the idea of movingpeople forward and training other people, and I think it was also because Iwasnt doing it within my subject (PE). I wanted something else.

Christine also recognised the potential value and relevance of her previousexperience as a teacher and her active involvement in the ITE partnership in relationto this new role:

I would say that probably the reason why I got the job was because I had donequite a lot of work at that stage for XXX University, in particular because I hadbeen a quality assurance tutor. In this and in my previous schools I went roundschools checking the quality of staff working with students [trainees]. So, Iddone that role. I was also on the ITE Partnership committees at the universityand I did a seminar for students [trainees] at the universities. So, Id done a lot,really.

Supporting people in their professional learning would also provide her with a range ofopportunities to develop her competence not only as a classroom practitioner andmentor, but also as a manager and leader across the whole school. When asked in

what way her involvement in ITE over the past 20 years has had an impact on herown professional development, she identifies two distinct aspects:

Definitely leadership skills, and thinking more sort of outside [the box], of notjust doing it, but having to reflect on it a lot more. So, its a lot more reflectivethan what I was actually doing. In order to explain to others why they weredoing it, what they were doing, and what purpose was behind it, I quite like theidea of problem solving and finding the best routes and options and trying outvarious things.

In this respect, her involvement in ITE, whether in a subject related capacity as mentor

or more generically as professional mentor, has taken Christine on a journey ofprofessional renewal and re-orientation, as she explains below:

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Im someone who tries new ideas and I certainly take on initiatives all the time.I like that side of it and so I think that was another reason why I sort of cameinto it.

Interestingly, Christine no longer teaches her specialist subject PE. Through workingwith trainees, she has discovered a new curriculum area, as she describes below:

I now teach Performing Arts, I dont teach PE. So, Ive moved and Id probablysay thats come from a number of influences. Through students [trainees],because in the old sort of days, when I first started out, there were students[trainees] who did a PGCE in PE, but they were Dance specialists and,sometimes, they happened to come to my school. So, Dance became a love ofmine. When I came to this school, there was no Dance to the extent it is taughtnow. Weve got GCSE and A level Dance and Performing Arts. So, it hasblossomed. I dont think it would be at the strength it is now if it wasnt for the

student[trainee] teachers. Because there is no question, theyre bringing innew choreographies all the time and new ideas and I dont have the time toresearch it all myself.

Christine has been a Dance Skills teacher for the past 5 years and is convinced thather involvement in ITE was the catalyst that brought about this change of direction.

No doubt, thats happened because I was in ITE. Theres no question on thatbecause it developed in me the ability to move people forward and lead, trainand develop other people.

While she has been reaffirming her own career trajectory, Christine has been equallyconcerned about creating opportunities for professional development and workplacelearning for colleagues. She perceives her role as having two remits: firstly, to preparethose aspiring to become teachers, and secondly to provide appropriate staffdevelopment to ensure quality support for trainees by all staff. In this respect,Christine is very uncompromising when she insists:

Everyone does it. Thats the whole purpose. My expectations are that everyonedoes it. I mean, Ive got the job. We have so much class observation that has tohappen and I dont think staff would be capable of that, or would be trained up

enough, wouldnt be astute enough in recognising things. They wouldnt beaware of how to speak to people in a positive manner, because its not abouttelling people, its about questioning them to get them to realise what they needto change. I dont think wed have moved forward as much in teaching andlearning because there is no question a student[trainee] can put you to shamewhen they start doing fantastic starters and plenaries and youre not.

Providing in-service training on mentoring was not confined to colleagues at herschool, but involved staff from feeder primaries:

I have done mentor training for the whole school, and how to do observations

etc. Every member of staff was trained on how to be a subject mentor. Mainlyfor the reason that as a school, I think, we are quite proactive, and coaching

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and mentoring now is essential, and youve got to do it. And this is one of theways, one of the easy ways for everyone to have an opportunity to be able toshow that they are actually developing other people. Everyone gets updates onthings like that. Ive also done it with one of our feeder schools. We did cross-moderating with them. We did it because they were pretty new to ITT and we

werent and we tried to lead them. There was a member of staff who was reallykeen. So, we did staff inset again, lesson observations and all that.

Moving outside the boundaries of her own school into the wider community of practicewas partly provoked by a deep-felt, personal motivation to move others on, but wasalso inspired by her long-term, extensive involvement in ITE and the wide repertoire ofskills, knowledge and understanding of the wider context of professional learning shehad acquired. In essence, Christines journey could thus be described as one ofrenewal and re-orientation, on which the ITE partnership provided critical junctures atwhich new, unexplored avenues for career progression and professional growthpresented themselves.

