Session 370: 10 Crucial CPD Questions for Teachers and Schools

A school is only as effective as the quality of its teachers with professional development and school improvement intrinsically linked. Therefore, the start of a new academic year is always an important CPD milestone. In most cases, the first few days of the year are spent with teachers and support staff, up and down the country, taking part in a range of professional development training, often the ‘what’ and ‘how’, linked to whole school priorities. It is my hope that senior leadership teams set aside quality time in the summer term planning their teachers’ 2017-18 professional development; thinking carefully about ‘how’ to improve the classroom experience for students and teachers and the ‘whys’ and ‘principles’ underpinning their direction of travel.

Unfortunately, the focus, relevance and quality of professional development remains variable as does the follow-up, impact and evaluation. There is still much work to do to further raise the profile of professional development and unpick just what effective CPD looks like. Two powerful documents that are available to schools to support them to develop a first class professional development culture are the Developing Great Teaching Report (2015) and The Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development (2016).

To inform the discussion, we ran an online poll, to gauge what professional development is most effective.

#UKEdChat Poll: What is the most effective professional development you’ve ever received?

— UKEdChat (@ukedchat) September 7, 2017

With all of this in mind, this week’s chat focused on 10 crucial CPD questions for teachers and schools with the intention of learning more about what is working and why. In addition to this, the other focus was on how we can ensure that every member of staff becomes continually curious to engage with action research and evidence informed practice about what works best for our learners.

This session was hosted by @KLMorgan_2 via the UKEdChat West Midlands Twitter account (UKEd_WMids), covering the following (ten) questions.

How can you ensure CPD is subject specific?
How can you ensure that CPD is sustained?
How can you ensure that CPD is informed by research evidence?
How can you evaluate the impact of CPD?
How can schools prioritise CPD with limited budgets?
How do we personalise CPD so that benefits everyone? How are the needs of individuals balanced with student / organisational priorities?
What are CPD priorities for the coming year?
How are schools evaluating impact on CPD outcomes?
Why is it so important to learn the ‘why and principles’ not just the ‘how and what’?
How can we effectively tap into the talent in the room and promote the sharing of best practice?