| Downloads o Introduction o What is CPD? o Sources of CPD o Portfolio o How to start? o Contents o Evidence o Pro-forma |
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CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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SETTING UP A PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE
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| Why Continue Professional Development? |
| The recent pace of change in education in general, and the changes in the curriculum in particular, have made unavoidable the need for teachers to update knowledge and skills.
Professional development will be less than effective if participants are passive and the priorities are determined solely by the institution in which they work. Planned, self-directed development has been shown to have a greater impact on the quality of work in the classroom.
The benefits of continuing professional development which is properly defined and targeted will enable teachers to:
- maintain and improve their performance in their current job
- cope with change
- increase their capacity for learning
- enhance their career prospects
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| What is Continuing Professional Development? |
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Types of learning
- Intuitive
- this type of learning can happen by chance and we may not be conscious of it.
- Incidental
- we learn by reflecting on particular events or activities.
- Retrospective
- a systematic approach to reflecting on activities and identifying what we learned from them.
- Proactive
- planning to learn from an activity, reflecting critically on it and planning to use what we learned in a way that suits the context in which we work.
Considering the above highlights the fact that professional development is not just about being trained or undertaking new development work. It is also about learning from what we do in the course of our everyday tasks.
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| Some Sources of Continuing Professional Development |
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SELF-DIRECTED
- Carry out self evaluation
- Attending meeting of a group outside own sphere
- Exchange ideas with a colleague
- Keep a log or diary
- Observe other colleagues
- Shadow a student/pupil/teacher
- Carry out some research
- Role play with video feedback
- Visit other schools
- Information on new jobs
- Write a CV
- Share letters of application
- Relinquish tasks which are outdated or could be done by someone else
- Contribute to a professional publication
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- Use a Professional Profile
- Seek advice from a Professional Association
- Keep a portfolio of progress (electronically or as hard copy)
- Evaluate classroom styles/strategies
- Review research in a relevant area
- Read a book
- Watch appropriate video
- Evaluate time management strategies
- Video self for analysis of practice
- Write/present a short paper
- Apply for a course with the Open University
- Try distance learning
- Work for an examination board
- Move to an alternative career
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WITH THE SUPPORT OF OTHERS
- Carry out self appraisal
- Seek guidance from senior colleagues and other professionals
- Form a support group/collaborate with others
- Apply for industrial placement/job shadow
- Invite adviser/advisory teacher to work with you as a specific focus
- Chair/prepare/minute meetings
- Become a mentor for staff/NQTs/ ITT students
- Take on an acting role or temporary post
- Vary year group responsibility
- Procure additional resources
- Share good practice with colleagues in your cluster
- Engage in team teaching
- Apply for INSET (short course)
- Embark on award bearing CPD
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- Use a Professional Profile
- Plan mutual observation/give and receive truthful feedback
- Run joint activity with business/industry/community
- Make use of commercial expertise/resources/software
- Initiate a job swop/share/rotation
- Delegate tasks to others
- Run school focused INSET/organise event
- Act as a performance reviewer
- Join or lead a working party
- Take time out/secondment
- Undertake an international exchange
- Negotiate time for development
- Take on new or different areas of responsibility
- Become a school governor
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| The Portfolio of evidence |
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What is a portfolio?
A professional development portfolio is a confidential and voluntary collection of material that records and reflects your work. It is a way of using past experiences and present activities to demonstrate and reflect on skills learnt, to identify future learning needs and priorities, and to inform and plan prospective development. It provides a mechanism for thinking about your practice in a planned and systematic way. A portfolio links across all CPD initiatives including the Standards Framework, which provides a 'starting point' for teachers to recognise the diverse skills they already have and may require at different stages in their career. The framework enables teachers to plan training and development to make the best use of their talents within the teaching profession.
The first part of a portfolio contains evidence of 'achievements' such as certificates, qualifications, relevant courses attended, posts held and particular responsibilities. The second part is a developmental portfolio section where you can:
- record your experience, skills and attributes
- record your learning and development
- reflect on your teaching and learning and its impact
- analyse your strengths and areas for further development
- set learning priorities and plan your future
As there is now exists a framework of national standards, the developmental section of your portfolio should relate to these. The most useful tool for this purpose can be found at www.teachernet.gov.uk/professionaldevelopment/development.
Why keep a record ?
- The process will encourage you to reflect on your experiences and this will enhance your learning
- A record of your CPD is likely to become a common requirement for teachers and managers
In the future you may well need such a record in a variety of circumstances:
- when your performance management review is due
- when you come to apply for threshold assessment
- when your job description is reviewed
- when your school conducts any internal self-review
- when your school is inspected by OFSTED
- when you apply for a new job
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| How to start? |
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The Audit -
Undertake an audit of your personal professional skills and competencies.
