EMBEDDING A SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WITHIN OUR ......Schools” (Bor et al 2002). In 2006, Jo was...

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EMBEDDING A SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WITHIN OUR SCHOOLS

Joanna EbnerChurchill Fellowship Report 2018

SIGNPOSTING THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF UNIVERSITY- SCHOOL

PARTNERSHIPS

Copyright © April 2018 by Joanna Ebner. The moral right of the author has been asserted.The views and opinions expressed in this report and its content are those of the author and not of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, which has no responsibility or liability for any part of the report.

JOANNA EBNER - FELLOWSHIP REPORT 2

ContentsPage 5 Executive Summary

Page 6 Introduction to the Project

Page 7 Research Methodologies

Page 8 Background to Project

Page 10 Literature Review

Page 12 Overview of USA Context

Page 13 Overview of Australia Context

Page 14 Findings

Page 14 Australia Case Studies Case Study 1 - University of Sydney, School of Education and Social Work

Page 15 Case Study 2 - John Monash Science School, Melbourne

Page 18 Case Study 3 - Meeting at Wyvern House School, Sydney

Page 19 Case Study 4 - Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Page 21 Case Study 5 - Methodist Ladies’ College, Melbourne

Page 23 Case Study 6 - Wilderness School, Adelaide

Page 26 USA Case Studies Case Study 1 - Central Cabarrus High School and University of North Carolina Charlotte partnership

0 Professional Development Schools’ Conference, Jacksonville Florida

Page 32 Case Study 2 - University of Georgia Partnership at Cedar Shoals

Page 34 Case Study 3 - George Mason University College of Education Partnership

Page 36 Case Study 4 - William Paterson University Professional Development School Network

Page 38 Case Study 5 - Manhattanville College and Edison School PDS Partnership

Page 41 Case Study 6 - Bedford Hills Primary School

Page 41 Summary Analysis of Questionnaires

Page 42 Conclusions & Recommendations

Page 42 Appendices


Biography

Joanna Ebner was educated at North London Collegiate School, the University of Cambridge, Homerton College and the Institute of Education, London. Having trained as a School Counsellor at City University, the Tavistock Clinic and the Institute of Family Therapy, Jo co-wrote “Counselling in Schools” (Bor et al 2002). In 2006, Jo was appointed headmistress of the Royal School, Hampstead, a girls’ day and boarding school.

Jo was appointed headmistress at Thomas’s Kensington in September 2012, one of a group of four proprietary owned independent schools. The School has been awarded a number of accolades, including the Gold Artsmark, the International School Award and the Values Based Education Award. Jo established a bespoke MA for staff across the Thomas’s Schools earning the Professional Development Gold Quality Mark. At its most recent inspection (Nov 2017), Ofsted once again deemed Thomas’s Kensington as “Outstanding in all areas” praising the culture of high aspirations throughout the school.

Jo is a visiting lecturer at Roehampton University and a member of their Primary Strategic Management Board for Partnerships. She was a member of the government-led Independent State School Partnership Forum. Jo is a Governor at St Mary’s School, Ascot and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Since being awarded the Churchill Fellowship, Jo has embarked on a Doctorate in Education.

Dedication

My WCMT Fellowship Report is dedicated to my late mother, Ann Ebner, a Churchill Fellow in 1981, who visited schools and prisons in the USA exploring the structure and assessment of adult literacy for a multi-racial community. She was my inspiration for this project.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective for my Fellowship Report was to conduct research endeavouring to establish theefficacy of a university appointed Scholar-in-Residence within a school environment. Having pilotedthe scheme in my own UK primary school, I was keen to examine whether a Scholar-in-Residence was a valid and useful concept. This I did through collaborative discussions at the Professional Development Schools’ Conference in Florida and via a number of visits to schools and universities in the United States of America: in North Carolina, Washington D.C., New York City andNew Jersey as well as in the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Furthermore, I was keen to explore what needs to be implemented in a school in order for a Scholar-in-Residence to be most effectively employed.

Through the meetings and case studies in Australia and the USA, it has become clear to me that the model of an embedded academic in a school is a powerful tool for improvement both in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Moreover, the academics who were placed in the schools also found this to be beneficial to their own learning and research.

In terms of my findings I established that the most effectively employed Scholars-in-Residence were those who were fully embedded into the life and daily routines of the school. In this way they built up strong and meaningful relationships with their teacher colleagues - both new and experienced - and thus made the greatest impact on the school. The Scholar-in-Residence’s involvement frequently went beyond observations and lecturing for their (ITT) teacher candidates and the most successful models were those where the Scholar-in-Residence gave ample opportunities for continued professional growth and learning for all members of the school community.

In terms of future recommendations: I intend to incorporate the positive aspects of having a Scholar-in-Residence into my own school setting and will encourage my group of schools to follow suit, with our aim to extend excellence to other schools. I will disseminate my findings through conferences and journal articles (such as the National Association of Professional Development Schools’ Journal), sharing good practice and have embarked on a Doctorate in Education to formally develop this project further with the aim to influence national policy in the future.


INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Objective

My immediate objective was to conduct research aiming to establish the efficacy of a Scholar-in-Residence within a school environment. This was in relation to initial teacher training and continuing professional development.

Throughout this Fellowship Report, the terms Scholar, Academic and/or Professor-in-Residence are used interchangeably depending on the setting and country. The academic is seconded from a university whose specific function is to work within a school developing teacher professional learning.

Anticipated Impacts

I have already piloted this scheme by appointing a Scholar-in-Residence from Roehampton University at my own school. Initially I was anticipating that the Scholar-in-Residence would be an academic seconded from the education department of a university and that my research would continue to support the presence of a Scholar-in-Residence at Thomas’s Kensington. Having established whether, and how, the Scholar-in-Residence model and definition works first hand in an English school, I intended to disseminate my findings through a series of conference presentations including first at the Professional Development Schools’ Conference (Jacksonville, Florida, March 2018) and then through educational journals and publications (including the Times Educational Supplement). In the future I plan to organise direct presentations to maintained and independent schools, in particular teaching schools, and to the DfE and National College for Teaching and Leadership.

Potential Impact

This project seeks to be proactive in gaining valuable insights into the potential benefits of the Scholar-in-Residence model. Academic research has already resulted in on going schemes across the USA and Australia and raised awareness of the concept of a Scholar-in-Residence will hope to extend this active engagement by challenging pre-existing UK assumptions regarding the value of Scholars-in-Residence and their potential for raising academic achievement both for staff and students. Scholars-in-Residence might, thus, become a regular feature of the English school landscape. One natural extension of this raised awareness might be a broader acceptance of the value of a professional academic, or other external input, as a vital element of everyday classroom practice rather than a distracting intrusion.

The Scholar-in-Residence initiative might, more broadly, lead to increasing partnerships and collaborations between schools and (teacher training) universities or community organisations. This might, in turn, directly influence government policy with the aim of implementing this model nationwide and furthering teacher professional development in a focused, structured manner.


RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

Questionnaires

Questionnaires were issued in advance of my visit for completion by teachers and Scholars/Academics/Professors in Residence (both in the USA and in Australia) in order to obtain quantitative data for analysis from areas in which the Scholar-in-Residence scheme already exists and whose schools are at the forefront of the Scholar-in-Residence innovation. The use of English language as well as the similarities in the respective systems of education and social and economic landscapes make these countries suitable locations from which to conduct questionnaires with comparable values and with the potential to emulate in the UK.

Semi-structured interviews The questionnaire data was subsequently used to inform a series of semi-structured interviews, in both the USA and Australia. The collaborative nature of such a mode of inquiry enables senior faculty, scholars in residence and relevant staff (as well as pupils) to establish their own priorities and value systems rather than giving responses that are dictated by a pre-determined and fixed set of questions. Semi-structured questioning of senior faculty, with whom familiarity has already been established, covered the ways in which the projects were established, their perceived outcomes and perceptions of the effectiveness of the residencies. Semi-structured interviews with the Scholars-in-Residence aimed to articulate their perceptions of the ways in which they are impacting on the school. These interviews were supplemented, in both Australia and the USA, by extensive field notes which I used to document and reflect upon any lessons that I was invited to witness as a participant observer. This method of recording was important as it provided rich qualitative material which could go by unnoticed or forgotten and which I could analyse at a later date.

Case Study

Case study is a form of qualitative research methodology, defined by Robson as ‘a strategy for research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using multiple sources of evidence.’ Robson (2002 in Saunders et al 2003). A case study becomes a spotlight focused on individual instances, and reactions to them, rather than a wide spectrum of effects. The case study approach was most applicable in this context as it enabled me to observe schemes and partnerships in action alongside the full breadth of reactions and responses as they take place.


