School based professional development for Teachers
to support the implementation of the New National
Curricula
Pedagogical Institute
Cyprus
March 2012
Professor Tony Townsend
Chair of Public Service, Educational
Leadership and Management
School of Education,
University of Glasgow
Topics consideration today
Part 1: Perception
Part 2: Understanding our concepts
Part 3: Change and education
Part 4: Making Schools more effective
Part 4: A look at learning
Part 5: Leading Learning
Perception
Our view of the world is a product of what
we are looking at, where we are standing
when we are looking at it and how we feel
about ourselves and the thing we are
looking at.
FABULOUS FILES ARE
FREQUENTLY THE RESULT
OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY FOLLOWED BY THE
KEEPING OF FULL
FINDINGS.
FABULOUS FILES ARE
FREQUENTLY THE RESULT
OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY FOLLOWED BY THE
KEEPING OF FULL
FINDINGS.
Perception
Our view of the world is a product of what
we are looking at, where we are standing
when we are looking at it and how we feel
about ourselves and the thing we are
looking at.
We can, however, change people’s
perceptions of the world by providing them
with new information, by educating them.
THE NEW CURRICULUM:
UNDERSTANDING OUR CONCEPTS
Randall Clinch
A concept is...
...an idea that is opinion based and experience
supported. It is a living thing and can grow over
time. Often the opinion is inherited.
What is my concept of school?
Struggling students
Thing
Successful students
dunnow
Safe environment to learn
and gain new skills
drive through
brainwash centre
Somewhere where you
learn and make friends
drive through office
where students learn how
to survive
Sh*t
a piece of beeeep
What is my concept of teacher?
Struggling students
Thing
dunnow
hate them all, DIE
a b*tch
some are good some aren’t
teachers are here to teach
us not scream at the class
Successful students
To teach and be a mentor
Someone who teaches
you different things
Helps you with
knowledge
Someone who respects
students
What is my concept of student?
Struggling students
Successful students
Thing
To learn and put effort in
Dunnow
Someone who learns
what the teacher is
teaching
Students should learn
what they need not all
this crap
Sh*thead
A well mannered kid
(not bloody likely)
People who would like to
learn - can be any age
Someone who respects
other students and
teachers
What is my concept of learning?
Struggling students
Thing
dunnow
a piece of rubbish that the
government can stick up
their a**es
getting work stuck in your
head
there is no learning
Successful students
To take in everything and
put it into my life
Knowing stuff in all
topics
Something everyone goes
through every day
To get smarter
What is my concept of my future?
Struggling students
Thing
a better one if I leave this
hole in year 10
Successful students
To go to university and
study medicine
crap
Determined by how much
I learn at school
If I continue to go to this
school I won’t have a
future
Good job, great family
I don’t have a future
What is my concept of myself?
Struggling students
Thing
dunnow
Successful students
Willing to learn and take
everything in
I can learn
I am a good and nice
person, sensible, smart,
clever
I don’t know
I am OK
I failed
A balanced girl 50%
good – 50% bad
What do you think?
Discuss the following concepts as they apply to the new
curriculum. Can we come to a common understanding of
what these mean?
New curriculum
Citizenship
Success
Professional
development
Teacher
ownership
leadership
teacher
engagement
OUR CHANGING WORLD
THE CHANGE CONTEXT
How quickly things change
How many things as you can think of in the
next 2 minutes that a 15 year old can do or
experience today that you could not do or
experience when you were 15.
Make a list
Categories of change
• Technology
I think there is a world market for
maybe 5 computers
Thomas Watson, Chairman, IBM 1943
Popular Mechanics, 1954
Make a list
Categories of change
• Technology
• Environment
Global Warming
Make a list
Categories of change
• Technology
• Environment
• Health
New ways of living
Hans Rosling on Changes in Health
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
www.Gapminder.org
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Gini Coefficient
GINI Indexes (the spread of wealth across a country)
COUNTRY
Sweden
Denmark
Slovenia
Austria
France
Germany
Norway
Croatia
Cyprus
Finland
Pakistan
Netherlands
South Korea
Ireland
Spain
Canada
Italy
Taiwan
Bangladesh
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Laos
CIA Gini Index
23
24
24
26
28
28
28
29
29
29.5
30.6
30.9
31.3
32
32
32.1
33
33
33.4
33.7
34
34.6
COUNTRY
Australia
New Zealand
Indonesia
India
Vietnam
Japan
Russia
Cambodia
Thailand
Singapore
Philippines
United States
Malaysia
People's Republic of China
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Hong Kong
Chile
Brazil
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Namibia
CIA Gini Index
35.2
36.2
36.3
36.8
37
38.1
41
41.7
42
42.5
44.5
45
46.1
46.9
47.2
50
52.3
54.9
56.7
56.8
57.8
70.7
Income per head and life-expectancy: rich & poor countries
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Employment 1970’s
High Skill
Low Skill
Employment 1990’s
High Skill
Semi Skill
Low Skill
Employment 2020
High Skill
Semi Skill
Low Skill
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Society/Population
Start Working
End Working
Longevity
Age
120
124
100
107
80
77
60
40
62
62
47
20
14
1900
18
2000
21
2100
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Society/Population
Culture
Cultural changes
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Society/Population
Culture
Relationships
What does ‘family’ mean to you?
