LEARNING TO LEARN
programme ) and a teaching consultant ( to aid in the methodologies used and to create online material ). These three each were available ( on WeChat , a social media tool ) to a specific cohort of the group to guide , answer questions and support assignment writing . We were able to give specific feedback on how to maximise the course , especially in its implementation .
4 . Using knowledge to inform day-to-day practice . We were keen to avoid the trap sometimes fallen into by leadership courses of encouraging general discussion and reflection without a theory and research-informed foundation . Each unit contained core academic theory in a digestible format and worked hard to encourage participants to reflect on their own experience in the light of theory . The course was at pains not to be merely academic , but to drive practice through explicit theory .
5 . Seeking the mastery of individual standards that enhanced classroom practice . Leadership can be seen as a distant , detached practice when it should be intimately linked to the core purpose of the school – enhancing teaching quality . Our standards were focused on these outcomes , and all practice was directed towards helping staff improve as educators or creating virtuous systems that supported improvement in outcomes .
Feedback from cohort one has been encouraging . Three of the cohort were promoted whilst with us . Some adjustments will be made next year : more face-to-face ; more differentiation to meet contextual circumstances of participants ; punchier live presentations . But as a prototype it worked well and whole department practice as well as individual actions have moved as a result of it . Next year will prove how lasting the impact is .
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