One of her latest strategies in updating teachers knowledge and skills is to directlyinvolve the trainees in cascading innovative practices. For example, to enhance pupilslearning in Science, two PGCE Science trainees competent in the use of a newelectronic resource, the interactive voting system, delivered a full days training tostaff and trainee teachers from five schools. Subsequently, all trainees at Christinesschool produced appropriate materials for the use of the resource and incorporated itas an effective feedback technique in their teaching. Christines account exemplifieshow this was achieved:

Whats happened now is that three departments want to buy the device. So,the students [trainees] have used it and the staff have recognised its benefits.We had known about this resource before, but never had the time to cascadethrough the school. Its like all the game shows you see where people dovoting. So, every child gets a little voting system and its got A, B, C, D on it. Itsgreat for assessment of learning, because on the screen a question comes up.The persons answer who has buzzed first comes up, so they know they havedone it first. And thats good! Thats really good for the childs self-esteem. Andthen it tells you, percentage wise, how much of the class got it right. And thenlater, when you want to scrutinise the results further, it tells you which childrenare struggling. So for the teacher it is phenomenal.

Christine is delighted with the impact this strategy has had in her school. Threedepartments, Science, Technology and PE, have decided to buy the device.

ITE mentoring has provided her with new, exciting opportunities at a particularlycritical stage in her career. Following a brief career break, she embarked on a newtrajectory that resulted in moving subject areas as a teacher from PE to Dance andPerforming Arts and taking on a leadership role in initial teacher training and staffdevelopment that transcends departmental and school boundaries.


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1. How do you think your involvement in an ITE partnership can open up newavenues for your professional development?

2. Which skills and what kind of knowledge do you think you can acquire throughbeing involved in an ITE partnership? To what extent do you feel these skillsand knowledge are of transferable value in performing other roles as a teacher,

manager or leader?3. What skills and knowledge have you personally developed through being

involved in an ITE partnership?a) By working with traineesb) By taking part in events organised by the ITE provider

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8.3 Whole school curriculum development and cultural enrichment

Elaine became involved in ITE mentoring trainee teachers immediately aftercompleting her induction year. She started as an NQT at the same school where shehad been working for the past five years and has gradually worked her way up to MFL

Primary Co-ordinator and AST for languages in primary education. Her desire to workwith trainee teachers stems from her personal experience as a trainee, when shebenefited from the support and guidance of an excellent mentor.

It really did inspire me. You can have all the enthusiasm in the world, but youneed to have a good leader, someone who will mentor you, who knows whattheyre doing, who will take risks, who allows you to think outside the box. Andfor me that was inspirational and why I wanted to become a mentor.

Elaine feels still as enthusiastic about teaching as on the day when she decided to jointhe teaching profession as a student. She is emphatic about the fact that the positive

impact of trainees presence within a school must not be underestimated and can be apowerful catalyst in implementing change and whole school improvement:

I still remember training, and the energy and enthusiasm you have at that pointin time. And to bring that into school, bring that into the classroom is justphenomenal! Teaching moves very quickly and although Im only in my fifthyear, things have moved on, especially in languages which is my specialism.When people come with ideas, when you see a spark in the classroom, itmakes you re-evaluate your teaching. The last student [trainee] I had wasfantastic and after a lesson observation, I instantly went to see my seniormanager and said, I remember when I was like that and I want to be like thatagain.

Elaines special responsibility is the co-ordination of MFL within the primarycurriculum. She is also a primary languages AST, the only one in the Local Authority,and feels that working with trainees is helping her to maintain and develop her ownexpertise, which ultimately enables her to provide guidance and support to colleagueswithin and outside her school. She points out that many ITE trainees bring with themparticular specialisms, which can be harnessed and employed to enrich and developthe whole school curriculum and to drive innovation of practice:

It really is a win-win situation. Because they go abroad on placement, they adda whole new dimension to our school that I cant. That really helps with thenational curriculum and the quality of teaching in our school.

Personally, Elaine believes that she and her colleagues have benefited greatly fromworking with trainee teachers, and that mentoring should be perceived as a reciprocalprocess that is about learning from each other. Her Deputy Head is in full support ofthis stance, as he subscribes to the view that observing trainees teach modernlanguages results in tangible benefits for both. While it assists staff in developing theirown proficiency in the foreign language and acquaints them with the specifictechniques of modern language teaching, trainees will benefit from their mentors

experience as classroom practitioners who can provide guidance on planning, pupil

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behaviour and assessment. Elaine recalls how she has benefited from this two-wayprocess:

Working together is about continuous improvement. When I began teachingmodern languages, I didnt know how to teach it and had to make it up from my

existing pedagogical knowledge base. When I see that the students[trainees]lesson format is the same as mine, it reassures me to know that Im doing theright thing.

Elaine particularly welcomes the contribution trainees make to the MFL resourcesbank of the school.

One of the main things for me are resources. These students [trainees] arrivejam-packed full of fantastic power points, new ideas, technology. In terms ofenriching our school in that way, its been fantastic! Also, in terms of culturalenrichment, because these students [trainees] are able to go abroad. Thats

vital! Its key because they bring back the culture with them. They bring backseeing and teaching in Spain, which then impacts and helps our childrenhaving a love of Spanish. They can see it in action with their own eyes. So,they will come back and they might have been there during a festival SemanaSanta bringing back real life photographs, real life recordings, that they canuse in the classroom and say, Today, we are going to do something aboutSpanish festivals. Have a look at this! I cant give the children that. So, thatsjust fantastic!

