Best Practice

Putting research into practice in your classroom

CPD Education research School improvement
How can a secondary school apply the recommendations of the EEF’s effective professional development research report in order to create an outstanding CPD programme? Clare Duffy describes the steps taken at her school
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The role of research and evidence-informed practice in teaching has increased substantially in recent years – a welcome development serving to drive improvements in education.

However, the challenge frequently faced by school leaders when trying to utilise this research is two-fold: how to apply research findings to the day-to-day busy operational practice of school life, and how to embed research findings into a school’s strategic planning.

One area of teaching which has been improved by the use of research is CPD. We know that good quality CPD is vital to developing teaching quality, improving student outcomes, and making staff feel valued.

However, we also know that too often CPD is expensive, not particularly useful, and poorly disseminated and implemented by colleagues.

In order for it to be effective, good CPD needs to be “targeted, evidence-based, collaborative, sustained and evaluated” (Kirby, 2013).

Here, the Education Endowment Foundation’s research report into effective professional development (Collin & Smith, 2021) is especially useful, making recommendations which cover all five of these requirements.

It lists 14 mechanisms of effective professional development built around four main areas:

  1. Building knowledge.
  2. Motivating teachers.
  3. Developing teaching techniques.
  4. Embedding practice.

As the EEF report explains, these mechanisms are the core building blocks of professional development which, when done well, change and improve practice.

SecEd has previously written about this report, looking at its implications for practice (see Higgins, 2021; Burns, 2022).

At my school, Uppingham Community College, we have built our professional development programme around the recommendations of the EEF report, with deliberate planning to ensure all 14 of the mechanisms are addressed.

This provision is called our Improving Teaching Programme (ITP), which trains staff how to use a range of teaching strategies more effectively in the classroom. Below I will explore how we have incorporated each mechanism into our ITP and made it work in our school context.

 

1, Building knowledge

Managing cognitive load: To avoid overloading participants the EEF says that good CPD should focus on only the most relevant content. To address this we have concentrated on just three main clusters of good pedagogical practice in our ITP – modelling, checking for understanding, and retrieval practice. This is labelled as our UCC Core Cluster, and to support incrementally building our teachers’ knowledge we have focused on one area each term.

Revisiting prior learning: The report says that CPD is more likely to be effective when it uses tasks that require teachers to draw on past learning. Consequently, built into the ITP over each 12-week term are opportunities for staff to revisit the strategies of each cluster.

 

2, Motivating teachers

Setting and agreeing on goals: Research shows us that “setting goals substantially increases the likelihood of behaviour change” (Sims et al, 2021), which can lead to an improvement in performance. After each training session, we ask staff to set themselves goals linked to the strategy covered, with the expectation that they follow the cycle of practice, observe, coach, reflect, and action plan. This way we have built in a level of supportive accountability to our CPD programme.

Presenting information from a credible source: Providing content from trusted sources is likely to be more motivating for staff. Therefore, we have built our ITP around the expert resources offered through the Walkthrus programme (Sherrington & Caviglioli, 2020). Additionally, we have also had Tom Sherrington and John Tomsett, both expert practitioners, into school to help deliver training and model strategies to staff, which has really supported staff buy-in. I have written previously in SecEd about the role of Walkthrus in our professional development journey (find this article here).

Providing affirmation and reinforcement after progress: Providing this after a teacher has attempted to change their practice can improve their motivation to continue to act upon professional development and progress. In our ITP we begin each training session praising the progress staff have made in their practice, based on what has been seen during learning walks and from staff feedback. This is reinforced in half-termly teaching and learning newsletters which share success stories.

 

3, Developing teaching techniques

Instructing teachers on how to perform a technique: Effective CPD relies upon the delivery of well-thought-out, clear, and guided instruction, which supports teachers in developing techniques. Here our use of the Walkthrus material is invaluable as it breaks down each teaching strategy into five clear steps. These are modelled and discussed in our training sessions and in department meetings. To support staff, the steps for each strategy are also captured in a training booklet to reinforce learning.

Arranging social support: Peer support may support development, and this can be offered through methods such as staff working in teams and coaching. Underpinning our ITP is department instructional coaching led by the head of department in each subject area. Staff buddy up to informally observe each other and then in department meetings coaching conversations are had to allow staff to reflect on what is going well and where there may be areas for development.

Modelling the technique: Teachers can reflect on seeing techniques in action. Learning from worked examples provides opportunities for teachers to observe problems and their solutions before they face them themselves. Within our ITP, each training session includes a video clip of one of our expert teachers demonstrating the teaching strategy, which generates discussion and showcases best practice.

Monitoring and providing feedback: Supportive observations, with formative feedback, should be clearly separated from any notions of high-stakes lesson observations linked to performance management. When used in a supportive way, feedback can improve a teacher’s performance. Integral to our ITP is a cycle of learning walks and coaching conversations which offer low-stakes opportunities for teachers to try-out teaching strategies and get feedback to help them in their reflection and action-planning.

Rehearsing the technique: Research shows that “prompt practice and rehearsal of a technique, at least once in a context outside of the classroom, may support teachers in enhancing their skills and embedding habits” (Sims et al, 2021). Built into each of our ITP training sessions is time for staff to rehearse the strategies in a safe environment outside of the classroom.

 

4, Embedding practice

Providing prompts and cues: Regular prompts can nudge teachers to remind them to carry out certain behaviours. As part of our ITP I send out a teaching and learning newsletter every six weeks. This includes reminders about the teaching strategies we are focusing on as well as examples of best practice and suggestions for further reading.

Prompting action-planning: Producing an action plan makes it more likely that a teacher will use a technique they have learned during CPD as it can give them a clear focus and milestones to aim for. The last 10 minutes of each of our ITP training sessions is set aside for action-planning by staff. They have the opportunity to discuss their ideas in department groups, reflect on what they want to achieve and how they will go about it, and then set themselves clear actions. As part of our CPD cycle, this action-planning is then revisited three weeks later as part of the department instructional coaching process.

Encouraging monitoring: Encouraging teachers to monitor and record their own performance can make CPD more effective. As part of our ITP we provide all staff with a reflective journal which includes the Walkthru steps associated with each strategy, notes made during each training session, and an area for reflection and action-planning. Regular use of this journal has helped to build habits for our staff.

Prompting context-specific repetition: Ultimately teachers have to utilise their CPD learning in the classroom and a focus on this context underpins the cyclical nature of our ITP. We train, rehearse, practise in the classroom context, observe, feedback, coach, action plan and then rehearse and practise again. The aim is for us all to become incrementally better practitioners through the CPD. We also make it clear that context is key – what works in one classroom or one subject may not work in another, so staff are encouraged to personalise their practice to suit their need.

 

Final thoughts

In our school context we have found the use of the EEF research to be vital in helping us create an effective CPD programme. However, CPD should be linked to school improvement priorities – our focus was improving the overall quality of teaching and learning.

The value of CPD needs to be demonstrated to staff – base it on expert knowledge and sell the benefits. For us, it was all about improving student outcomes and making all of us a little bit better week-by-week.

Be aware of time constraints and work within them, considering staff workload and what is a realistic timeframe for improvements.

Once you have established a robust CPD programme you can develop it each year with new priorities. Our next focus will be on aligning the ITP to behaviour management strategies to support teaching and learning, while continuing to embed our UCC Core Cluster.

 

Further information & resources