BACKGROUND TO PROJECTI am the headmistress of Thomas’s Kensington - a co-educational, independent school with 400 pupils aged 4-11. Established in 1971, the school is now owned by the sons of the founders and comprises four schools - Kensington, Battersea, Fulham and Clapham, a kindergarten and one sponsored school (Thomas’s Academy) in the state sector. All the headteachers work closely together to ensure that the schools maintain the founders’ stated aim:

“to offer the highest academic standards, set within a broad and rich curriculum, which inspires enjoyment learning and achievement. We expect everyone within the schools communities to be kind”.

In its most recent report (2017), Ofsted judged Thomas’s Kensington to be outstanding:

“The headteacher and the proprietors have created a caring and aspirational culture to ensure pupils make rapid progress in their learning. Staff morale is high” and there is a shared sense of community in this “family orientated and outstanding school”.

All schools within the group are deemed by Ofsted to be “outstanding”.

In order to uphold and maintain these values, I am a strong believer in focused Continuing Professional Development (CPD). As a result, I was responsible for establishing a Masters (MA) degree in Educational Practice across all the Thomas’s Schools. After a bidding process, the University of Roehampton was selected as the host institution and Roehampton’s first bespoke MA was established with the initial cohort successfully graduating in June 2016.

This process was the beginning of a practical commitment to CPD at Thomas’s Kensington with teachers profoundly involved in their own professional development, informing both their teaching and that of the pupils. The MA is now offered to all Thomas’s staff, with particular encouragement given to early-career teachers and action-research projects are undertaken that feedback directly into the school. Projects have included the examination of Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset, the development of a creative curriculum and the impact of homework. MA candidates are encouraged to offer feedback in staff meetings and to share their knowledge and expertise with teachers and parents across the Thomas’s schools. This work has led to a conference for parents, led by academics, and the publication of a journal containing summaries of the MA projects. Thomas’s part-funds (60%) the MA programme as part of its on going commitment to CPD, while the 40% self-funding element ensures that MA candidates remain active stakeholders.

Influence of the USA and the PDS Model

The expanded links between Thomas’s and the University of Roehampton led me to begin an exploration of other ways in which the University and the School could collaborate to enhance staff learning and development. It had become apparent as part of the MA research that, for a variety of well-documented reasons (often connected to a lack of resources), a policy shift has taken place across the English teacher-training model. This has evolved away from its traditional base within a university to a more school-based system, taught, led and accredited within the relevant school. This new model had brought its own challenges, as CPD in schools can frequently lack structure and rigour. I had become increasingly engaged in the notion of continuous, in situ teacher training - a model which appeared, on the surface, to be closely related to the Professional Development Schools’ framework frequently employed within the USA. I was keen to explore this new model both by embedding a scholar or academic-in-residence within my own school and by observing well-established case studies in the USA and Australia.

Through the University of Roehampton, I made contact with Professor JoAnne Ferrara of Manhattanville University who invited me to observe a PDS model in action at her partner school - Thomas Edison School, New York. This initial visit (September 2014) gave me the impetus to develop a project, based on Ferrara’s PDS model, the design of which we worked on together.


Scholar-in-Residence: the rationale and pilot study

Thomas’s Kensington’s first Scholar-in-Residence was appointed from the Roehampton University staff and engaged to work within Thomas’s Kensington once a week for two terms (Jan - July 2015). The stated objective was to instil academic rigour into the school’s on going CPD in order to fill a perceived learning vacuum. The Scholar-in-Residence (affectionately known as SiR) provided relational and informal support to staff, including those who were undertaking their MA degrees and/or the Leading Practitioners in the school. The Scholar-in-Residence also developed a whole school staff project on creative teaching and learning in the curriculum. The embedded nature of the Scholar-in-Residence was instrumental in the school’s ability to offer a model in which teaching theory and practice could be experienced in tandem. This embedded programme led directly to the school’s attainment, in September 2015, of the Professional Development Quality Mark Gold Award for Professional Development practice. The report stated that Thomas’s Kensington has: “a very systematic, planned and organised approach towards Professional Development in the school”

Following this, and through the school’s links with Manhattanville College and Thomas Edison Community School, alongside the assistance of Professor Ferrara, Thomas’s Kensington was awarded the International Schools’ Award (Jan 2016) and I was invited to write a chapter for Ferrara’s most recent book outlining our project and my continued interest in pursuing research into both the theory and practice of CPD via an Academic-in-Residence model.

Winston Churchill Memorial Travelling Fellowship

Further to the pilot Scholar-in-Residence programme, I successfully applied for a Winston Churchill Memorial Travelling Fellowship in order to carry out further research into the parallels between my pedagogic aims and the Professional Development Schools (PDS) in the USA and Australia. Part of my motivation for this research was my increasing awareness of the de-professionalisation of teachers as well as the flaws that my team had encountered in the English initial teacher-training programmes. I felt strongly that university/school relationships and partnership work (preferably with an embedded Academic-in-Residence) is a model that is eminently replicable across English schools. The development of such a model would be one way to ensure that the very best staff will experience lifelong learning, which will, in turn, benefit all pupils.



LITERATURE REVIEWIt is readily recognised across the academic literature that school–university partnerships create opportunities for both teachers and academics to learn by drawing on each organisation’s knowledge and expertise (Bartholomew and Sandholtz 2009). Rather than identifying a direct link between professional development by university academics into schools, it is more useful to think of this exchange as a series of links between the two institutions leading to improvements in teacher development and professional practice which, ultimately, have an impact on student learning (Meiers & Ingvarson 2005). While very few longitudinal studies have been conducted and, indeed, Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman and Yoon (2001) point out that relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the effects of professional development in teaching or on student outcomes (see also Luke & McArdle 2009), sufficient research has been done to be able to draw some conclusions against which to interrogate the intent and content of the draft standards for professional learning programmes (Mayer and Lloyd 2011). It is important to note that a wide variety of reports have been critical of professional development being considered as something that ‘happens’ to teachers and that it is, therefore, linked to the individual capacities of teachers (Little 1993, McLaughlin 1964). Fullan (2007), indeed, has argued forcefully that ‘professional development as a term and as a strategy has run its course’ (p. 53).

In this context, the OECD’s large scale Teaching and Learning International Survey of 90,000 teachers and principals across 23 countries defined professional development as ‘activities that develop an individual’s skills, knowledge expertise and other characteristics as a teacher’ (OECD 2009 p. 48). Similarly Knapp (2003) points out that ‘professional learning refers to changes in the thinking, knowledge, skills and approaches to instruction that form practising teachers’ or administrators’ repertoire’) (pp. 112-113). The convergence in the literature emphasises, amongst other ideas, collective participation (Garet et al 2001, Kriewaldt 2008, Timperley 2008) and this collective participation is, in turn reflected in one of the most widely cited works in this arena, namely Hawley and Valli (1999) who synthesised much of the contemporary research in the US to propose a number of design principles for future effective professional development. Of particular interest in this context are the proposals that Hawley and Valli enumerated as:

• Professional development should be organised around collaborative problem-solving• Professional development should be continuous and ongoing, involving follow-up and

support for further learning – including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives’. (Hawley & Valli 1999 pp.137-143)

Meiers and Beavis (2005) identified ‘professional community’ as an important variable in the effectiveness of professional development and found that ‘a substantial level of professional community is vital to significant change (p.17). Teachers’ involvement in networked learning communities seems to lead to changed practices, philosophies, instructional time and collegial interactions (Borko 2004). The first line of collaboration is frequently the local university since ‘academics have the capacity to assist teachers in choosing the appropriate teaching methods and strategies for specific topics’ (Walsh and Backe 2013). In the same vein, the entire collaboration becomes an effective two-way professional development environment since schools can offer academics the ability to comprehend the realities of the classroom and, therefore, the necessary information for universities to design professional development interventions that address their needs directly. A number of researchers (e.g. Darling-Hammond and Richardson 2009; Desimone 2011; Guskey and Yoon 2009) describe the ideal conditions for professional learning which frequently - and explicitly - incorporate partnerships.

While it is recognised that ‘teachers require quality and sustained learning opportunities to change their ‘traditional’ practices’ (Hubbard, Mehan and Stein 2006), Putnam and Borko (2000) argue that learning and cognition are entrenched in social and physical contexts. This, again, renders learning an explicitly social process. For this reason, many scholars believe that teacher training is more effective when undertaken collegially, (Borko 2004; Darling-Hammond and Richardson 2009; Desimone 2011). In essence, teachers are likely to learn more, and more effectively, within communities of practice.