Elaine points out that cultural enrichment of the childrens learning experience isparticularly important in her school, as the pupil population is overwhelmingly whiteand located within a community of significant social and economic disadvantage.Family visits to or holidays outside the UK are the exception rather than the norm.

The Deputy Head agrees with Elaines stance when he states that there is a need togive children the sort of learning opportunities they might otherwise never have. Whenthe Spanish counterparts of the English trainees arrive in the school for their 4-weekplacement, their childrens acquaintance with the foreign culture and language isintensified and comes to life. Elaine perceives the Spanish trainees as a valuableresource that can be used effectively to provide the children with first handexperiences of the foreign language and culture:

They teach culture and fiestas, because I feel thats where our weakness is.So, heres the expert!

Apart from the impact on childrens learning experience the Deputy Head particularlyrecognises the contribution MFL trainees can make to his staff and the school as awhole by extending the existing knowledge and skills base and by building up theresources bank:

We have two or three postgraduate students [trainees] every year who haveSpanish as their specialism. Because staff are present in their lessons, it has

inspired staff, I suppose. It helps their own understanding of the language,because obviously, Spanish teaching in Year 1 is at such a basic level. Lots of

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staff wont have any knowledge or understanding of Spanish, but being in thoselessons helps them to develop their own language capability and looking at themethodology of teaching primary foreign languages, which is very specific.They often come with IT resources, because MFL is so visual, so oral, theycant just stand in front of the classroom. It has to be exciting and interesting for

the children. So, if theyve got any ICT work they have done, they usually leavethat in school for us.

What makes this reciprocal arrangement doubly rewarding is the fact that theirmentors accompany the trainees. It is not only the trainees, but also their mentors whobenefit in terms of their own professional development. This takes place via jointlesson observations and evaluations of trainees here and in Spain, leading to new andalternative perspectives. Below, Elaine illustrates how her visit to the Spanish primaryschool provoked her to reflect critically upon practices employed in her own schooland those observed in Spain:

It is so funny when you see Spanish teachers walking into school in themorning. This is our English book and we are going to work through it. And youthink to yourself, If only you knew! I have been lucky enough to go over for aweek and teach. I have taken a portable smart board and a projector and Ivedone ICT. In Spain, teaching MFL is still very much chalk and talk and I thinkwe have come such a long way with our national strategies, our differentiationand special needs provision that, you know, if we could mix it, it would beperfect.

Another influential factor in Elaines development of the MFL curriculum has been thelink with the ITE provider. Her excellent relationship with the tutors from the Universityhas enabled her to move beyond the boundaries of her school and gain anunderstanding of the wider context within which initial teacher training is located. Ithelps her and her school to keep up-to-date with developments in MFL teaching in avariety of ways, as she illustrates below:

It constantly makes me re-evaluate my own teaching. Working with theuniversity tutors means observing together, moderating, evaluating. I wasinvited to the annual languages conference in Manchester. It was fantastic! Iwould not have had the opportunity had we not had so many students[trainees].

This is particularly important to her, as in her role as AST for primary MFL Elainesremit is to work not only with colleagues in her own, but also other schools across theLocal Authority with whom she meets regularly in half-termly cluster meetings. Hertrainees also attend these meetings, as she considers them the new experts. Forexample, they gave presentations about their placements in Spanish primary schools.Through their enthusiasm they inspired the teachers who themselves had never hadany such experiences. Furthermore, Elaine believes that the observation andfeedback skills she has developed through her active involvement in the ITEpartnership transfer well to working with teachers supporting in the development ofMFL teaching skills.

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As highlighted by the Deputy, curriculum development and school improvement arekey elements that are placed very high on the agenda of this primary school.Regarding the development of the MFL curriculum in his school, he summarisesproudly:

As a school, we never want to stand still. Were always keen to take on boardnew initiatives. Were always keen to try things out. Spanish weve got up andrunning in school now through our links with the university and through thestudents [trainees] we are also linked with the two tutors. We also have twomembers of staff who speak Spanish. Were in front of the game.


1. Can you think of a curriculum area within your school that could benefit fromfurther development and enrichment? How could trainees be used to facilitate

this?2. How could your links with an ITE provider(s) and your work with trainees

provide you with opportunities for continuing professional development? Youmay wish to consider aspects of subject knowledge, specific skills andresources.

3. Can you think of areas in the school curriculum where you would welcomefocused input and leadership from your ITE provider(s) in the form ofcollaborative activities and CPD events?

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8.4 Developing a learning community

John has been teaching PE for a considerable amount of time. For the past 20 years,he has been Head of PE at an oversubscribed, rural, high performing comprehensiveschool. When he first started supporting trainee teachers on school placement14

years ago, he had not undergone any formal mentor training. However, his desire toassist them in their learning stemmed from the passionate belief that teachers have aprofessional obligation to ensure that the next generation of new entrants areadequately prepared and that experienced teachers like himself are able to offer thenecessary expertise to support them.

