One CPD idea that works: Teacher Research Conference

"All wonder and amazement inhabit here"

Jim Lewis is the head teacher of a small semi-rural school in the Kirklees area and has an ongoing interest in classroom research.

It was some years since I was involved in action research as a practising teacher so I reread the paper I had co-authored prior to attending this conference.  My old article began with the above lines from Shakespeare’s Tempest.

My theme in the 1990s, working with researchers from Bretton Hall and Sheffield University, had been about the impact of cooperative group work in the multi-ethnic classroom. It was refreshing to attend the NTRP conference and still find that sense of excitement and wonder that classroom research can produce.

As a practising teacher and head teacher in a small semi rural school it has always been important to me to think about - and get better at leading learning. I’ve pursued my own leaning through the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) and encouraged my staff to take on the Leading from the Middle programme. What I wanted from the conference and what I got was a sense of where the cutting edge of learning was producing exciting and transferable practices.

My emphasis has always been on the workable and usable.

The conference began with a powerful expression of why and how research can feed back directly into learning. The choice of workshops distilled the essence of a wide variety of research. I chose those that reflected directly the concerns and direction our school has developed collaboratively in its school development plan.

We are committed to a pyramid-based project to raise standards in writing through the use of ICT. [Note: this is a project-based approach to learning that freely crosses disciplines, and involves solving concrete, hands-on, real-world problems.]  As part of the evaluation of the project we are engaged in researching its impact. I was pleased to find a workshop on using the moving image to enhance higher thinking skills. At the heart of our project was the use of video and multimedia as the vehicle for this. I left the workshop with the insight that ICT and video are also a literacy in themselves and much more than a supportive tool.

By contrast I also attended the workshop 'Silence and Presence'. As a result of myriad opportunities to network, I arrived late. What met my eyes was amazing. Conference-clad delegates were lying in a circle; above them were the fronds and leaves of large potted plants. The delegates were arranged like spokes around a hub of greenery, the lights were dimmed and experiences were being shared. I watched with amazement. This was more than relaxation; it formed the key experience of a project based around giving children the outdoors experience as part of their foundation stage. Something which in our school has been a key issue.

The range of projects reflected the diversity of approaches in developing learning for all our pupils and all showed a sharp analytical focus.  

So truly the day was one of "wonder and amazement". As teachers, learners and researchers this underpins and fosters our enquiry. I look forward to attending again next year and perhaps contributing.

Get connected!

Francisco DaCosta is a member of the Education Group Committee of the Institute of Physics, a committee member and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and a teacher of 14 years’ standing.

As a teacher interested in 'what's happening' in my profession, I subscribe to some interesting sites, such as the Institute of Physics, the RSA and the GTC, to name but a few! So, browsing through my school mail I saw a request from the GTC, emailed by link adviser Chris Foster, for teachers to attend a conference that I had never heard of. It was at the NEC in Birmingham, close enough for me.

A few weeks later, there I was at the National Teacher Research conference, surrounded by a sea of teachers, all keen to engage in discussions and practical solutions to our day to day experiences at the ‘chalk face’. So, I looked at the usual heavy folder of the day events and began to wade through the million or so pages (not more paperwork!)

Then I noticed the workshop timetable, a selection of creative, engaging and inspiring experiences! So from my 'menu' of workshops, I selected those that aroused my interests, for example multiple intelligence and creative learning, and off I went.

OK, so I’m now knee deep in statistics during the Multiple Intelligence workshop of Rhys Davies, evaluating the effectiveness of this approach through the teaching and learning of history. As an author of a multiple intelligence paper at the 2002 Physics on Stage conference in Holland, it was good to catch up on what my profession is taking on board and developing.

Where now? I'm lying under a 'tree' in the 'Creative Learning Silence and Presence' workshop, reflecting on and using the importance of silent times in class or outside in a forest. The statistics fade away as in a dream…

We can learn from each other and our pupils. The Connect section of the GTC website can be a powerful way for our profession to get connected. Hope to see you soon. Don’t forget to make time for your professional development!

Resources

Research summaries by teachers who took part in the conference can be downloaded from the NTRP website:

www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/ntrp/conference/summaries06/ 

Do you want to do your own enquiry project? Use the Teacher Learning Academy to support you:

www.gtce.org.uk/tla