Content development workshop 22 October 2014 26 November 2014 Learning and Conference Centre, Nottingham.

Content development workshop

22 October 2014

26 November 2014

Learning and Conference Centre, Nottingham

Agenda

10.00 – 10.10 Welcome and introductions

10.10 – 11.05 Session 1: Keeping up with policy and educational developments

11.05 – 12.00 Session 2: New headteacher standards and resources for new and established headteachers

12.00 – 12.30 Lunch

12.30 – 13.25 Session 3: Drawing on research and evidence

13.25 – 14.20 Session 4: What does it mean for you?

14.20 – 14.30 Afternoon tea/ coffee

14.30 – 15.25 Session 5: Writing an engaging case study/ account of practice

15.25 – 15.30 Q&A and close

Session 1: Keeping up with policy developments

Geoff Southworth

1.An introduction to policy and policy-making

2.The need for materials to reflect current policy thinking

3.Policy and educational change

4.Educational policy often has its origins in schools

5.Key sites and Twitterati

Keeping up with policy developments

1. An introduction to policy and policy-making

• Keeping up to date is not about prediction • Policy initiatives are often related to Ministerial/ government

strategy• Keep in mind the trend and the ‘direction of travel’ for policy

2. The need for materials to reflect current policy thinking

• What were the major policy developments 2010-15?• Important to use current language and terminology

3. Policy and educational change

• Policy initiatives are rarely received uncritically• Avoid entanglement in pros/ cons of policy• Deal with the facts – not speculation or critique

4. Educational policy often has its origins in schools

• A good number of policies have their origins in school practices.

• Brief Q & A: Which recent policies have their origins in schools?

5. Key sites and Twitterati

• Websites & agencies• Suggested Twitterati:

o DfE & Ofsted site + BBC, TES, NCTL, ASCL, NAHT, IoE, Guardian o Policy update tweeters: Gifted Phoenix o Twitterati: Sam Freedman, Chris Cook, Laura McInerny, Robert Hill, Tom Bennett o HeadteacherGuru, Micon Metcalf Andrew Oldo Sam Freedman – a blog list of the top 100 blogs

Session 2: New headteacher standards and resources for headteachers (level 4 resources)

Zoe Gingele and Susan Beer

Resources for headteachers

6 learning areas:

1. Achieving headship

2. Strategic and operational management

3. Developing self and others

4. Partnerships and wider relationships

5. Understanding and changing school culture

6. Leading improvement

Learning area: Understanding and changing school culture

Theme 1: Values, vision and culture

In this theme, various resources are included, for example:

Thinkpiece ‘What is culture and why does it matter?’Opinion Piece: Looking into school culture: different types, forms and modelsDiamond 9 exercise: Ranking key features of school cultureVideo: A vision for 21st century learningGood practice for leaders: Creating a visionGood practice for leaders video: Remembering children are your core businessTool: Stakeholder communication map - tool for analysing who should be involved in the creation of the school’s vision

National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers

•The review of headteacher standards, chaired by Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski

•Review group made up of headteachers, middle leaders and a chair of governors

•Consultation with national stakeholders and individual/ groups of school leaders

National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers

The new National Standards can be used to:

•shape headteachers’ own practice and professional development, within and beyond the school•inform the appraisal of headteachers•support the recruitment and appointment of headteachers •provide a framework for training middle and senior leaders, aspiring to headship.

National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers

There are four ‘Excellence As Standard’ domains:

•Qualities and knowledge •Pupils and staff•Systems and process•The self-improving school system

Discussion:

What are the implications of the standards for your provision of leadership development/ learning?

•What are the most noticeable shifts in emphasis and their implications for you?•How do the standards map across to the level 4 areas and what are the opportunities from this?•What are the implications for your current leadership development offer for middle leaders, senior leaders, headteachers and aspiring headteachers?

Session 3: Drawing on research and evidence

Geoff Caton

Programme development: context

Draft Headteachers Standards

• ‘Headteachers should lead by example…drawing on their own scholarship, expertise.’

• ‘Headteachers should sustain wide, current knowledge and understanding of education and school systems locally, nationally and globally…’

• ‘Headteachers should establish an educational culture of ‘open classrooms’ as a basis for sharing best practice within and between schools, drawing on and conducting relevant research.’

• ‘Headteachers should challenge educational orthodoxies in the best interests of achieving excellence, harnessing the findings of well evidenced research to frame self-regulating and self-improving schools.’

Implications for programme developers

• the need to support this policy in the programmes by providing opportunities for school leaders to access the latest research/ evidence

• the need to give school leaders the opportunity to develop their ability to critically analyse research/ evidence

• the role the programmes can play as a transmission mechanism - the programmes can act as a conduit between researchers and school-based professional

Discussion

Leadership – 380,000,000

Leadership development – 15,800,000

Leadership development research – 86,000

What challenges and opportunities do you face as a content developer? (5 mins)

The territory: what is covered by ‘research/ evidence’?

• Academic research • Government commissioned reports • Studies produced by independent organisations – Sutton Trust,

CfBT• Accounts of practice and case studies

Local – national - international

4 key issues for content developers

• Determining your role• Keeping up to date with the latest research/ evidence• Deciding which research/ evidence to include• Adopting a strategic approach

1. The programme developer’s role?

• Gather evidence?• Evaluate evidence?• Filter evidence?• Commission evidence?• Summarise?