By 2000 three dominant models of such communities of practice (or partnerships) had come into existence (Furlong et al, 2000). Complimentary models involved very little integration between the school and the university. The collaborative model, as employed by the Oxford Internship Scheme, used learning from one field as a model through which to view experience while HEI-led partnerships became the dominant model. In 2005, 85% of ITE provision was still taught within the university sector. By 2015, however, this figure had reduced to a mere 32%. (Blessinger and Cozza, 2016).

High-quality professional development within the school environment has, thus, become standard pedagogic practice and now regularly comprises a thoughtful mix of both school-based and facilitated development experiences with key contributions from external expertise (Timperley et al, 2008; Cordingley et al, 2007). Although school focused, school based and school led, the training also needs to draw in and use external expertise where appropriate. External expertise may be offered in person, but it can also come through reading and online learning both of which will help teachers to connect theory and practice. External expertise provides the kind of critical friendship that offers challenge and support and stimulates new thinking (Stoll Harris and Handscomb, 2012).

As official Education Scotland advice now proposes: ‘Schools should be encouraged to draw on appropriately skilled individuals to enhance learning. Headteachers should determine whether these individuals may work directly with a class or on their own’ (The involvement of external experts in School Education 2012). It is also recognised that “empowering teachers to draw these additional resources to the classroom will help deliver a strong, diverse and pupil centred curriculum”.


OVERVIEW OF USA CONTEXTFollowing the 1983 landmark study ‘A Nation at Risk’, Professional Development Schools (PDS) in the USA were given the role of improving teaching and revitalising the profession. The Holmes Group, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy had all called for widespread change and recommended the professionalisation of teaching across the USA. The creation of the role of a ‘master teacher’ was part of a broader movement to create school-university partnerships, which would provide a ‘powerful tool to redesign the profession’. This new ‘master teacher role was referred to by a wide variety of nomenclatures (school based mentors, master teachers and university teachers) but all shared a common purpose - to encourage a renewal of the US teaching profession.

The theoretical proposal to create broader alliances, which would both reinforce and support the Scholar-in-Residence programmes led to the creation of Professional Development School Partnerships. These encouraged teacher training university departments to collaborate with PK-12 school partners on a systematic basis. (NCATE, 2001; The Holmes Group, 1986, 1990). Such partnerships, it was suggested, would be mutually beneficial for both teacher training programmes and PK-12 schools. The programmes would provide rich research material for colleges and universities while PK-12 schools would benefit from the expertise and knowledge base of the university education professors.

‘Educators in both schools and universities point to the gap between research and practice, and to the poor articulation between professional preparation and the real world of school reform. P–12 and university educators seek to develop the linkages that allow universities and schools to benefit from the relationship that is created between them.‘ (Standards for Professional Development Schools, NCATE 2001).

In ‘Walking in two worlds: master teachers serving in partner schools: (Teaching and Teacher Education’ 19(5) 515-a528 2003), Utley, Rhodes and Basile drew on these early proposals to articulate how a ‘master teacher’ might take a lead role in teacher education and help to foster the development of mentoring cultures. Their research indicated that it was the quality of mentoring which became the crucial factor for the success of the programme.

The Holmes Group, a coalition of USA education deans, soon emerged as the driving force behind school-university partnerships. ‘Tomorrow’s Teachers’ (Holmes Group 1986) and ‘Tomorrow’s Schools: Principles for the Design of Professional Development Schools’ (Holmes Group 1990) both proposed a pedagogic pathway which would encourage school leaders to create partnerships with local institutions of higher education. This work led to the creation of the National Association for Professional Development Schools’ (NAPDS), whose role is to support teachers’ practice through the cooperative efforts of university and school based personnel. As an additional response to research by the Holmes Group, South Carolina’s College of Education sponsored the first PDS national Conference in 2000. In 2008, the NAPDS published its first paper: ‘What it means to be a Professional Development School (NAPDS 2008) which identified nine essential elements for success. Since that date over 25 PDS partnerships have received an ‘Exemplary Professional Development School’ award.

The nine required essentials of a PDS:

1. A comprehensive mission that is broader in its outreach and scope than the mission of any partner and that furthers the education profession and its responsibility to advance equity within schools and, by potential extension, the broader community; 2. A school–university culture committed to the preparation of future educators that embraces their active engagement in the school community; 3. Ongoing and reciprocal professional development for all participants guided by need; 4. A shared commitment to innovative and reflective practice by all participants; 5. Engagement in and public sharing of the results of deliberate investigations of practice by respective participants; 6. An articulation agreement developed by the respective participants delineating the roles and responsibilities of all involved; 7. A structure that allows all participants a forum for ongoing governance, reflection, and collaboration; 8. Work by college/university faculty and P–12 faculty in formal roles across institutional settings; and 9. Dedicated and shared resources and formal rewards and recognition structures.


OVERVIEW OF AUSTRALIA CONTEXTIn ‘Becoming Critical’ (1986) Carr and Kemmis presented a rationale for the ‘teacher as researcher’ movement. Claiming that informed understanding about the practice of teaching emerges from practitioners’ reflexivity, Carr and Kemmis suggested that research and theorising have been largely ineffectual in improving the quality of teaching because educational research is not the exclusive preserve of experts but also in the domain of practitioners. They argued for a shift away from an empirical-analytic tradition with its traditional expert/novice split to a new paradigm in which knowledge is created by people in situations and is best understood by the participants in such situations (Jacknicke & Rowell 1987).

Stenhouse (1975. P159) suggested that the most promising way of overcoming the social and psychological barriers to teacher participation is through mutually supportive cooperative research between teachers and full-time researchers. Carr and Kemmis (1986. P161) built on this theoretical foundation to propose that it is the relationship between researcher and teacher that is most important. The researcher should become a ‘critical friend’ who helps the insider to make wise judgements in the process of educational transformation. This approach appears highly appropriate for school staff, who often remain sceptical of external interventions.

The theoretical work of Carr and Kemmis has a long history of practical implementation in Australia where programmes of ‘scholarly teachers’ working as ‘critical friends’ were developed throughout the 1990s, and where such practitioners were introduced into schools to put theory into practice in a mutually beneficial way. The active pursuit of this process led to the University of Melbourne foundation of the country’s first ‘clinical teaching’ MA programme led by Professor John Hattie at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. This innovative centre has made the city a hub for teaching research.

In a separate development, the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching has funded a two-year project to investigate the experiences of the newly appointed ‘Scholarly Teaching Fellows’ (STF) and how their role might be developed across the sector. By the end of 2018, there will be more than 800 STFs across four Australian universities: UTS, UNSW, UCanberra and Griffith. Amongst academics, there has been some resistance to this development, since their creation might be seen as threatening and a means to create more contracts for ‘freelancers’ to serve a student body that has doubled over the last decade.

An amended STF programme aims to overcome these obstacles by promoting STFs into teaching-research roles and thus bringing scholarship and job security back into academic teaching. The Office for Learning and Teaching has initiated further research to investigate the STF experience and to build a consensus on how to expand the programme.

The Office has, however, recognised that the most effective professional learning occurs on site (Cole 2012) and in context (Harris 2014). It has, thus, become Australian school policy to encourage schools to work directly with experts. (Sharon Clarke, Australian Council for Educational Research 2013, Camberwell, Victoria). Teacher-Scholar-Community Partnerships are, as a result, being formed across Australia with the primary aim of improving student motivation, attendance and behaviour but with a subsidiary aim of enhancing teacher development.


FINDINGS

AUSTRALIA CASE STUDIES

Case Study 1 - University of Sydney, School of Education and Social Work

Meeting with Dr Debra Talbot at the University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work.

Dr Talbot is a Lecturer in Education, Director of Professional Experience and Director of Professional Learning, She has more than 20 years experience as a classroom teacher, head of department in government and independent sectors and professional learning consultant, Her research areas are in teacher education, curriculum, pedagogy, and social justice,

I was particularly interested to meet Debra Talbot, having read of her longitudinal study: ‘Teacher education in partnership’, which undertaking an ethnographic enquiry into the formation of teacher education arising out of universities and schools entering into “partnerships” (2016-2020).As my first case study and research visit, I was mindful of the need to cover all the necessary areas for my research and I had sent Debra the relevant questionnaire in advance of my visit,

I began by summarising the project while Debra outlined some of her most relevant projects. She is involved in the training of teachers through their 5-year degree, with teaching practice commencing only in the third year. She also mentors newly qualified teachers and has developed close relationships with local schools with whom she has partnerships and is involved in their in-service training, for example, giving a lecture or training teachers in action research projects, which in turn feedback into their schools. Debra’s interest is in longitudinal reform such as the work being currently undertaken by herself and that of Gore and Bowe, “Quality Teaching Rounds” and the research of Debra Hayes and Bob Lingard (Hayes et al 2006, Lingard et al, 2016).