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Society/Population
Culture
Relationships
Values
Are we changing out values?
Make a list
Categories of change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology
Environment
Health
Wealth
Employment
Society/Population
Culture
Relationships
Values
Education
The Surgeon and the Teacher...the impact of change
So what does this mean?
• The students we are teaching today see the world
differently to the way in which we see it. They learn
new things in entirely different ways than we did.
We might even say they are a completely different
species to us.
• If we teach them the way in which we were taught
ourselves there will be a mismatch between our
teaching and their learning.
• Implementing a new curriculum by teaching it in
the same way we taught the old curriculum will
lessen its chance of being successful.
We are preparing young
people for jobs that
don’t yet exist…
requiring technologies
that haven’t yet been
invented…
to solve problems of
which we are not yet
aware.
And even more difficult….
We should be helping them to
lead purposeful and fulfilled
lives…
in circumstances changing at
unprecedented and
accelerating speed….
in ways that affect custom
and belief as well as material
surroundings.
Your turn
• What are some of the changes that have
happened in the past twenty years that
directly affect teaching and learning in
Cyprus?
• What issues are primary/secondary
teachers facing in schools today that we
need to consider when introducing the
new curriculum?
MAKING SCHOOLS MORE
EFFECTIVE:
A CORE PLUS APPROACH
Townsend, 1994
The core-plus curriculum ensures that both:

The CORE areas, those areas identified by the state as
being so important that every child should learn and
know them,
AND

The PLUS areas, those areas identified by the school
community as being important to their children, are
given the time, attention and resources necessary for
those skills, attitudes and knowledge to be planned for,
learned and evaluated.
Flexibility in the new curriculum
• What are some areas of the new curriculum
where schools and teachers have some
flexibility?
• How can we help primary/secondary teachers
to use this flexibility to design activities for
students?
How do we make teachers willing to implement the new curriculum?
Talk amongst yourselves
• What are three major benefits of the new
curriculum for Cyprus?
• What are three major benefits of the new
curriculum for students?
• What are three major benefits of the new
curriculum for teachers?
McGaw, Banks &Piper, 1991: 15
There is no definitive how of effective
schools and so there can be no one recipe
for every school to try.
Schooling is too complex a business for a
recipe.
An effective school is one that develops and
maintains a high quality educational programme
designed to achieve both system-wide and locally
identified goals. All students, regardless of their
family or social background, experience both
improvement across their school career and
ultimate success in the achievement of those goals,
based on appropriate external and school-based
measuring techniques.
Townsend, 1994:48
Catchphrases to school improvement
•
•
•
•
•
Shared goals - ‘we know where we’re going’
Responsibility for success - ‘we must succeed’
Collegiality - ‘we’re working on this together’
Continuous improvement - ‘we can get better’
Lifelong learning - ‘learning is for everyone’
(from Stoll, 1997: 12-13)
Catchphrases to school improvement
•
•
•
•
•
Risk taking - ‘we learn by trying something new’
Support - ‘there’s always someone there to help’
Mutual respect - ‘everyone has something to offer’
Openness - ‘we can discuss our differences’
Celebration and humour - ‘we feel good about
ourselves’
(from Stoll, 1997: 12-13)
Stoll & Fink, 1997
Moving Schools
•
•
•
•
boost student progress
work together to respond to
changing context and to keep
developing
know where they’re going
have the will and skill to get there
Stoll & Fink, 1997
Cruising Schools
•
•
•
•
appear to possess many qualities of
school effectiveness
usually are high SES schools
pupils achieve in spite of teaching
quality
not preparing students for a
changing world
Stoll & Fink, 1997
Strolling Schools
•
•
•
neither particularly effective nor
ineffective
moving at an inadequate rate to
cope with the pace of change
ill-defined and sometimes conflicting
aims inhibit improvement
Stoll & Fink, 1997
Struggling Schools
•
•
•
•
ineffective and they know it
expend considerable energy trying to
improve
willing to try anything
will ultimately succeed
Stoll & Fink, 1997
Sinking Schools
•
•
•
•
ineffective, are isolated, use blame
and self-reliance
staff, through ignorance or apathy,
are unable to change
often low SES and blame parenting
need dramatic action and significant
support
Stoll & Fink (1997)
Effective
Improving
Declining
Moving
Cruising
Strolling
Ineffective
Struggling
Sinking
What school is your school?