From this you will identify :
- areas of strength
- areas which need refreshing
- areas where you have little or no experience and will need further training and development
As your checklist you might use :
- your job description
- the NYCC Profile
- The Standards Framework
- The North Yorkshire Professional Learning Framework
- The national online portfolio (see www.teachernet.gov.uk/professionaldevelopment/development)
Using the above as your prompts you may wish to reflect on:
- the parts of your job in which you excel
- particular contributions that you have made to the school
- an important initiative that you have recently led
- aspects of your work that prevent you from achieving your goals
- the main challenge in your present or future role
- the parts of your present role that you want to develop
- the skills and qualities that you have, but are not fully utilised
- the skills and qualities that you need to develop
- the sort of support that would enable you to make more of your role
What have I learnt from development experiences?
Focus on how these key experiences have made an impact on you and hence what you have learnt. Few people think systematically about what they have learnt and done and often undervalue their knowledge and experiences. The following format is a possible way of recording your learning:
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Why did you undertake that particular activity?
What did you think will be the benefit to you, the school, and the children? |
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What did you do? Who was involved? What did you learn? |
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What aspects of the activity did you think were relevant to your work?
What new ideas and activities did you decide to try out in your work?
What would you do differently another time? |
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Were there opportunities to discuss CPD with other members of staff after it took place? What did they think? |
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How did you try out new ideas and approaches? |
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How effective were the ideas and approaches in your classroom, the department, key stage or whole school?
What evidence have you got to support your points? In what ways were these findings shared with others? |
Having completed the audit it might be helpful to discuss this with a friend, colleague or mentor.
At the completion you will have identified your development requirements. You will need to prioritise these to give you a manageable plan and then match these to the sources of learning available to you.
Your development plan
Your plan should identify:
- Targets - what you hope to learn
- Action - what you will do
- Timescales - when you will do what
- Personnel - whose support you will need
- Success Criteria - how you will know what you have achieved
- Progress - how did you do
Again it will be helpful to discuss this with a senior colleague - preferably someone who can help you access the appropriate opportunities.
How to record
Whatever format you choose to record your development it should reflect the Learning Cycle:
- experience the activity
- identify the learning outcomes
- plan to use the outcomes now or in the future
- evaluate your use of the outcomes
- plan future steps
Validation
If you are using your record - your CPD Portfolio - in your own school you may not need someone to validate your experience, though you will need a file of evidence. If, however, you might want to use the portfolio at some point in the future, perhaps to support an application for a new post, it would be beneficial to have some assessment or validation of your activity.
You will need to decide who might be most appropriate for this role. In some circumstances an external validator might be appropriate, but normally your line manager would be the most sensible choice.
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| What your Portfolio might contain |
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- Personal Details
- Name
- Address/telephone/fax/email
- DfES Number
- National Insurance Number
- Qualifications
- Experience
- Teaching and other work experience
You might then organise your development experiences into the following sections:
- Professional knowledge and understanding
- Planning and setting expectations
- Teaching and managing pupil learning
- Assessment and evaluation
- Pupil achievement
- Relations with parents and the wider community
- Managing own performance and development
- Managing and developing teachers and support staff
- Managing resources
- Strategic leadership
Finally, your portfolio might contain:
- Other posts held (beyond school)
- Captain of -------
- Secretary of -------
- Membership of Professional Bodies
- Other interests
- Parachute jumping
- F1 racing
- Job Descriptions
Promoting CPD among colleagues:
Do you:
- Act as coach or adviser to your colleagues
- Identify learning activities for colleagues which link to development plan
- Provide support to colleagues - time, resources
- Make links between CPD and Performance Management
- Act as validator for colleagues
- Exercise task rotation
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| Recording Achievements - Sources of Evidence |
| Where the sources of evidence are whole school records or documents. It is not necessary to attach these to a portfolio, better to simply refer to them and where they can be found. If moving to a new school it may be necessary to acquire copies for reference purposes.
Professional knowledge and understanding, Planning and Expectations:
Policy documents;
Schemes of work / lesson plans;
Lesson observation records;
Professional development log;
Minutes of meetings / task groups;
Records of development work.
Teaching and assessment
Schemes of work;
Lesson plans;
Assessment records and data;
Samples of student work;
Appraisal statements;
Panda information;
Autumn package information;
LEA/school data analysis;
MIDYIS, YELLIS, ALIS data.
Pupil Achievement:
Panda;
Autumn Package;
LEA/School data analysis;
Departmental data;
Teacher assessments;
Lesson observation records;
Samples of student work.
Wider professional effectiveness:
Professional development records;
Course outcome notes;
Minutes of meetings/task groups/working parties;
Job description.
Professional characteristics:
Lesson observation records;
Appraisal statements;
Feedback from students/parents.
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| Download pro-forma |
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Blank pro-forma |
Primary example |
Secondary example |
| Professional Knowledge and Understanding |
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| Teaching and Assessment (a) |
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| Teaching and Assessment (b) |
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| Teaching and Assessment (c) |
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| Student Progress |
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| Wider Professional Effectiveness (a) |
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| Wider Professional Effectiveness (b) |
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| Professional Characteristics |
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| Evaluation of personal professional development |
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