Improving Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

S u c c e s s ive EFA Global Monitoring Reports prescribe Education for All and education is featured as a basic human right. The findings and the subsequent recommendations are that the markers for disadvantage such as wealth, gender, location and language, to name a few, are overcome in an effort to ensure access and inclusion. In a bid to aspire to equal access, inclusion and opportunity,the key recommendations are raising quality and strengthening equity. Reform measures and governance policies are addressed in four key areas, namely finance, school management, education planning and teacher recruitment and allocation. Successive reports draw on the findings that ‘ education is about more than putting bodies in classrooms’. It is about engaging minds, expanding horizons and ensuring that students have access to real opportunities for learning. The ultimate aim of any education system is to ensure that children develop their cognitive, emotional and social capacities – and that they acquire the skills they need to realize their potential ( UNESCO 2004) Schools are the primary institution for reaching this aim and teachers are on the front line of delivery (UNESCO 2009)

There are many challenges relating to the quality of teaching, and the issues are that many school systems are failing to deliver services that meet even the most basic standards for quality and equity. The findings and recommendations report that improved governance in teacher management, attracting qualified and committed resource persons into the profession, to retain them and providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to ensure they are motivated, are key to addressing change. The crucial role of effective monitoring of quality and equity, are often issues which remain invisible to both the public and policy makers. There is strong evidence to support arguments that strong monitoring and accountability plays a key role in raising standards of quality and strengthens equity.

Accountability comes in many forms and in many instances, western models are accused of over testing and of too many changes without a clear policy or objectives. Sir Ken Robinson, celebrated author of The Element and other inspiring writings on education, chaired a government- commissioned enquiry and found that a prescriptive education system was stifling the creativity of teachers and their pupils. The plethora of changes and increased testing, while focusing on accountability and delivery, was compromising the flexibility leading to creativity; the assumption here is that the facilitators are accomplished, committed and passionate.

Change has to be acknowledged as necessary in view of the changing needs of the market force. Many s u ch as Rich a r d Gerver( celebrated school leader and author of Cre at i n g Tomorrow’s Schools Today), states that at policy level there is a preference to return to certainties of the past than explore the possibilities of the future, much contained within the call for ‘traditional values’. Change is a part of everyday life and we are all the better for it. This pressure or need is more pertinent in the education context so that we prepare our youth with the life skills and professional abilities to function in an ever- changing environment.

One of the key features to foster change as indicated by Gerver, is to develop a tangible sense of empowerment and to regain the feeling that teaching is a profession; a profession that is supported and endorsed, which contains talented people of significant value and vision, who are truly drawn to the vocation because of their desire to give our children the best start in life.

For Robert Fried (The Passionate Teacher: a practical guide) a passionate teacher is ‘to be someone in love with the field of knowledge, deeply stirred by issues and ideas that challenge our world, drawn to the dilemmas and potentials of the young people who come into class each day – or captivated by all of these’ He also argues that “many of the difficult issues in education today can be faced constructively, and perhaps be overcome, by passionate teachers”. Fried has developed the concept of the passionate teacher through his work in teacher professional development in schools.

Fried highlights several challenges that confront educators – including the amount of content to teach, the nature of assessment and the most effective way to motivate students.The genuine enthusiasm that passionate teachers express in their work can motivate students and focus the attention of administrators and parents on student learning as the highest educational priority. The criticism is that passionate teaching counteracts and interrupts the ‘ game of school’. The game of school relates to achieving grades in public exams, creating a profile which would attract colleges and universities to offering a place and for us teachers playing the game would entail covering the syllabus while promoting learning and also considering elements that make up a holistic education. The concept of playing the game of school and working round the obstacles of the game of school is a challenge with schools often making us vulnerable to the game of school. To overcome this issue Fried prescribes that successful teaching should focus on meaning, motivation and choice of work,thereby generating an interest and passion for learning. In order to nurture the passion that children will feed off, Fried encourages teachers to clarify and verbalize their values and to uncover connections between their values and the interests and values of the students, the subject area and teaching and learning.

To ensure that delivery in the classroom straddles creativity, holistic provision and enhancing life skill, as well as playing the game of school, those in the profession would need the support of the institution through an ethos as well as Continuous Professional Development ( CPD). Professional development does not always need to be formalized through courses and degree programmes though these do help. There are other facets to professional development such as Mentorship programmes Observation Reflective learning Self study During the course of training we observe that it is those teachers who are passionate about the profession, who are passionate about making a genuine difference and fulfilling the potential of their learners, voluntarily make the time and effort to attend sessions on CPD. In many instances costs of further training may be a deterrent and we are aware that the most rewarding aspect of teaching is not a fund managers bonus, but is personal satisfaction of a job well done and that small tokens of appreciation, be it a winning smile, is the most we will get for our commitment. Therefore it may be pertinent for educational institutions to consider budgets which are allocated for extensive building programmes and facelifts which are necessary, especially when it concerns enhancing classroom facilities and provision, but to prioritize with adequate consideration for CPD.

If we are to accept that our biggest asset is our human capital and our human capital is our youth, then the input that makes the difference to the skills that they acquire, the confidence they develop, their self-esteem and their motivation, relies on the human capital which are teachers. The empowerment, development and support for teacher who would make a difference, who would inspire them and foster learning as well as prepare them with the life skills required in an increasingly challenging and changing world, is crucial to enhancing our human capital and supporting them as the backbone of our future development. ShaliniWickramasuriya

Education Consultant Ladies’ College Department of

Vocational Studies dvs@stmail.lk website: www.

dvs.edu.lk