•
•
•
•
•
Moving (effective and improving)
Cruising (effective but declining)
Strolling (OK but not going anywhere)
Struggling (not effective but getting better)
Sinking (not effective and getting worse)
What school is your school?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student achievement
Staff-student relationships
Student welfare
Literacy attainment
Numeracy attainment
Balanced curriculum
Student responsibility
School facilities and environment
Parent involvement
School leadership
Professional development
Fund raising
Marketing the school
Staff-administration relationship
Communication to parents
Relations with the wider community
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Extra curricular activities
Sporting achievement
Staff health and well-being
Student attendance
Staff involvement in decisions
Financial management
Student behavior
School ethos and climate
Curriculum development
Assessment of student progress
Reporting to parents
Relations with region/department
Staff cooperation
Inducting new staff
Student group learning
Celebrate achievement
THE LEARNING CONTEXT
Question for today…
Where is the ONE PLACE in school where
learning happens?
Not one of the places, or even the most
important place, but the
one place?
The voice of authority
Teachers teach and children
learn. It is as simple as that.
(Chris Woodhead, Class Wars)
Sir Winston Churchill
‘I am always ready to
learn, but I do not
always like being
taught.’
School and Class Effects
Percent of Variance in Value-Added Measures of English and Mathematics
Achievement Accounted for by School and Class Effects
Class (%)
School (%)
English
Primary
Secondary
Mathematics
Primary
Secondary
45
38
9
7
55
53
4
8
Peter Hill, 1997: 9
Research Evidence
Prof John Hattie (Uni Auckland):
Meta-analysis of over 50,000 studies
What are the effect sizes of various aspects of student
learning? What are the most important things we can
do to change student learning?
• Reference: Hattie, J. (2003). ‘Teachers Make a Difference:
What is the Research Evidence?’,
http://www.leadspace.govt.nz/leadership/articles/teachers-makea-difference.php
The Effects of Quality Teaching: accounting for variance in student achievement
Percentage of Achievement Variance
Teachers
> 30%
Students
~50%
Home
Peers
Schools
~5-10%
Principal
~5-10%
John Hattie ( 2003, 2007)
What Helps Students Learn?
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D. and Walberg, H.J.
(1993/1994, Educational Leadership, pp 74-79)
Analyzed 179 chapters, conducted 91
research syntheses, interviewed 61
educational researchers, considered
11,000 findings. Identified 28 areas
grouped into 6 categories
What Helps Students Learn?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Classroom Management
Metacognitive processes
Cognitive processes
Home Environment/Parental
Support
5. Student/Teacher social interactions
6. Social/behavioural attributes
7. Motivational/Affective attributes
8. Peer Group
9. Quantity of Instruction
10. School Culture
11. Classroom Climate
12. Classroom Instruction
13. Curriculum Design
14. Academic Interactions
15. Classroom Assessment
16. Community Influences
17. Psychomotor skills
18. Teacher/Administrator
Decision Making
20. Parent Involvement Policy
21. Classroom Implementation
and Support
22. Student demographics
23. Out of Class Time
24. Program Demographics
25. School Demographics
26. State Level Policies
27. School Policies
28. District Demographics
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D. and Walberg, H.J. (1993/1994)
What Helps Students Learn?
Student Aptitude
Classroom Instruction/Climate
Context
Program Design
School Organisation
State/District Characteristics
54.7
53.3
51.4
47.3
45.1
35.0
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D. and Walberg, H.J. (1993/1994)
district/system
school
program
home/community
classroom
student
Wang, M.C.,
Haertel, G.D. and
Walberg, H.J.
(1993/1994)
What Helps Students Learn?
Hattie (2003):
It is what teachers know, do,
and care about which is very
powerful in this learning
equation.
What Helps Students Learn?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Classroom Management
Metacognitive processes
Cognitive Processes
Home environment/parental support
Student/Teacher social interactions
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D. and Walberg, H.J. (1993/1994)
What Helps Students Learn?
1.
2.
3.