Following the completion of mentoring training and subsequently attending regulardevelopmental meetings organised by the local ITE provider, John felt that he wantedto become more deeply involved in the ITE partnership. For the last three years of hiscareer, he has played a key role as cluster co-ordinator for secondary schools in hisLocal Authority, who currently have trainees and those who would consider having

trainees in the future. He explains how the cluster has a positive impact not only onthe development of trainee teachers, but schools as a whole:

Its quite significant, actually, and has developed and evolved quiteconsiderably. Its quite a powerful influence on students [trainees] andteachers and effectively on pupils themselves. We had our annual conferenceon Monday. Yeah. One of my teachers did her learning conversation for theTLA accreditation. Again, it just provides that environment to look forward to,not just in relation to your mentoring, but your teaching as a whole. You arelistening to what other clusters are doing, youre getting feedback from thoseother clusters and you think, Oh I like that idea! or Thats something wewere thinking of. Lets pursue that a bit further.

John strongly believes that working with trainees is a two-way process, in which bothparties involved benefit. For example, when trainees possess expertise in a certainfield due to previous experiences in the world of work or display confidence in an areathat to the majority of teachers is relatively unfamiliar and fraught with risks, such asthe use of new technologies. In Johns department, trainees have been instrumental inthe introduction and implementation of new technologies, thus extending theknowledge and skills base of individual teachers and departments. One particularexample he describes is that of radio microphones:

They would fit a student[trainee] with a radio mike and the teacher would standfurther away and then just transmit little bits of information to their earpiece. It issomething we could also use with staff when observing lessons, when weobserve each other. We are in the early stages of using them and intend to usethem a lot more. One of the good things about having students [trainees] inschool, and I mean in the PE department, is that everyone is willing to try newthings Id be more than happy, if someone said to me, Can I see your lesson?What are you doing right now? What about so and so? if someone was justdropping in little questions while you are working.

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By using this new technology to provide trainees with guidance and support during thedelivery of a lesson, John believes that it encourages teachers to engage in criticalanalysis and reflection of their own practice:

One of the biggest benefits when having students [trainees] is that you are

constantly reflecting; not only on what you see a student [trainee] do, but italso makes you reflect on what youve done and how youve done it in the past.That way you take a little step back and look at it from the outside and havetime to reflect.

Mentoring trainees can thus create spaces for reflection within teachers busy workschedules, which otherwise would not become available. Within these legitimatespaces, teachers themselves become learners, as one of the subject mentors for inScience department (Laura) explains:

Sometimes, you find yourself telling them that they need to do something, and

you actually think, I havent done that for a while. I need to do that as well.One of the students[trainees] tasks is to observe a teachers lesson. Theythen need to look at how closely my lesson relates to my lesson plan. Thatagain is an interesting conversation with them after the lesson, because youfind yourself justifying why you missed out that bit and why that bit took a bitlonger.

Collaborative learning takes place not only between teachers and trainees, but alsobetween trainees themselves via the paired placements, as Louise, the subjectmentor for Science illustrates:

The two that came in and did the paired placement at the start of this year werebrilliant. They also worked as a pair and supported each other in lots of waystalked about, like their lessons, theyd already discussed between them. Theywere absolutely brilliant at evaluating and talking to each other, so they almosttook over the role that you think you have.

Another example, which had an impact on teachers practices in the Sciencedepartment in Johns and other schools within the cluster, was the interactive votingsystem. It resembles television game shows where participants select the correctanswer from a number of possible alternatives by pressing a buzzer. Initially, it was

intended to raise Year 9 pupil performance in the SATs in Science by providingdetailed feedback to both pupils and teachers, and as explained by the ProfessionalMentor great benefits are derived by pupils and staff:

For the teacher its phenomenal and its great for assessment for learning. Ittells you the percentage of correct answers and the pupils can see who wasthe first to give a correct answer.

The introduction of the interactive voting system formed part of a ProfessionalDevelopment School (PDS) project and involved trainees linked to Sciencedepartments in five schools. After attending a whole day training event, they learned

how to use the device and created materials for its use in the classroom. Followingpositive responses from teaching staff, the two Science trainees who had attended

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training were asked to cascade their expertise to all the other trainees in the school. Inthis way, they were used as vehicles to introduce and demonstrate the use of this newteaching and learning strategy in front of teachers whose classes they were teaching.The impact of importing this new technology into the school is reflected in teachersfeedback, who described the interactive voting system as fantastic and fabulous. As

a result of having seen this new approach in action and producing the expectedresults, three departments, Science, Technology and PE, have decided to purchasethe resource for the coming academic year.

John strongly believes that through being involved in ITE programmes, his departmenthas developed a strong culture of sharing and learning from and with each other:

Because we are all based in one room and again we are quite a vibrant livelydepartment, if things are happening, then well know about it and well share.Yes, I think students [trainees] do add to the quality of what we do and weperhaps wouldnt have moved as fast forward without them in the school and

the work across the cluster of schools is the next step up from this.

