Sharing Best Practice Staff Development Programme Ms Jean Meakin Senior Lecturer, English Language Wing Defence School of Languages, Beaconsfield, UK

Scope of Presentation The School Existing Staff Development Setting up ‘Sharing Best Practice’ Issues

The Defence School of Languages Mission To deliver foreign language training to British Armed Forces personnel and English language training to foreign military personnel.

Existing Staff Development Induction of new staff Mentoring Lesson observations Appraisals INSET days Defence Language Training Seminar Distance Based Learning Defence Learning Portal (e-Learning) BILC Seminars Language Testing Seminar Job-specific courses Mandatory courses Personal development courses

Why More? A ‘learning’ organisation Adult Learning Inspection Summer 2005

The Team 3 Senior Lecturers, from different wings

Initial meeting – Needs analysis Scoping exercise Team agreement on aims, format, frequency, venue, ethos Agreement on team roles Drawing up of first term’s schedule Preparation

Deliver a staff development programme of Sharing Best Practice for instructors across the whole of DSL. Aims Share skills and ideas Get to know colleagues Increase uniformity Mission

Workshops on different topics about teaching All instructors encouraged to attend Sessions facilitated by different staff Every 3 or 4 weeks, Weds 3 pm – 4.30 pm Lecture theatre Refreshments The Programme

Format of Sessions Welcome, refreshments 15-minute presentation by facilitator Group tasks Feedback plenary and discussion

CO’s address Publicity The Launch

First Five Sessions 1.Defence Systems Approach to Training 2.Aims, Objectives, Lesson Planning 3.Learning Styles 4.Informal Assessment Ideas 5.Teaching Note Taking Skills AND Downloading Sound from the Internet

The Sessions Informal Genuine Sharing of Best Practice - Not just a presentation

Sustainability and Continuity Average of attendees per session Now in its fifth term More sessions planned and facilitators still volunteering

Reduce formality: –Location –facilitator’s role Payment for attendance? Who should attend? Certificates of attendance? When and how to end? What next? The Issues

Questions?