Debra described two specific partnership projects with a particular focus on Peakhurst Public School, where she is involved in continuing professional development and mentoring new teachers. This led to a more in-depth discussion about the specific work undertaken and the innovative practice of the school principal.

Standing outside the University of Sydney, Faculty of Education


Case Study 2 - John Monash Science School, Melbourne

The John Monash Science School, Victoria’s first specialist senior secondary school, focuses on Science, Mathematics and emerging technologies, and is located on the Clayton Campus of Monash University. The school and university formed a partnership specifically to develop a programme entitled ‘Raising Aspiration and Engagement in Science’. The Science School uses its affiliation with Monash University to strengthen student learning and develop new approaches to teacher professional practice, particularly in science. The overall aim is that the pilot’s findings should, subsequently, be rolled out across other Victorian secondary schools.

The major motivation for the partnership is the reinvigoration of secondary science teaching though a subsidiary aim is to help redress the decline in the numbers of students undertaking science-related courses in higher education. Monash University and the school work in partnership and the school uses a range of Monash facilities, including research and technical staff from the Faculties of Science, Education, Health, and the Arts. The university’s academics collaborate with the teachers to share specialist knowledge, which enriches the school curriculum. Initial findings suggest that two of the key platforms of the partnership are now being met: the creation of dynamic new science studies in the school (including in Nanotechnology, Marine Biology and Astrophysics) with the potential to re-energise interest in science and new pedagogies that more effectively engage students. The university’s academics and researchers collaborate with school staff to develop relevant lesson plans and courses, build capacity and establish strong networks. The partnership has now expanded to include two rural regions in Victoria – the Loddon-Mallee and Grampians Regions – as well as an exchange programme through which twenty Year 10 students from remote schools attend the science school for five weeks each year.

Contemporary learning space

The John Monash Science School and University Campus

Inside John Monash Science School

Andrew Chisholm, Assistant Head, Jo Ebner & Principal Peter Corkill


I began with an overview of JMSS with Peter Corkill, Founding Principal. He gave me some further context about the school which was built in 2010. As the first specialist science and technology school in Victoria, the school had a clear aim to have a high quality curriculum and pedagogy. (See Appendix A).

As the website states: “Students can study emerging science electives in fields such as nanotechnology, astrophysics, pharmaceutical science and bioinformatics. Through our partnership with Monash University, all Year 10 students are able to undertake an extended science research project with guidance from expert mentors”.

JMSS is selective and co-educational and now has 650 students from Year 10 upwards. Peter deliberately employed Leading Teachers from the 25 teachers he was able to initially employ at the outset (like the UK former advanced skills teachers) to become the heads of all the key departments.

The school is clearly thriving. Peter was awarded ‘Outstanding Secondary Principal of the Year’ last October in the annual Victorian Education Excellence Awards for Government Schools which highlights the work done for JMSS students as well as students and teachers in rural and regional Victoria through outreach programs run in Melbourne and online.

Students at JMSS are able to attend lectures at Monash University while MA students from the university work with groups of students in their school. About 90% of students go straight into STEM courses in tertiary education with a significant number going to Monash University. They already feel part of the university by virtue of being on the same campus. There is a synergy between the two institutions and the dedicated academic liaison officer helps fluidity and a real symbiosis.

After a tour of JMSS, I visited the new Monash Teaching and Learning Building with Associate Professor Gerry Rayner, Monash Academic Liaison, Faculty of Education. I witnessed the many opportunities for JMSS students to liaise and work within the university community and as Gerry said - they are truly punching above their weight. The building facilities enables innovative learning practices, challenging traditional methods such as lecturers teaching from the front of the lecture hall. There are flexible learning spaces with moveable computers (MoCow). It feels like an exciting and invigorating learning environment. Joint research projects are currently being undertaken and both the university and the school manage to attain mutually beneficial solutions.

I also met Sally Cheah-Johnson - Assistant Principal, Student Empowerment and Andrew Chisholm - Assistant Principal, Curriculum. It is clear that a great deal of care has been taken to enhance student well-being and build learner confidence. The majority of students are high achieving and there are support mechanisms in place for the students who have a high learning capacity and high expectations both from themselves and from their homes. There are 100 feeder schools with whom the school needs to forge relationships and there are also students from rural communities who live with host families during the week. Many of the students travel extensively to and from school. Andrew Chisholm talked passionately about the benefits of being based on the university campus and being at the cutting edge of research in science. The benefits of the students being able to attend lectures and work closely with academics make it an extremely stimulating place for both students and faculty. Monash university academics state that JMSS students are more university ready than many school leavers and readily able to access the curriculum.

At lunch, I also briefly met James Driscoll, Monash Academic, Liaison and Visiting Scientist at St Kevin’s College, Toorak and Associate Professor who is the current “Academic-in-Residence” both at JMSS and St Kevin’s.


Case Study 3 - Meeting at Wyvern House School, Sydney

Meeting and tour of school with Ian Holden, Headmaster Wyvern School, preparatory school to Newington College Boys’ School.

The headmaster of Wyvern had already established links with the headmistress of Thomas’s Fulham and I was keen to continue to develop this relationship.

We met and talked at length about the professional development on offer at Newington College. The strategic plan for 2017 was to:

• “Build a culture of evidence and research based Professional Learning Groups (PLGs) and teams on campus • Review emerging pedagogies for application in the Newington Learning and Teaching Framework • Investigate opportunities to build formal learning relationships with universities • Establish the College as an accredited provider of professional development.” (News Journal, 2017, Newington College internal publication).

One of the 7 areas of Newington College’s 2015-18 Strategic Plan is Quality Staff which states that the best possible outcome for pupils is to be taught by teachers who are highly professionally developed enabling them to maintain their position at the forefront of high quality teaching and learning. Ian Holden described several ways in which the school has made the ‘academic’ integral to its practice. The first is at the very beginning of the school’s relationship with its teaching staff. Newington has a long history of accepting student teachers on placement and has seen the benefits of the student’s practice being related to University based academic learning and vice-versa. As a result, in 2014, the school entered a more formal relationship with an academic partner - Sydney University. Strong links were forged between the School of Education and Newington College schools which led the school to establish a 12.5k AUD per annum scholarship for Yr 4 B.Ed students who would be seconded to the school for 1.5 days per week throughout the academic year. I met one such student who has a particular interest in Maths and Science and has been using this interest and expertise in her teaching experience at the school. Following a highly successful final year of her degree, during which she was a scholar on placement, this student was employed by the school to teach in year 1 in 2017 and she is now teaching year 6 in 2018. I also met a student teacher, Angela. Whereas the first student has been at the school for just over two years, Angela is at the beginning of her year as a scholar on placement. It is clear from their comments that the greater amount of consistent in-school experience (than the degree would normally allow) has accelerated the learning of the students, while the school benefits from the innovative practice of the scholars who are able to teach and to reflect on their practice with the guidance of academic research and theoretical support from the university course tutors and mentors.

The school uses academic underpinnings to its teaching practice in the way in which it builds “a culture of evidence and research based Professional Learning Groups (PLGs) and teams”.

Ian Holden and Jo Ebner at Wyvern House School


Case Study 4 - Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Meeting with Larissa McLean Davies, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education

During my investigation into the links between schools and universities in Australia, I made certain to approach John Hattie, as the Laureate Professor’s work is internationally acclaimed. Since 2011, Professor Hattie has been Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne. He is also the Chair of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), through which he provides national leadership in promoting excellence. Hattie had offered to assist me by meeting me at Melbourne Graduate School of Education but, unfortunately, he was not in Australia during my visit. He therefore arranged for me to meet Larissa McLean Davies, who is a senior member of his team.

Larissa has a PhD in Literary Studies and is an Associate Professor in Language and Literacy, and Deputy Director - Learning and Teaching in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. As Deputy Director, Larissa oversees the Master of Teaching Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary and Secondary Internship, and led the re-development of the Master of Teaching for re-accreditation in 2016. She is a Senior Researcher in the International Teacher Education Effectiveness Hub, where she leads research at the interface of pre-service curriculum development and teacher education effectiveness research.