The concept of a learning community is not limited to Johns department, but extendsbeyond the schools boundaries into the cluster of schools which he co-ordinates andthe local ITE provider. He has been keen to liaise not only with mentors in schools, butalso to develop a collaborative relationship with the tutors from the ITE provider.Following requests from cluster schools, he has requested a meeting for mentors toreview and discuss the new initial teacher-training curriculum and the manner of itsincorporation in the university-based programme.

To speak to lecturers to find out what they did, how they did it, what theirteaching strategies were, how they were modifying their work etc. so wecould then work with them on that. It hasnt actually happened yet, but Iwould like to get it done as soon as possible next year, because I think it wouldbe a powerful vehicle.

Meanwhile the cluster itself has taken the initiative to provide targeted input in the wayin which trainees are prepared for teaching in secondary schools in relation to specificskill areas, which in the past have often been identified as problematic. Johnexplained how an idea was translated into practice:

This came from one of the cluster meetings. One of the clusters has beenproviding courses in netball, gymnastics and athletics. So, we had already saidthat we wanted to do that within our cluster, now that would mean a schoolputting it on, lets say table tennis. And then other[trainees] from our clusterschools could also come. And then we want to impact on the universities,because obviously, we are at the chalk face. We are delivering to children.

Another strand of Johns involvement in ITE is his role as moderator. Evaluating andassessing trainees competence against the professional standards in collaborationwith other mentors across a number of schools provides him with an opportunity tooffer and at the same time develop his expertise as a classroom practitioner, as he

explains below:

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I go to the school. I observe the lesson with their mentor. I observe the mentorfeeding back. Then, I ask questions that have been supplied by the universityto the student[trainee] and to the mentors about the quality of the training theyare getting and I think the important thing is that they are getting a consistentlyhigh quality deal at every school.

John strongly believes that through his active involvement in ITE as a mentor, clusterco-ordinator and ITE moderator, he has developed a detailed understanding of thewider context within which the ITE framework is located and a critical awareness oftrainees needs and entitlements. It also raises his critical awareness of theidiosyncratic nature of the various school settings and the cultures within them, as wellas the ways in which these differences affect trainees learning.

As illustrated by his comment below, John particularly values his communication withtutors from higher education and mentors from other schools, which introduces him tonew and at times challenging perspectives and facilitates the cross-fertilisation of new

ideas and practices.

I mean, you go into schools, you are chatting to the PE staff, you are chattingto the students [trainees] and its always, What do you do here? What do youdo with your Year 10 GCSE? And sharing of best practice happens, you know,at the annual conference the other day, again you know, you get chatting todifferent people.

John is convinced that his involvement in ITE has provided him with the opportunity totake on a central role in developing a learning community, which involves reviewingestablished practice, exploring new directions and venturing into new territory. Heexplains how the cluster has been instrumental in providing the space for suchdevelopment to take place:

One of the things we have done within the Local Authority cluster is we havecreated time with heads of department meetings. We have one head ofdepartment meeting a term and have created time for an ITE slot. So, we usetime to share that information or to discuss issues; only briefly sometimes,sometimes more lengthy, and that then facilitates cross-fertilisation of ideasand suggestions.

The schools involvement in ITE has thus facilitated opportunities for professionallearning that have transcended departmental and school boundaries. In an endeavourto sustain the growth and development of this emerging learning community, it is nowimportant to engage more extensively in collaborative activities with colleagues inhigher education and for consolidating the established links with cluster schools.


1. Johns school has played a leading role in developing a learning communitythat involves not only his own but also staff from other schools. Can you identify

areas in your own professional development or whole school developmentwhere access to such a community would be beneficial?

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2. How are new knowledge and classroom practice related to teaching andlearning shared within your department and across the school? Can you thinkof a particularly innovative resource or technique used by a trainee that youbelieve should be shared with other colleagues?

3. What opportunities have been available to you to participate in ITE activities

involving colleagues from other schools, the Local Authority and/or highereducation? Can you give an example of how this has impacted on yourprofessional learning?

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8.5 Building teaching capacity

Stewart has been working with trainee teachers for the past ten years. He has alwaysconsidered being involved in ITE as a worthwhile and valuable activity for a number ofreasons. When he was appointed Head of Faculty of English, he made it his priority to

establish links with the local ITE provider to provide placements for trainee teachers.His current school is an 11-16 urban community school with over half of the pupilscoming from ethnic minority backgrounds sharing 45 different first languages betweenthem. Just over half of them have learning difficulties and GCSE A-C passes are wellbelow national averages. However, in spite of these challenges, standards are risingsteadily and Stewart believes that having trainees in the school makes you better:

Well, as you are training teachers, especially within English, we were pilots forthe literacy strategy, so we were having a lot of focus on the actual mechanicsof teaching and pedagogy and the learning process. So, there is nothing betterthan a live experiment and training, training teachers, especially in the early

stages, for example, lesson planning, curriculum development, mappingobjectives, looking at teaching and learning styles. Every time you voice that,you are actually learning something more yourself, as you experiment with thatand evaluate and look at student[trainee] teachers reflections. It also givesyou an excuse to share practice.

