Introduction

In my previous article on ‘Teachers for Excellence’, I outlined five elements which I believe are present in all good teaching, regardless of subject or stage. These are:

1. A positive attitude to all pupil learning
2. An ability to communicate value to pupils
3. Good content knowledge and understanding
4. A teaching repertoire of many ways to impart content
5. Knowledge and understanding of relationships and connections across curricular areas.

What follows is a description of a model of continuing professional development (CPD) which would support teachers in developing confidence and competence in each of these areas. It outlines four phases of teacher engagement with new learning, and indicates what form of CPD might be most appropriate at each stage.

How the phases work

The phases are not discrete and there will be overlap, but taken together they describe a model of CPD which requires increasing levels of teacher ownership, decreasing levels of centrally organised courses and a movement from solitary learning towards significant collaborative activity. Teachers will, of course, be in different phases of CPD for various aspects of their professional development at the same time, but teachers who are innovating and creating in any one area are well placed to understand relationships and connections across and between curricular areas and initiatives. Our experience in the CPD team would suggest that teachers who have undertaken phase 4 CPD are confident in moving quickly through the phases when faced with new initiatives or projects.

The model is offered as a way of prompting change and growth regardless of starting point. I hope it will also prove useful to school leaders who are conducting professional review and development (PRD) interviews

The four phases

The four phases of CPD are:

1. Becoming aware
2. Becoming interested
3. Integrating into practice
4. Innovating and creating