In addition to frequent conference presentations, Larissa regularly talks about teacher education and a clinical approach to learning and teaching, and has given invited presentations at the House of Lords as part of the UNESCO Educational Futures Forum, at Oxford and Plymouth Universities, and for the Victorian Institute of Teaching and the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Larissa stated that the University has a long-standing belief in partnerships with schools. Federation University runs a Master of Teaching for both the primary and secondary phases (postgraduate, pre service degree), which is based entirely in school, whereas the programme at Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education is a 2-year full time degree in which trainees spend 3 days in the university and 2 days in school each week.

Larissa went on to explain that, historically, Primary Education was a generalist degree but the trend and demand is for teachers with more specialist subject knowledge. As all the students on the university’s MA course have previously taken a BA degree, all teachers are already subject specialists.

Larissa explained that this model is in keeping with the training programmes of other professions such as law and psychology in as much as it is considered to be a clinical model of teacher education (Darling-Hammond, 2014). She described their clinical model as comprising a “Teaching Fellow” (TF) who is embedded in a school. This person has to be someone with sufficiently high credibility to meet the needs of the role and receive the respect of the teaching staff. Typically suitable backgrounds include Vice Principal or a leading teacher of a school. The school appoints the TF and works within their school and others in the area or hub and the university pays the school for the TF at the rate of half of a teacher’s salary. An academic, referred to as a “clinical specialist” works alongside the teaching fellow. While the fellow is embedded in the school, the clinical specialist visits the fellow to provide guidance and support.

Larissa highlighted the fact that the university drives this clinical model. Usually the university invites a school to take part, with invitations only being issued to schools with which the university has an existing relationship. The university never tries to put in place the clinical model of teacher education at a ‘cold start’ school.

One challenge is the need for high calibre academics to become clinical specialists, which is at odds with the traditional measures of success in an academic career; strong links with schools have not, traditionally, been professionally beneficial so work has to be done to overcome this. Perhaps in an effort to overcome some traditional academic prejudices, the new Dean of Education of the university has not emerged from a traditional academic background and this is seen as a brave appointment.


Both Larissa and I felt that the teacher-training model in UK universities is more constrained, with quotas and target student numbers. There is, however, less difference between the two countries in terms of accreditation and teacher standards though Australian Master Teacher trainees must sit a Clinical Praxis exam (a panel exam) every semester, focusing on a particular aspect of their practice.

Jo Ebner on campus Jo Ebner meeting Larissa McLean Davies at MelbourneGraduate School of Education

Posters celebrating successful graduate teachers


Case Study 5 - Methodist Ladies’ College, Melbourne

Meeting with Diana Vernon, Principal, Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC), Melbourne

MLC is one of Australia’s leading independent girls’ schools which describes itself as an open-entry, non-selective day and boarding school, with a holistic vision that prepares women for their lives beyond school.

As it states on the website: MLC fosters an environment of lifelong learning through professional development programs to ensure that their highly qualified staff continue to grow and build on their knowledge and skills. The College provides year-round workshops and training sessions so that teachers can continue learning along with their students.

Diana Vernon began her career in corporate public relations before retraining as a teacher in London in the 1990s. She gained her first headship in Surrey before taking over as head of City of London School for Girls. Diana took over the running of MLC, already one of Australia’s leading schools and has overseen significant changes to the curriculum and structure of the school along development and expansion of its teaching premises and outdoor facilities.

Diana explained that she has focused on professional development and introduced Collaborative Practice Groups (CPGs). The school has signed up to use Assessment Research Centre (ARC) Online Tools from the Graduate School of Education at Melbourne University. This helps teachers to track the learning progress of each pupil with a report showing teachers how to link each pupil’s progress to teaching and learning. This benefits the pupils and develops the teacher’s practice.

The school has also signed up with Research Schools International, via Harvard University, to take part in a research schools’ initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between research and practice in education. To accomplish this, the university facilitates connections between RSI and the Harvard Graduate School of Education which inspires research-based innovation. As part of the project, 60 members of MLC staff signed up to take part in a two-year research project focusing on assessment for learning/formative assessment.

Within the project, Harvard provides the reading material and additional support is available via remote Skype video call. Two researchers from Harvard visit the school for several days to work with key staff and / or the learning groups. Teaching members of a learning group receive four staff learning sessions, plus additional support at INSET days for new and all staff. The learning sessions are in the teacher’s own time to undertake research for their own learning projects, the results of which then feedback to the school.

Examples of collaborations with Melbourne University include research into the future of lessons, with deeper thinking and learning, and the school was happy to enable longer lesson times to accommodate this. This involved setting up trial classrooms (in consultation with the university’s department of architecture) to look at the design of the learning environment, under the title ‘The LEARN Project’ (or Plans to Pedagogy), in which staff sought to understand how a school’s floor and lesson plans can affect pedagogy and support learning.

Diana’s strong emphasis on raising the expertise of teachers and standards of pedagogy is a reflection of Australia’s tough stance on teacher recruitment, where only UK overseas teachers with PGCE will be accepted, not those merely with QTS.

Diana introduced me to MLC’s Director of Staff Development and Research, Ms Christine Wintle, who emphasised the importance of evidence based development to the school.

Christine explained the school’s research projects in more detail, including:

• Assessment Research Online Testing (ARCots), which develops the teacher’s ability to differentiate learning, based on the tools data. • Plans to Pedagogy project, developing a vision for learning. • Research Schools International’s research-based innovation that supports students’ learning and well-being • MLC’s own action research within its professional learning groups.


The school’s role as one of 6 Victoria schools selected to take part in Project Zero which focuses on learning in and through the arts by drawing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to examine fundamental questions of human expression and development. Within this, Visible Thinking is a flexible and systematic research-based conceptual framework, which aims to integrate the development of students’ thinking with content learning across subject matters.

The school also has a 12-step action research model which runs over an 18 month period, with staff working in learning groups, each with individual teaching and learning goals, ensuring that the teacher’s CPD is as differentiated as the student’s.

At the school’s end of year conference ‘expert teachers’ run the workshop sessions and staff choose which sessions to attend. Christine explained that a huge variety of learning methods are made available to staff, e.g. Podcasts, e-books and online lectures and the school has recently published a journal online on formative assessment.

Principal Diana Vernon & Jo Ebner Methodist Ladies’ College, Melbourne


Case Study 6 - Wilderness School, Adelaide

Meeting at the Wilderness School, Adelaide with Jane Danvers, Principal and Chair of the Board of Senior Schools in Australia (SACE Board) and Heather de Blasio, Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence.

The Wilderness School in Medindie, Adelaide, is an independent girls’ school and one of the most academically successful schools in Australia. Established 134 years ago by the Brown sisters, the school has a strong sense of history and tradition. The school is non-selective with 800 girls from early years through to year 12.

The Principal, who has been in post for 11 years, is a true visionary who has established partnerships with universities since 2013. Alongside the Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence, Heather de Blasio, she has set up an extremely effective model, partnering with Harvard University and appointing an Academic-in-Residence, Ron Ritchhart, focusing on Project Zero, the Cultures of Thinking project (c.f. case study at MLC above).

Heather undertook study at the Assessment Research Centre in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne in order to build up her capacity to provide ‘onsite support for staff throughout the year’. Simultaneously, Michael Francis, Assistant Dean of Studies at Newman College, University of Melbourne, was invited to lead the whole school professional learning days at the start of each school term during 2015 and the first half of 2016. He was then invited to conduct follow-up visits each term to work with small groups of staff from across the entire school in a relationship that the school described as “akin to a ‘Scholar-in-Residence’ programme”. This two-way system provided ongoing, intense professional learning for on-site staff while also providing continuing academic input to Heather, who continues to attend global conferences with Jane Danvers, in order to maintain her teaching skills. Danvers and de Blasio’s work at the Wilderness School recognises that, in Australia, educational leaders are frequently appointed for their skills as classroom practitioners or their leadership potential, but often with little formal preparation prior to commencing their role. Heather’s stated aim is to support ‘teachers to continue improving as educators so that all students can progress’.

A focused and strategic plan for professional development, incorporating an embedded Academic-in-Residence, is now firmly established. The Principal commented that she felt it was imperative for the school to focus on one theory and idea and all work together as part of the school strategic plan. Sending teachers on professional development courses that only furthered their personal careers was not effective and, even if a few teachers went out of the school for professional development training, this had no impact on the whole school.

The current expectation is that all teachers work together for the benefit of the pupils. Teachers have a digital portfolio with a whole school strategic goal. The Director of Learning and Teaching oversees the model and the school has set up professional learning groups, which are cross curricular and cross age, throughout the school. All staff know that they are working on a project that will advance learning in the school.