Ultimately, Stewart believes that a schools involvement in ITE allows them to cherrypick trainees with the possibility of offering them a post. He explains what he is lookingfor in the selection of suitable candidates:

I very much want people who are strategy compliant, very innovative, veryenthusiastic. I dont want necessarily pre-literacy experienced teachers, whowould say, I always do this. There has been a sea change in the curriculum atboth key stages and there is a lot more performance required from Englishdepartments now. The best people to deliver are those who are intellectuallycapable, who write academic and critical essays, who have had to prepareresearch and who have had to become more intellectual and more academic todeliver the subject. So, we started that way.

Recent staff appointments from the trainees on placement at the school have beeninformed by such criteria. They were very much subject specialists, but also had

specialisms within their subjects. This strategy has been employed for the past 5years, making a significant ITE appointment each year. Stewart illustrates how thenew teachers recruited from trainees have had an impact on capacity building andquality enhancement of the faculty team:

Well, three of those new appointments are now very much not only supporting,but also writing Key Stage 3 of the new curriculum. This proves that the journeywe took was for us, because the person I trained three years ago has nowwritten Key Stage 3 Curriculum. And we have the curriculum we want for ourchildren. It has given us that open-minded and clear-sighted view of thecurriculum. The curriculum is a tool box and some aspects will suit certain

individuals and some will suit certain types of classes, even certain year

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groups. Others wont and its having that critical faculty to say, This is the bestpathway for our children.

When trainees are offered a placement at the school, they become members of ahighly collaborative team, which places reviewing and critical analysis of professional

practice at the heart of their professional remit, as Stewart explains:

It came out of what started as the students[trainees] weekly review. Wealways try to put two sessions in. So, wed have one for professionaldevelopment and one for classroom practice. Wed ask them, You as astudent[trainee] teacher, how are you developing? Lets have a look at yourfolders. And as an apprentice teacher, Hows your lesson planning going?Hows your monitoring? How is your assessment? Wheres your trainingneeds?

Apart from providing trainees with adequate guidance and support, Stewart believes

that the process of mentoring pays dividends in terms of ongoing, relevant curriculumdevelopment on the one hand and teachers continuing professional development onthe other. He states:

Usually, the student[trainee] will be working with the mentor or a teacherwhose class they are teaching, and we encourage them to work with thestudents [trainees] on a curriculum level. If they are enjoying that process, weask them whether they would like to go forward for mentor training. Therefore,we have this ongoing professional development within the faculty and one ofmy outcomes would be that 100 percent of us would be ITE mentors.

A typical situation would be one trainee working in collaboration with two or threeteachers. Stewart concedes that the strategy of providing high quality training carriesa vested interest:

I think there is an unwritten thing that says, We are going to give you the bestof our time and resources. We are going train you our way, which will hopefullyprepare you for wherever you go. But we have always got that eye on that wewould like you to stay here, if there is a job.

Stewart is keen to recruit trainees who come equipped with valuable skills, which the

teachers do not presently possess and which the faculty team would like to embedwithin their practices:

Our current GTP student [trainee] is a former professional actor and Dramagraduate. He has been supporting us in delivering Shakespeare at Key Stage3SATs. He is very, very keen on secondary SEAL, supporting the emotionaland emotional aspects of learning, and we are currently looking at how toincorporate the SEAL objectives and the strategy within our curriculum. Anotherone of our students [trainees] is a linguist. She took part in the Pennsylvaniaproject last year. So, she is looking at how to integrate objectives andapproaches in the curriculum to generate more cohesive, positive classroom

environments. She actually went to Pennsylvania University last year and

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studied with the people that had set up the course, which is now known as theUK resilience project for which Manchester is a pilot authority.

In addition to curriculum development, drawing on trainees specialisms throughsharing classes and resources is considered the best way to learn. Stewart is

convinced that integrating them fully in the Facultys day-to-day work is vital forextending the knowledge and skills base. One specific way of promoting andfacilitating collaborative construction and capacity building is the public drive.

The students [trainees] will leave their work with us on our public drive. So, youwill see their schemes of work next to heads of faculty scheme of work. Notonly have we got a tailored curriculum, but because it is in a digital format wecan change the text, the focus, the context, you know, we can tweak andchange everything.

For example, in preparation for the thematic curriculum to be implemented in the

coming academic year, a Science trainee produced a bank of ten-minute starteractivities to support non-specialist teachers. Thus, the public drive provides a platformon which to store and index pedagogical tools, which are easily accessible and openfor further modification and development. The truly collaborative nature of this facilityis reflected in Stewarts comment:

It has become something that has gone side by side and Ill go as far as to say,you wont know where the mentors or class teachers role stop and thestudents [trainees] start. Its an organic process.

