ITE change in Wales – The context ‘The current quality of ITT in Wales is adequate and no better’ (Tabberer, cited in Furlong, 2015) ‘There is a broad consensus across Wales that in relation to current requirements, initial teacher education is not as strong as it should be’ ‘The current requirements in key respects fall well short of what international evidence suggests is best practice’ ‘Weaknesses in provision at every level’

What should we be striving for? According to BERA – RSA (cited in Furlong, 2015) high quality teacher education has (amongst others) the following qualities: It develops strong links between theory and practice; It links ITE and continuing professional development; It is underpinned by a clear understanding of how student teachers learn to teach – with the courses as a constant subject of research and development. Public knowledge Practical wisdom Connected domains Boyd et al., (2015)

The current model Student Development University School experience University School experience Assignments and observations Reflection University Reflection

What are we doing? The South West Wales Centre of Teacher Education has initiated 11 pilot schemes to reshape partnership working in the South Wales region Each scheme involves one or more university based link tutor(s) working closely with selected partnership schools who have been identified by the regional consortium as being ‘lead schools’ The projects work in the primary and secondary sector, in Welsh and English medium schools The projects last one year, with a view to the development of long term models

Prepare and Propel Training in Collaboration

Prepare and Propel

Prepare

Learning Walks

Propel Five projects + tutors + school based staff + students Language and Literacy Mathematics Art ICT and Digital Competence Welsh

3 day model observeplanteach

Art

Propel College student LA Head Caretaker Senior Mentor F.Ph Lead PGCE students

Developing a ‘Hub’ in a Rural Context For student teachers and their school mentors

Aims of the Project 1. Support students in the rural area through:  Sharing experiences (including input by experienced teachers)  Peer assessment (of reflections, planning, pupil portfolios)  Observing good practice (within the host school) 2. Support school mentors in the rural area through:  Sharing good practice (including observation of good practice)  Discussing common misconceptions/difficulties  Peer support and challenge

Learning Sessions Assessment Session 1 Effective use of additional adults in the FP Session 2 Transition Session 3

Evaluating Impact Student teacher questionnaires School mentor questionnaires Students’ formative & summative assessments PTE files

Case study 3 Guided Action-Research

Student Development University link tutor supporting students within a school Seminar, delivered by link tutor in school – based on aspects of pedagogy. Attended by students, mentors and NQT staff Guided observation of lead school practitioners – with link tutor and senior mentor as ‘guides’ Research design jointly planned for testing one element of pedagogy Students trial strategies and reflect on impacts. Evidence collected Link tutor observes lessons Students present their findings to peers

Participant Views ‘I found that being in regular contact and having support from the uni. tutor, acted as a link between university and school so the theoretical aspects of the course became far more significant in practice.’ Jody, History student ‘The seminars have been absolutely the best thing from the whole year, all presentations should be done in this way’ Nicole, D + T student ‘It was great to have an experienced teacher (in a different subject) observe my lesson as there were new advice/ insights/thoughts – slightly different from Maths point of view and I found them helpful.’ Ha Thu, Maths student ‘AfL lectures in uni. mean something now that it is delivered in school.’ Abi, MFL student ‘Being part of the PLP has definitely forged stronger links between both the school and the university. Having a link tutor provides extra support when needed to myself, the trainee teachers and subject mentors. Trainee teachers have benefitted greatly from the AfL and Questioning seminars delivered by the link tutor which have enhanced their teaching’. Michelle Sion, Senior mentor

Reflection What is collaboration? Credibility? Large numbers? To what extent do our projects focus on ‘cultivating learning’ within our students?

References Boyd, P., Hymer, B., Lockney, K. (2015) Learning Teaching: Becoming an inspirational teacher. Critical Publishing. Furlong, J. (2015) Teaching Tomorrow’s Teachers. Cardiff: Welsh Government.