The Wilderness School has built a strong learning framework and the learning of the teachers fits into the whole school learning environment. The school is seen as a centre of learning excellence and part of the budget is set aside annually to enable this to continue. There is also a teacher fellowship, which supports staff to attend the annual Harvard summer school. Staff appreciate the school’s culture and the fact that their professional learning is supported.

Jane Danvers says that staff have high credibility within the school and are now working across other schools to share good practice. Teachers also undertake Masters’ degrees in leadership and the Director of Learning is herself undertaking a PhD in middle leadership development


I also met Danielle Kemp, Head of House in a pastoral role and a middle school science teacher with responsibility for STEM. She has been involved in the Academic-in-Residence programme since its inception. Danielle feels that the professional development in her school is extremely well structured and has grown since the school’s first embedded academic, Lee Crockett. Danielle is a big fan of the Harvard thinking routines and the work being done with Ron Ritchhart. The cultures of thinking professional development programme has permeated throughout the school and she can clearly see that the quality of discussions from her pupils has improved and believes that placing teachers as learners is “super powerful“.

The current academic-in-residence attends some sessions on site with the teachers and also gives staff presentations and runs Skype sessions. Ritchhart has also worked directly with the professional learning groups and with the students. He also speaks to parents so that everybody involved within the school is aware of the programme. Jane Danvers believes that the programme has enabled students to become stronger thinkers and make huge strides. The school is currently carrying out its own research on impact.

I also had a tour of the school with Jodie Escott, Head of Development and Old Scholars. She was proud to show me the impressive learning and breakout spaces created especially for the girls. I have now seen this model in several Australian schools and it seems extremely effective.

The following day when I met Heather de Blasio, my view of the Wilderness School as a centre of creativity and innovation was reinforced. Heather’s role as Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence developed out of ‘Head of Teacher Excellence and Endeavour’. Heather works closely with Jane and established the school’s vision alongside the leadership team. She attends round table discussions where strategy is discussed though there are also shorter square table meetings where logistics and administrative matters are raised.

Heather first came across the notion of an embedded Academic-in-Residence while undertaking her Masters degree as this is well established in Australia. From the sample of schools I visited, this seems to be the case in both independent and public schools and across the age range. Heather explained that her first embedded Academic-in-Residence was educational entrepreneur, Lee Crocket, who began in 2013 and discussed learning competencies. Over a three-year contract, he worked with students and led whole sessions for staff while establishing professional learning groups. These learning groups were set up by the leadership team and intentionally mixed middle leaders and were cross age and cross curricular.

Heather describes herself as a strategic thinker and a horizon scanner and is constantly thinking with Jane how current research might enhance the school. Both Jane and Heather talked in-depth about how the time they spent together at conferences, such as ICOT (the International Conference of Thinking), is extremely worthwhile as they attend places that challenge their thinking. While travelling, their own ideas percolate and they work out the next best steps for the school. This thinking and reflection time seems to be imperative in enabling leaders to be creative and innovative.

Creativity, such as the embedded Academic-in-Residence project, is well supported by the equivalent of the school’s governing body (the Governing Council). which looks at how theory can work in evidence-based practice to enhance girls’ learning.

Both Heather and Jane talked at length about the impressive spin-offs that have occurred as a result of these partnerships. The school now has a Digital Collaborations Coordinator and a lot of work by the teachers is done through edu-blogging. Teachers in the school are keen to share good practice and explore current educational debate with some involved in professional learning networks on Twitter.

Staff are encouraged to attend the Harvard summer school and appreciate the teaching fellowship awarded to successful teachers. There is an awareness of inter-cultural understanding and staff engaged in their own learning have begun to gather data on how the girls have significantly improved in their own learning.


Heather talked about the positive influence of Pasi Sahlberg on her thinking, the former director general of the Finnish education system – and the author of Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? – Sahlberg is considered a leading expert on an education system that has become a byword for excellence.

We talked about the constraints of the British OFSTED system and how regular inspection is limiting innovation, creativity and development. Recent experience undergoing an OFSTED inspection, albeit one that described us as “outstanding in all areas” left me wondering about the political agenda of OFSTED and how we have been limited and constrained by their expectations and are unable to innovate as much as we would like.

Principal Jane Danvers & Jo Ebner Standing outside the original house of the Wilderness School

Touring the school

The Brown Sisters’ Drawing room

Outside the Wilderness School

Time capsule model of the Brown Sisters who established the school

Double contemporary classroom


USA CASE STUDIES

Case Study 1 - Central Cabarrus High School and University of North CarolinaCharlotte partnership

Tina Heafner is Professor of Education at the Cato College of Education, University of North Carolina. She worked alongside Catherine Averell of the Central Cabarrus High School to create the University’s first school-university partnership in a suburban location ten miles north of UNC. The high school is situated in an old mill and farming community with a rapid population growth rate and a high influx of multi-racial immigrants. 43% of the school’s pupils are eligible for free school meals. The school had a strong pre-existing partnership with UNC since teacher candidates (as student teachers are referred to at UNC) are required to complete thirty ‘service learning’ hours at a school as part of their teacher training and the school was an active participant in this scheme.

Heafner’s class met weekly in a Social Studies classroom and Averell, as Head of the school’s Social Studies department, attended all sessions and participated in the university methods class. In this way, she actively facilitated the programmed alongside Tina Heafner (and other colleagues) from UNC. Other school teachers are also involved in the modelling of instructional practices and in assisting teachers in the classroom.

The course is taught at the PDS high school site and the physical context has become part of the curriculum development. Heafner retains overall control of planning and coordination but takes into account the school’s views. Specific pedagogical strategies include targeted interventions while the university instructor facilitates teachers’ growth through weekly service learning reflections, guided reading analyses, instructional design tasks and observations. Teachers become both students and tutors in a scheme which enables dual points of view and the development of a continuing professional relationship as part of the service learning programme. The student teachers collectively design pedagogical tasks alongside the university instructor to learn how to promote effective student learning and to create tasks that provide opportunities for teachers to test methods while advancing their own pedagogic skills and content knowledge.

The Cabarrus pilot is one of a number of dynamic UNC pilots involving Scholars-in-Residence. Other innovative iterations of Scholars-in-Residence programmes include a pilot in which distinguished faculty and visiting scholars are invited to live rent-free in a student Halls of Residence. The Scholar-in-Residence, thus, has the opportunity to engage with students within an informal setting, promoting academic development while dismantling traditional hierarchies. The stated aim is for the Scholar-in-Residence to use the unique opportunity to share knowledge and experiences while increasing students’ ease with faculty interaction.


Tina had planned a full and interesting day for me. (See Appendix B). We began with a tour of the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNC). It was snowing quite heavily, so we did not walk around too much, but I got a sense of the extensive scale of the campus.

My first appointment was with Adam Myers who gave me a broad introduction to the University’s OSSEP clinical model which was the vision of Dr Heafner.

For one day a week the Professor-in-Residence (Adam in this case) goes to the high school and leads a session there for the student teachers - known in the USA as Teacher Candidates. The school enables the university to have a classroom that they can use on the premises. Students are placed with a class teacher for clinical experience (teaching practice in UK terminology) and they are then able to have a full debrief straight after the session with the Scholar-in-Residence.

The original model for this practice at UNC was based on the PDS model but has since been developed and enhanced. The fundamental belief is that it is crucial to be in a physical classroom for clinical based practice. UNC tries to ensure that students have experience in both urban and rural schools, since North Carolina is a vast district with culturally diverse settings.

I was able to observe two concurrent teaching sessions led by academics, Joyce Brigman and Adam Myers. In session one, the university students were talking about different school cultures of schools and students self-perception.

In Adam’s session, the students discussed clinical practice and the impact of their teaching sessions earlier that week. I sat in a small group with several students who were very positive about their experiences and the OSSEP clinical model. A meeting with Joyce followed in which she talked about the middle school programme and how this worked in practice.

All the academics I spoke to were very keen to emphasise that relationships are the key to successful partnerships and that the best ones arose when the principal of the school has been in place for a long time and there are long-standing links with the school.

Tina emphasised that North Carolina is, and has been, at the forefront of educational innovation and change for many years in fact since the Swann legislation on re-segregation. She was critical of the for-profit online schools, which are run by corporations and insist on online coursework as requirement for their courses. This model is not practical and although it serves high needs districts, it is preferable to work face-to-face with students.