Trainees ideas are taken seriously and taken on board, and joint evaluations oflessons taught often reveal processes that are of interest to other teachers and ofrelevance to other classes. Stewart provides us with a detailed example of how onetrainees idiosyncratic approach has transformed the teaching of Shakespeare withinthe English department.

As an actor, Alan wanted to look at voice intonation, movement and proximity.So, we started with the actor. We had the text and the performer. Usually,because we have very little opportunity going to the theatre, we start with thefilm. One actors performance, one directors vision, one text, only one versionand we would then have to generate things around that. By starting this way

and by starting placing the pupil as the actor on the stage of the classroom wasthe first stage. He then took it further with his Year 10 class and Romeo andJuliet, where they did a lot of sensory interaction. One boy came with a piece ofsilk and said, This is Juliet. In another room, they were doing a glove puppetshow of Romeo and Juliet. We would never have dreamt of taking it so fardown the kinaesthetic approach. We have taken it further now. We will listen toa key speech by an actor and we will listen with our eyes closed in the dark.And then, well try and represent it and record it.

What is, of course, most important in trialling this new strategy is the response of thelearners. This multi-sensory approach was innovative to staff and pupils, but produced

the desired results. Once the pupils started playing with it, their ability to write atlength about a version they had seen or a critical response to an issue improved. To

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ensure all pupils would benefit from this new approach each member in thedepartment was trained. Another trainee who is starting her second block practice willbe working with the schools lead writing teacher on developing the writing skills ofYear 9 pupils. Through their innovative practices, trainees are regarded as bringingnew blood into the school and their impact is seen to benefit pupils and staff. As

Stewart explains, there is training and application and we are moving with it.

One of Stewarts team members, Naomi, who qualified only three years ago,describes how by means of team teaching she engaged in practitioner inquiry withone of her trainees. The aim was to identify behaviour strategies that would beeffective for a particularly challenging mixed ability teaching.

My student [trainee] was teaching her mixed ability class and I had not taughtmixed ability before that year. So, it was a learning experience for both of us.Putting in behaviour strategies for that class was quite tricky. But we came upwith loads of different things. I led it, because I had a much greater

understanding of the pupils. We split them into ability groups and then we couldreally, really experiment.

Since becoming involved in the ITE partnership, Stewarts Faculty has appointed threetrainees and the expectation is that they will now inspire and motivate the team in theirendeavour to strive for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. It has verymuch been a process of feed them on their first placement and then reap the benefitson their second. Within the context of a whole school capacity building exercise, theirtalents and expertise can be skilfully harnessed with the aim of enriching thecurriculum, sharing and implementing innovative practices and, ultimately, generatingnew pedagogical knowledge through collaborative activities with staff.


1. Trainee teachers in Stewarts school are very well integrated into theirrespective departments and engage in collaborative practice with theircolleagues. In what way do trainees in your school have an input into theproduction of resources and the generation of new knowledge and practices?

2. Can you think of a resource produced by a trainee teacher that is currently inuse in your school?

3. Can you think of an example where a trainees resource or strategy employedin the classroom has had an impact on other teachers practice?4. How is trainees good practice disseminated within and across departments in

your school?

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8.6 Facilitating beneficial contacts

Stanford is a comprehensive school in a very deprived area of a northern city whereone fifth of the pupils are black British and one tenth are from Africa and Asia.Teachers there, and by extension, pupils, greatly benefit from the contact that an ITE

partnership affords them with people and ideas from outside the confines of theirschool. Due to time and budget constraints teachers opportunities to attend externalstaff development events are limited, however, the schools involvement in ITEpartnerships has been seen as an effective way of importing new skills and ideasabout teaching and learning into a school and inviting staff to review their own practicein the light of the trainees teaching. Mike, Subject mentor and second in the ICTDepartment, greatly values the ITE link and the impact trainee teachers have on hisdepartment:

These students [trainees] are coming to us with excellent ICT skills and insome ways we are actually feeding off them with the improvement of the skills.

What we can offer the students [trainees] is the delivery of those skills. Weshow them how to do it and the students [trainees] can help us enhance ouractual programme and software skills.

Indeed, Subject Mentor for Science, Siobhan, and one of her colleagues, Pat, agreethat working with trainee teachers can be a particularly powerful mechanism inteachers own professional development, particularly if it involves engaging incollaborative activities such as team teaching:

I think it does help to develop you, because I like to ask the students [trainees]as well, because they do have lots of good ideas because its all fresh to them.So, in that way it develops you as a classroom teacher, because they can tellyou new ideas, you know.

Yeah, when Ive been observing in other lessons, Ive seem some really niceideas that maybe need a bit of tweaking and need, I dont know, Ive suggestedways to change them a little bit to suit our kids. But they have some really niceideas that I might possibly use for teaching certain difficult topics.

