Collaborative Practice Coaching at ISCA

What is it all about? Also known as; Coaching, Collaborative Practice and Lesson Study. Groups of teachers work together to plan, teach and review lessons. This is about teachers “taking back their professionalism”. It is strongly linked to the ‘Lesson Study’ approach used in Japan.

Derek Robinson (NCETM Website) – Lesson Study “Lesson study is a simple idea. If you want to improve teaching, what could be more obvious than collaborating with your fellow teachers to plan, observe and reflect on lessons? While it is a simple idea, lesson study is a complex process, supported by collaborative goal- setting, careful data collection on student learning, and protocols that enable productive discussion of difficult issues. Can "lesson study" translate from Japanese culture into the West? There are various centres in the USA that have made it work - but, it hasn't been universally accepted there as the way forward.”

NCETM

Ofsted suggested that we (ISCA College) should: “Provide more opportunities for teachers to develop their teaching skills through regular observation and sharing of good practice”.

Agreed Principles It has been proven that the best training for teachers is done in classrooms with other teachers A team of at least 3 teachers should be involved. They should take it in turn to teach and observe, maybe by picking names out of a hat. There should not be a common tick list of things to look for in the lesson as on the current observation sheet/OFSTED sheet. The focus of the lesson should be chosen by the team based on what they wish to improve. Formal feedback is inappropriate. Although feedback could be written, this does not need to be formalised. Maybe a diary of events could be kept or the line manager invited to the planning stage if proof of the process is needed.

There would be 3 sessions Focus/PlanningIdentify a focus as a department and plan a lesson together. TeachingA volunteer will teach the lesson with another volunteer observing and recording the lesson on video tape. They will then meet and edit the video tape. Review. The whole department then meet again to review their lesson. The first person to speak should be the teacher being observed. Second person to speak would be the observer who was in the lesson. Then the other members of the team have an input. This meeting should be to review the lesson, not the teaching. The team should then agree 3 or 4 action points for development within the department.

VIDEO CLIPS

Work done this year – Two lessons planned as a department, taught and one still to be reviewed The first was delivered by our student teacher. He saw this as an excellent professional development opportunity. Time was an issue, and only 3 members of the department (including the student teacher) could take part in the planning session. The second was delivered by the HOD with year 10 set 3. This time we had more people involved in the planning. We will review the lesson as a department by watching clips of the video and then it is hoped that I will teach a revised version of the lesson with year 10 set 2 at a later date.

Tool for Professional Development We offered it to a student teacher as a good exercise to be involved in. He benefited both from the collaborative planning and from seeing himself teach on camera. Everyone who took part said that planning together was a useful exercise. It was commented that we don’t often get timetabled opportunities to ‘talk’ as a department. Ofsted commented that our school needs to “provide more opportunities for teachers to develop their teaching skills through regular observation and sharing of good practice”. Our model for collaborative practice was discussed by leadership as a way of achieving this.

Developing it – what changes would you make? John Potter has requested that the timetable be arranged in such a way that staff are free at the same time. It is intended that we re-teach the lessons planned with other groups and develop them further as a department. This needs to be part of a whole school initiative so that time can be built into the timetable

What next? I had asked the head for more time for departments to work through the progress. The idea was discussed at a governors meeting and by the senior management team. It has now been agreed that time will be made on all non-pupil days for all departments to follow the process.

NCETM Pete Griffin is trying to get funding to continue the work done by the SW Collaborative Professional Development Research Project. The NCETM are hoping to eventually present evidence to Government that this type of Professional Development is the way forward.