The curriculum and how it is presented,
the classroom and how it is managed
The ability of the student to think and to
decide what they think about
The relationships that are established
between the teacher and the student, the
parent and the student, the parent and
the teacher and the student and learning
Four elements
•
•
•
•
Curriculum
Pedagogy
Assessment
The Learning Environment
CURRICULUM ISSUES
Peter Schrag: 1988
The longest distance in the
world is between an official
state curriculum policy and
what goes on in a child’s mind.
THE INTENDED CURRICULUM
- expectations about learning outcomes
and standards to be achieved
- content and skills to be taught and learned
THE INTENDED CURRICULUM
- expectations about learning outcomes
and standards to be achieved
- content and skills to be taught and learned
THE IMPLEMENTED CURRICULUM
- what teachers do in classrooms
- teaching and learning practices
- pedagogy
THE INTENDED CURRICULUM
- expectations about learning outcomes
and standards to be achieved
- content and skills to be taught and learned
THE IMPLEMENTED CURRICULUM
- what teachers do in classrooms
- teaching and learning practices
- pedagogy
THE ATTAINED CURRICULUM
- demonstration of learning outcomes by students
- actual achievement of students in
relation to standards
The Global Classroom
Townsend and Otero, 1999, Hawker Brownlow, Australia
The Four Pillars of the Global Classroom
•
•
•
•
Education for Survival
Understanding our place in the world
Understanding community
Understanding our personal responsibility
Education for Survival
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Literacy and Numeracy
Technological Capabilities
Communication Skills
Development Capability
Awareness of one’s choices
Critical Thinking Skills and Problem Solving
Decision Making
Healthy optimism*
* Added recently
Townsend and Otero, 1999
Understanding our Place in the World
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exchange of Ideas
Work Experience and Entrepreneurship
Awareness and Appreciation of Cultures
Creative Capability
Vision, Adaptability and Open Mindedness
Social, Emotional and Physical Development
Development of Student Assets
Managing Anxiety*
* Added recently
Townsend and Otero, 1999
Understanding Community
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teamwork capability
Citizenship Studies
Community Service
Community Education
Global Awareness and Education
Goal Setting*
* Added recently
Townsend and Otero, 1999
Understanding Our Personal Responsibility
•
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment to Personal Growth
through lifelong learning
Development of Personal Value System
Leadership capabilities
Commitment to community and global
development
Commitment to personal and community
health
Self-management*
* Added recently
Townsend and Otero, 1999
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence
What are the skills we want our students to acquire?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inquirer
Thinker
Communicator
Risk-Taker
Knowledgeable
Principled
Caring
Open-Minded
Well-Balanced
Reflective
Primary Years Program, International Baccalaureate
What are the attitudes and attributes that characterise a democratic citizen?
• List 5 attitudes or attributes that we want every
student to have by the time they finish
primary/secondary school.
• What are some behaviours that we associate with
having these attitudes or attributes?
• What are some specific activities we can include into
the new curriculum that allows students to
demonstrate these behaviours?
PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES
Student as Subject
We will need to focus on five relationships:
•
•
•
•
•
Student to Self
Student to content
Student to teacher
Student to peers
Student to community
Basic Premise
Assume indifference...
Work to create interest
The RelationaLearning Model (Otero and Sparks, 2000)
Global Self-regulated
Learners
Interactive/Introspective
Learners
RELATING
Interdependence
Options for Positive Action
VALUING
Interaction
Ethics for Discussion
Engaged Learners
UNDERSTANDING
Adaptability
Concepts for Analyzing
Isolated Learners
RECOGNISING
Awareness
Facts for Forgetting
Survival Values in Learning
100%
Attitudes and feelings about subjects, studies, self
80%
Per cent of
usefulness
retained
assuming
100%
original
effectiveness
Thinking skills and processes
70%
Motor skills
50%
Conceptual schemes
35%
Factual material
10%
0
Nonsense syllables
6
Elapsed time (months)
12
Strategies for engaging young people
•
•
•
•
•
Learning occurs best when success is the
expectation
Fear is not an effective motivator
Change is possible
Control is an illusion
Interdependence is crucial to success
How do we know when a student is engaged?
• List five characteristics of a student that
is actively engaged in learning
• What are the ones you have in common
with those around you?
ASSESSMENT ISSUES
The Curriculum of the Future
We need to move from valuing
what we measure to measuring
what we value
Accountability Versus Responsibility
Accountability
Responsibility
to count, compute
to be responsive;
response-ability
(something done
to schools)
(an internal drive for
continuous improvement)
Student Population
Sorting Students
VERY
DUMB
SORTA
DUMB
SORTA
SMART
Student Smartness
VERY
SMART
Serving Students
A - Advanced
P - Proficient
NI - Needs Improvement
W - Warning
Be careful of the questions you ask
Asking Questions to Better Serve Students
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How are we doing?