And they come in with all the power points and all that. And cause theyrehaving to research it constantly, obviously, you can get bogged down a little bit,

cant you, as the classroom teacher, with what needs to be done daily and theyfind all these little websites for you.

Professional Mentor, Mark, points out that teachers often take on board these newteaching styles, techniques and approaches that they observe the traineesimplementing successfully during their lessons, and thus the school benefits. Hevalues the contact with trainees and believes that it can provide excellentopportunities for reviewing ones professional practice in the light of what they observetrainees do.

Whereas the teacher would normally just sit and do a starter, student

[trainee] teachers have come in and done it in a different way. [They are up

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disadvantaged student population take up a considerable amount of time andenergy expended by staff.

In such an environment, ITE partnerships can provide beneficial contacts for staff toengage in dialogue with colleagues from other schools and tutors from the ITE-

providing university. Pat, a Science teacher, explains how she has deliberately usedher trainee as a conduit to give her an inside eye into what happens in otherschools:

Ive used Samantha a lot to find out what was going on in Fairfield. So, Iwanted to know what was going on in Fairfield. Its successful as well. Its asuccessful department. So Ive been picking Samanthas brain on whatsgoing on in there, plus, its there that they do all the AFL the assessmentfor learning. So, I asked her what was going on with the assessment forlearning in Fairfield.

Subject mentor Siobhan agrees with her, as she believes that sharing of knowledge iskey to professional development and that it needs to be a two-way process. Siobhanand Pat firmly believe that ITE Partnerships play a key role in developing aninfrastructure for schools to network and engage in collaborative activities with eachother and their ITE providers. They particularly welcome the opportunity of sharingtheir insights into how well a trainee is doing with the tutors from the university. Havingan input into in the assessment of trainee teachers progress and competencevalidates their work as mentors and the professional expertise they can offer asclassroom practitioners. As Siobhan explains:

Its a confidence boost, isnt it? If someone is pleased that you have helped

them youre pleased, everyones pleased. They are pleased that you arehelping them and it can only have a positive effect.


1. Can you think of an example when a trainee introduced you to a new approachto teaching and learning (e.g. use of a specific technique, strategy orresources)?

2. Do you work collaboratively with trainee teachers (e.g. joint planning, teamteaching), and if so, what do you consider to be the benefits for you as amentor and teacher?

3. How often do you engage in joint lesson observation and evaluation with thetrainees HE tutors and how beneficial is this to your own professionaldevelopment?

4. How would you like your ITE provider to keep you up-to-date with pedagogicalknowledge and other educational developments?

5. Which aspects of your professional practice and school development do youfeel could be developed further through networking opportunities provided byyour ITE provider?

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8.7 Towards a collegiate culture

Quarry Hill Primary School is located near a park on the south side of a large city. Ithas 710 children on roll from nursery through to Year 6. The children come from avariety of ethnic groups and there are a number of home languages spoken by

children. It is a large and lively school where all staff work well together.

Liz isan English specialist who used to hold the post of co-ordinating mentor. Herappointment took place following a successful interview and resulted in the allocationof pay points for taking on this additional responsibility. Support for mentoring hasdiminished since the Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLRs) replaced theprevious teachers responsibility payments, as the co-ordinating mentor position at theschool was phased out and Liz had to be re-assigned to a co-ordinators post inanother area. She regretted this happening, as she had been very committed to herrole as co-ordinating mentor:

I became a mentor because I liked having students [trainees]. I had liked beinga student [trainee] and felt I could offer them help in the same way mentors hadhelped me. Initially, I was appointed as mentor because I was happy to takestudents [trainees] in my class. Ive been working as a mentor for 8 years. Ihave attended courses at three universities. I have also had a lot of experienceof being a class teacher, which helps too. I qualified as a teacher at XXXUniversity and I have been teaching for 18 years. I was a mature studententrant. I came to this school as an NQT. I have stayed here all of my teachingcareer because I liked the school and I liked the multicultural and sociallydiverse backgrounds of the children.

As the TLRs could not be allocated for mentoring, Liz is now the Gifted and Talentedand Innovations Co-ordinator, working with projects such as Creative Partnershipsand projects to make the curriculum more creative and move away from so muchbook work. In spite of this shift in emphasis in her career trajectory, she is still verymuch committed to mentoring, not only in relation to supporting trainee teachers intheir learning journeys, but also to develop a supportive, co-operative andcollaborative culture, which is of benefit to school staff and manifests itself in positiverelationships.

We have worked more collaboratively as a staff since being involved in ITE

partnerships. There are close teams in all the phases with close relationshipsand that supports the students [trainees] better as they have more help frommore staff. The KS2 team work more formally together. Students [trainees]benefit from year group teams and collaborative approaches to PlanningPreparation Assessment (PPA) time. Students [trainees] come to all ourmeetings and they are encouraged to contribute to the meetings. Peerobservation also works better because we have become experienced inobservation through partnership with students [trainees].

Lizs endeavour to generate a supportive school culture, where learning is perceivedas an integral element b

impact of ite partnership project report

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