I met Amy Good who is the Director of the MEd and MA (Teaching). She talked about the way in which the programmes are designed and how she organises the placements for the teacher candidates. She emphasised her work with the principals of her seven link schools and how she builds relationships with them. Amy operates as an Academic-in-Residence, teaching both pupils and her teacher candidates. She was keen to emphasise that the relationship is reciprocal. Amy gives her time and models how to teach for her students. Amy also teaches an entire semester to pupils in the school and is thoroughly embedded in it. Her goal is to ensure that her university students have a sustained school experience and that there is close collaboration between teaching candidates, teaching mentors and the academic-in-residence.

I met Paul Fitchett who is the Assistant Dean of Teaching and Innovation. He works closely with Tina and is redesigning the model for teacher placements and the academics-in-residence. Building on Tina’s original model, it is clear that the model at UNC remains innovative and creative, mindful of new legislation and mandates.

I also met the Dean of Cato College of Education, Ellen McIntyre. Ellen was keen to point out that UNC remains cost efficient and cutting edge. She described how UNC is simultaneously developing the residency programme and enhancing the teaching degree with coaching now also offered. Ellen emphasised that the aim is to raise standards and improve schools. She wants to establish a culture where teachers want to continue to teach and where student teachers thrive. Much emphasis is placed on diversity training in terms of race and class. We talked about the effects of national policies on the university and how these impact on all USA universities. UNC is keen to develop a lab school and enhance opportunities for all.


During the afternoon, I was privileged to visit the Central Cabarrus High School and to meet Cathy Averell whom I mention above. I also met Amy, Daniel and Trevor, all partnership teachers, who talked in detail about the practical aspects of the on-site project.

The partnership between Central Cabarrus and UNC has been hugely successful. There have been many positive spin-offs with student teachers often becoming full time teachers in the school. The long-standing and very positive relationship between the two institutions makes it an example of a very successful PDS.

Pupils in the school clearly benefit from the one-to-one attention. Approximately 25 student teachers use four classrooms and offer personalised help and support to the pupils. Some pupils were specifically targeted as needing extra help and their excellent progress was tracked. Tina is also involved in successful Saturday workshops for her MA teachers. I was also privileged to see the beginning of Tina‘s workshop at the UNC Charlotte City Center building and the STEM and Smithsonian workshop preparations.

All in all I felt that the Professor-in-Residence model worked extremely successfully at UNC, largely through Tina’s drive, dedication and initiative. Her vision has successfully developed over the past 18 years and she is now effectively succession planning so there are those who will continue to lead and run aspects of the partnership work, while others develop and enhance the original model. Tina continues to lead aspects of the OSSEP model as well as developing other projects within the university.

Student lecture as part of the OSSEP project Prof Tina Heafner outside the Central Cabarrus High School

Jo Ebner at the Cato College of Education

Cathy Averell & Tina Heafner


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS’ CONFERENCE, JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA

The annual National Professional Development Schools’ (PDS) conference occurred this year in Florida. I attended for the first time and was privileged to give a presentation, together with Professor JoAnne Ferrara, on the first day of the conference.

Prof JoAnne Ferrara & Jo Ebner after the presentation

Entry in PDS Conference Presentation Programme

Prof JoAnne Ferrara, Dr Michael Consuenza, Jo Ebner & Prof Dee Gomez


The three-day conference was a comprehensive gathering of global attendees, all of whom were interested in good practice in professional development schools across the USA. Some notable examples of excellent practice were at SUNY State University of New York, Buffalo particularly their International PDS projects.

Nancy Chicola - the Director of international initiatives, together with Pixita del Prado, the Director, outlined clearly how the PDS model established in 1991 had progressed over the 25 years and now had five active international partnerships which included Chile, Honduras and Zambia. The goal of SUNY Buffalo is to “globalise the teacher educator programme”, (Wendy Patterson, Dean). There are IPDS partner exchange presentations, student ambassador fellowships, action research projects being undertaken and a research assistant has been appointed to assess the impact of the IPDS.

The University of Georgia outlined three innovative programmes taking place under its auspices. Dr Janna Dresden who has been involved in the PDS movement since its inception, talked about how the first PDF school in Georgia opened in 2009 and how the area became a PDS District in 2011, with all 21 schools involved at various levels.

The University of Georgia is a large college of education that is keen on the model of theProfessor-in-Residence as high school teacher. Dr Sonja Janis, whom I interviewed separately (see below), described her work as an embedded professor-in-residence and Bob Capouzzo is also a Professor-in-Residence at an elementary school and set up Camp Dive, an innovative summer school for children.

I also attended sessions on Shaping the High School PDS (Armstrong State University and Richmond Hill High School), Next Generation Partnerships. East Stroudsburg University - Reinforcing the Initial PDS Experience with Alison Rutter, and a session with Dr Michael Cosenza, California Lutheran University and Donnan Stoicovy the current and incoming Presidents of PDS discussing the 9 Essentials, all of which I had selected from the comprehensive conference programme.

https://www.napds.org/2018conference/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NAPDS18_Program.pdf

Slide illustrating IPDS Partnerships


Case Study 2 - University of Georgia Partnership at Cedar Shoals

Sonia JanisUniversity of Georgia

BACKGROUND

Dr Sonia Janis is Clinical Assistant Professor in Social Studies Education at the University of Georgia (UGA). During the academic year 2014/15, she was invited to undertake a year in residence at Cedar Shoals High – a local school which had been selected to work in partnership with UGA, During that first year, 50% of Janis’ workload took place within the Cedar Shoals High premises where she was invited to co-teach one government class (one period) in the Freshman Academy alongside an in-house ‘government studies’ teacher. The government class was specifically designed to take place early in the school day so that Sonia was able both to participate in school staff meetings and to return to fulfil her university responsibilities each afternoon. In this way, she fulfilled the requirement to be socially, as well as pedagogically, embedded in both institutions.

Sonia initially served as the “lead teacher” with the co-teacher and the students in this government class continuously reporting to the Professional Development (PD) Classroom. Sonia collaborated with the teaching faculty and leadership team at CSHS through the following settings: Government Data Team meetings, Social Studies Department meetings, Freshman Academy meetings, Faculty Meetings and School Improvement (SILT) meetings. The learning concept was to enable an experienced social studies instructor to practise in a horizontal (collaborative, not vertical or top-down) model. This collaboration could then support the planning of a quality curriculum and learning experience throughout the high school.

After the successful outcome of Sonia’s first year at Cedar Shoals High, she was invited back during the school year 2015-16 with her hours at the school now increased to 75% of her timetable. She was again invited to co-teach one period of American Government/Civics in the Freshman Academy as the “lead teacher” in a co-teaching partnership with an in-house teacher who acted as the official instructor-of-record.

The horizontal model had proved so effective during its first year that Sonia was also invited to lead a section of the CSHS Social Studies Department Meeting in November 2015. She used this to share her stance on teaching and to demonstrate how enquiry-based learning could lead to the development of a series of formative assessments, which would access student understandings in innovative ways. She provided the department with six different formative assessment models that included opportunities for students to develop supported conclusions around big idea (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) questions associated with American Government/Civics (i.e.: Is there liberty and justice for all?).

Sonia’s innovations and ideas proved so popular that she was invited to extend her outreach beyond CSHS. The leadership team at another local school, Clarke Central High, asked Sonia to mentor three recent graduates who had been hired as American Government/Civics teachers. By the spring of 2016, Sonia had undertaken responsibility for the school-based mentoring of 29 teacher candidates across two sections of their education degrees. She also helped to set up formal and informal lines of communication between the leadership team and teachers at four local secondary schools. Sonia’s curriculum suggestions were also incorporated into the district’s online curriculum portal for American Government/Civics teachers.


Follow up conversations

As cited above, I met Sonia at the PDS Conference during her third year (2017-2018) at Cedar Shoals. She has now developed into an experienced practitioner who has worked across many schools in the local area and alongside many local institutions and authorities.