What are we doing well?
How can we amplify our successes?
Who isn’t learning?
Who aren’t we serving?
What can we do to improve?
How do we know if it worked?
What do we do if they don’t learn?
Assessment for Learning (Sims, 2006: p 6)
Assessment for learning seeks to develop
learners through handing over to them areas of
teaching and learning that have traditionally
been regarded as the intellectual property of
the teacher…The use of open questioning
techniques, formative assessment models and
peer- and self-assessment all help schools to
shift the emphasis from teaching to learning.
Personalisation of Learning
Teacher:Student Relationship
Teacher Directedness
High
Teacher:Student Relationship
Personalisation of Learning
Summative
Teacher designs learning
Teacher collects evidence
Teacher judges what has been
learnt (and what has not)
Assessment OF
Learning
Low
Low
Teacher Directedness
High
High
Teacher:Student Relationship
Teacher designs learning
Personalisation of Learning
Teacher designs assessment with
feedback to students
Teacher judges what has been
learnt
(Student develops insight into what
has not)
Assessment
FOR Learning
Assessment OF
Learning
Low
Low
Teacher Directedness
High
High
Teacher:Student Relationship
Teacher and student co-construct
learning
Personalisation of Learning
Teacher and student co-construct
assessment
Assessment AS
Learning
Teacher and student co-construct
learning progress map
Assessment
FOR Learning
Assessment OF
Learning
Low
Low
Teacher Directedness
High
High
Teacher:Student Relationship
Student at the centre of learning
Personalisation of Learning
Assessment IN
Learning
Student monitors, assesses,
reflects on learning
Student initiates demonstrations
of learning (to self and others)
Assessment AS
Learning
Teacher as coach and mentor
Assessment
FOR Learning
Assessment OF
Learning
Low
Low
Teacher Directedness
High
Your turn
• Apart from tests, what are some things
that teachers might use to show that
students are learning?
• What are some other ways in which a
teacher might judge whether they are
being successful?
THE LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
The Three Dimensions of learning
• The types of resources we use for learning
(ie curriculum)
• The way in which these materials are
presented (ie pedagogy)
• The climate in which these materials are
presented (ie the assessment regime)
Clinch 2001
There are two types of
teachers, the tellers
and the askers.
Teacher Behaviours and Student Responses
TEACHER
ASKING
A
C
D
B
FOCUS ON
CONCEPTS/
PROCESSES
TEACHER
MANAGING/
ASSESSING
TEACHER
SUPPORTING/
INVOLVING
FOCUS ON
FACTS/
TASKS
G
E
F
TEACHER
TELLING
H
How much time do you spend in each quadrant?
Teacher Behaviours and Student Responses Townsend, 2009
Management
Teacher’s
approach
Content Focus
Student
Response
A Teacher asking
Teacher supporting
Focus on
concepts/processes
Understanding
B Teacher asking
Teacher supporting
Focus on facts/tasks Knowledge
C Teacher asking
Teacher managing
Focus on
concepts/processes
D Teacher asking
Teacher managing
Focus on facts/tasks Guilt
E Teacher telling
Teacher supporting
Focus on
concepts/processes
F Teacher telling
Teacher supporting
Focus on facts/tasks Clarity
G Teacher telling
Teacher managing
Focus on
concepts/processes
H Teacher telling
Teacher managing
Focus on facts/tasks Memorisation
Self-doubt
Self-belief
Unquestioned
belief
Teacher Behaviours and Student Responses
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
TEACHER
ASKING
A
C
D
B
FOCUS ON
CONCEPTS/
PROCESSES
TEACHER
MANAGING/
ASSESSING
TEACHER
SUPPORTING/
INVOLVING
FOCUS ON
FACTS/
TASKS
G
E
F
TEACHER
TELLING
H
DEFIANT
COMPLIANCE
Discussion
• Can you think of a classroom you have
seen where the teacher spends a lot of
time telling students what to do and
another one where the teacher uses lots
of questions? How are they different?
LEADING THE LEARNING
We all know what leadership is until someone asks us to define it
A working definintion of leadership
Persuading other people to set aside, for a
period of time, their individual concerns and
to pursue a common goal that is important
for the responsibilities and welfare of the
group
Avolio and Lock, 2002
Discussion
• How can teachers be leaders of
learning?
• What can you do to support teachers to
think this way?
If you would like more details contact
ProfessorTony Townsend:
School of Education
University of Glasgow
Phone: +44(0)141 330 4434
Fax:
+44(0)141 330 5451
email: tony.townsend@glasgow.ac.uk