2. Keeping up to date - where to look?

Google is a great starting place……but it can take you to some strange places•DfE – essential – subscribe to newsfeeds/ email updates•Ofsted….surveys…..’good practice’ guides – essential – subscribe to newsfeeds•National College website (archived)•Institute of Education (IOE)•NFER ‘In the news’….subscribe•CfBT…Reports…. Educational evidence portal •Optimus publications•Educational Journals…BERJ•Education Endowment Foundation•Link with your local HEI Department of Education?

3. Deciding what research/ evidence to include?

Discussion: What will be your selection criteria in deciding whether or not to include a piece of research/ evidence?

4. A strategic approach to using research/ evidence within a module or programme

Things you may wish to consider:

•How much – balance?•Purpose – why include research here?•Position – foreground….background…essential reading?•How will you describe the research …. ’valuable’ ….’interesting’ …..’recent’?•How will the participants engage with the research….how will it enhance their learning? •Relationship to professional practice?•What’s missing from the existing materials?

Discussion: What issues, opportunities, challenges do these 2 pieces of research offer?

• Quality assurance and accountability, Slater, L, 2013 (CfBT publication)

• Leadership of Special Schools: Issues and challenges, DfE, 2013

Final thoughts

• Questions?

• Comments?

• Observations?

Session 4: Writing an engaging activity: What does it mean for you?

Elaine Wilmot and Geoff Caton

Effective leadership development characteristics

• Leadership development in the work place – learning on the job, doing real leadership work

• Challenge and support – through coaching, line management

• High quality learning resources drawing on research and evaluation evidence

• Learning from and with credible peers

• Opportunities for structured reflection

An epistemology

Whalley, M and Whitaker, P, 2003, Developing Leadership Learning and Growing Learning Communities, Paper for 8th Early Childhod Convention, Aotearo New Zealand, Corby, Pen Green Leadership Centre

What makes an activity engaging?

Tasks and activities – opportunities for participants to engage in structured reflection, work based learning and peer debate, and to identify future leadership actions.

Learning activities should be: 

• Designed to stimulate, challenge and provoke thinking

• Build knowledge, skills and expertise

• Promote changes and improvements in leadership behaviour, capability and capacity

• Blend to suit learning objectives (face-to-face, peer learning, online learning, individual activities, work based learning)

Different delivery models?

Session 5: Writing an engaging account of practice/case study

Iain Barnes

Key messages 1Focus on module aims/ outcomes and ask:•Why does this module need a new account of practice or case study?

- is it because existing ones are outdated?

- is it because new policy/ practice has emerged and participants would benefit from 'seeing' how a leader has consequently developed strategies in a school context?

•What are the key questions participants will want exploring about this area of focus within the context of the module aims/ outcomes?

- use the generic prompts from the account of practice/ case study brief templates in the Content development handbook

•Which school could provide us with an account of its practice that would respond to these questions?

- who would be the interviewee(s) and why?

Tip: share the focus with potential school(s); speak with the headteacher and/ or leader they designate to ensure school practice does meet account of practice/ case study requirements

Key messages 2

• How will we – e.g. the licensee and researcher/ writer - ensure it is ethically researched and written?

- that it is representative and respectful

- that it ensures anonymity if that is promised

Tip: refer to guidance in the Content development handbook re stages and steps taken e.g. sign off from the school

Refer to BERA's Ethical Guidelines as these are free, downloadable and spell out key ethical considerations for undertaking research in educational establishments.

Key messages 3

• focus on leadership and management

• use the brief templates and exemplars in the Content development handbook to ensure questions asked of all interviewees centre on the leadership and management considerations and issues that relate to the area of focus and the module aims/ outcomes

• Tip: rigorously critique brief and interview schedules to be sent to the school in advance to:

- ensure they are suitably focused

- they enable triangulation of interviewee responses around key areas so that multiple perspectives are gained

Generic prompts

Key challenges and issues• What have been the most pertinent and pressing challenges and issues that the

school and its leaders have faced? • Why have these been the key challenges in comparison with others they might have

faced? What have been the implications of these challenges and issues for the school and its leaders?

 Solution/ approach• What solutions have the school and its leaders developed and deployed to address

the identified challenges and issues? • What have been the strategies/ approaches adopted and why were these selected?• How have these strategies been led and by whom?• What evidence is there that they have been successful in addressing the challenges/

issues? • How has this impact been measured and why have were these measures selected?

Generic prompts

 Leadership implications•What has been learnt by leaders about addressing the identified challenges/ issues in relation to the strategies and the leadership and management implications of developing, implementing and assessing the impact of these?•What would be the key messages that they would draw from their work which they would wish to share with others facing similar challenges/ issues?

Practical hints and tips

• Use a good quality audio recorder for interviews – with permission – test it first and take notes also

• Probe responses and be prepared to be flexible as interview responses can often cover points raised in subsequent questions in the schedule

• Develop a structure to the account of practice/ case study based on the brief• Review your notes and recordings to develop the content – ask yourself: what must

be included; what could be included - build the 'story' around the answers to the questions, using multiple perspectives around points made where these have been gathered

• Review yourself and ensure it is reviewed internally before sending the draft to the school – ask: does it meet the brief; is it representative and respectful?

• Apply ethics at all stages – data collection, data interpretation, data presentation

Making it engaging - style

• leader’s voice – use of quotations

• engaging opening, ‘a hook’

• headings and subheadings

• variety of style across account of practice/ case study

Making it engaging – content

•what? so what? now what?

•hints and tips

•key leadership messages

•raises differences and questions

•challenges school leaders face/ encounter

•personal statements

Questions and answers

Thank you