Sonia reported that her three years of on-site learning had enabled her effectively to support the teacher candidates in learning to teach. Her mentoring and presence had led to the successful utilisation of the teacher candidates in the PDS Social Studies Classroom at Cedar Shoals High. This work appears to have had a hugely positive impact on the students’ understanding of social studies’ big ideas (Wiggins & McTighe) through enquiry-based instruction (Parker). Sonia’s own learning continues to evolve and she now proposes to redesign her work beyond one classroom and into more secondary social studies classrooms throughout the school district. Sonia has now held discussions with the UGA social studies faculty about the possible implications and expansion of her work. She has conducted an analysis of the teacher candidates’ practicum experiences over the entire three-year period. This review has led her to propose an expansion of the scope of her work as Professor-in-Residence across all five secondary schools in her area (Cedar Shoals High, Clarke Central High, Clarke Middle, BHL Middle and Coile Middle). This redesign is intended to support and enhance the co-teaching model that the mentor teachers already use with teacher candidates. It would also enable Sonia completely to overhaul the curriculum and to integrate its new components with the candidates’ practicum experience in a perfect model of theory and practice combined. This model is intended to create the following additional benefits:

1. Increased Student Engagement: Additional sessions will allow the teacher candidates to facilitate small group work on all their teaching days. This should create a better learning experience for both the teacher candidates and the secondary students. 2. Social Studies Fair Support: The teacher candidates will be assigned a group of students to assist with a Social Studies Fair Project. Sonia will support the mentors who will, in turn, help support the successful completion of the projects. 3. Professional Learning & Mentorship: Sonia’s three years of active classroom experience have been invaluable in building up her knowledge skills and experience, as well as those of the in-school teaching staff. One major learning outcome was that it required this extended period of time for Sonia to develop her role in order effectively to mentor other teachers in their roles as mentors to new teacher candidates.

Sonia is hugely optimistic and a highly effective role model. I gained many valuable insights from hearing her presentation and in our subsequent discussions as well as from listening to her plans for the future.

Professor Sonia Janis lecturing about PIR List of University of Georgia & Clarke County School District Partners


Case Study 3 - George Mason University College of Education Partnership

Audra ParkerGeorge Mason University

BACKGROUND

George Mason University’s (GMU) College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has been engaged in PDS work with local schools since 1991. The Elementary Education programme collaborates with its school partners to address four shared goals that are central to the PDS philosophy: PK-6 student learning, pre-service teacher education, the professional development of practising teachers and collaborative inquiry in line with the recommendations of the Holmes Group. During its 24-year history, the programme has undergone four major iterations, each driven by feedback from all stakeholders and the University’s PDS Advisory group. The clinical faculty members who serve as classroom teachers have always played a key element in the programme and the CEHD own research literature clearly identifies the Academic-in-Residence experience as the single most important factor in a teacher candidate’s professional development.

Over the years, GMU has partnered with the various local school administrative divisions - Alexandria, Fairfax, and Prince William - in order to roll out the scheme to as many partner schools as possible, These partner schools are selected on the basis of diversity and socio-economic status while the structure of GMU’s training programme means that an effective means of implementation is already in place, as well as a declared commitment from all the relevant institutions. The pre-existing administrative structures make the programme effective and workable.

The aims of the training for the academics were identified as offering staff the opportunity to:

• Examine research on successful mentoring programmes for pre-service interns • Reflect in-depth on their educational philosophy and teaching techniques • Explore mentoring styles and identify their own style • Learn effective mentoring strategies • Practise the many responsibilities of a clinical faculty member (e.g., reviewing lesson plans; modelling best practice; sharing constructive feedback). • Perform self-assessments of their own instructional practices • Create projects designed to provide practical assistance to interns (e.g., materials that introduce teacher candidates to core teaching procedures)

Given the size of the teacher training programmes at GMU, it would never have been possible to offer the training to all members of the clinical faculty. As a result, participants were primarily drawn from the (Elementary Learning) ELED programme. This investment of resources enabled all ELED teacher candidates to become involved at a designated PDS partner school where they were mentored by a school-based Facilitator in parallel with a University Facilitator. During the 2016-17 academic year, the programme was expanded to incorporate five online modules as follows:

1. What’s New in Mason’s Teacher Education Program 2. Evaluation Standards and Common Assessments 3. Relationship Building 4. Supervision Observation and Clinical Supervision Cycle 5. Evaluating Your Teacher Candidate

These new modules served a dual purpose. Firstly, they provided a clear framework for conveying key information and, secondly, they helped to ensure that every clinical faculty member was exposed to the basic principles of mentoring. Professor Audra Parker, whom I met at the PDS Annual Conference and with whom I later had a follow up Skype meeting, noted that the following overriding educational protocols and ambitions had been identified and included in the modules:

• Training topics should include an understanding of the nature and structures of school/university partnerships, enhanced observation and feedback skills and navigating difficult conversations. • Practical observations of novice teachers, using the required protocols, should be undertaken.


• Virtual observations could be explored across all GMU induction programmes. • Training should, however, always incorporate face-to-face models while site-based and regionally-organised meetings of clinical faculty/mentor teachers should be regularly scheduled. • Clinical faculty members should be organised around a “train the trainer” model and should provide development and leadership opportunities for teachers to serve as school-based teacher educators.

While these digital modules have gone some way towards filling the pedagogic gap for clinical faculty members, Audra acknowledged that challenges remain:

• Resources remain limited and need constant refinement • Partnerships can be constantly improved.

My VisitMy planned visit to Audra’s school and university had to be cancelled due to heavy snow in Washington so we held a Skype call instead.

During our discussions, Audra described her vision of an advanced clinical faculty with a focus on novice teachers in shortage areas and high needs schools. She suggested that her model will represent a fundamental shift In GMU policy toward the practical application of academic theory and her hope is that the theory will help the programme evolve into a long-term model with sustainability and impact.

She pointed out that the online module in clinical faculty training currently consists of five, 3-hour components (a total of 15 hours of instructional time). While not currently compulsory, all clinical faculty working with GMU teacher candidates are strongly encouraged to complete the online modules which are, ultimately, designed to serve as the prerequisite for participation in a pilot scheme, which Audra is currently in the process of designing and implementing. This pilot would incorporate the equivalent of 30 hours of instructional time, spread across five additional face-to-face sessions with multiple instructional/meeting follow-up interactions after each session. Audra is currently in the process of identifying a suitable partnership school to host the pilot. She envisages that the pilot will mark the beginning of the expansion of the project so that, ultimately, all teacher trainees are able to attend future training at a host PDS site in their local area.

The snowy view from the hotel window!


Audra has delegated the design of the pilot to two colleagues who have extensive experience both in academia and in mentoring new teachers. They will each facilitate 15 mentees. In addition, they will work on the design in active collaboration with two school-based educators. Audra was extremely firm in her belief in the necessity of this collaboration since it should ensure that the ‘school’ voices are heard from the outset. This will encourage the school participants to become stakeholders in the project and it will, thus, help to create a team of active future facilitators built around a model of pedagogic enthusiasm and excellence.

The 45 instructional hours that make up the advanced training would translate into the standard CPD points that teachers already require. The move from a formal 3-credit lecture-based course to practical training modules will allow GMU to remain flexible and responsive in a constantly evolving environment and, while completion of the advanced clinical faculty/mentor training would not be compulsory for academics, Audra envisages that it would be strongly encouraged and that academics would, indeed, actively volunteer to participate.

She anticipates that the five sessions would occur in a variety of formats but that each would begin with a face-to-face regional meeting at a partner school, followed by small group sessions in participants’ own schools, as well as online sessions and discussions with mentors and university supervisors. This range of formats is intended to ensure the most responsive delivery of content, with each participant, school, and school division being offered the opportunity to supply individual input into the content and format of the training programme. This will help to ensure the collaborative nature of the programme.

Audra was keen to point out, however, that this model was the one that worked most effectively for the George Mason University Elementary Education PDS Network. She did not wish to be prescriptive and acknowledged that other school-university partnerships should thoughtfully determine the most effective approach for their own local context. In doing so, she commented, sites will organically answer the question “What is a PDS?” using their unique circumstances and each site’s response will be inherently and necessarily varied.


Case Study 4 - William Paterson University Professional Development School Network

Meeting with Nancy Norris Bauer, Betsy Golden and staff

“The William Paterson University Professional Development School Network is a partnership that shares research, resources and innovative practices to optimize learning for all”.

This is what is stated as part of the mission statement on the William Paterson University website and certainly my visit to the Roberto Clemente Community Middle School underlined this, ably demonstrated in one such partnership with numerous examples of exemplary practice.

The Director, Nancy Norris Bauer – also my host for the day – has been instrumental in appointing Professors-in-Residence in all the William Paterson university partnership schools. She has an overview and an awareness of what is required, particularly in the Title 1 schools of most need. An experienced administrator with 25 years experience working at the university, Nancy has been instrumental in making this partnership such a huge success. I visited the Roberto Clemente school and met the Professor-in-Residence, Betsy Golden and many members of staff – teacher candidates, newly qualified teachers and veteran teachers – with all of whom she was working closely and impacting on their professional learning. Having met several members of the team informally at the PDS conference, it was a pleasure to see them in their work setting.

This partnership with an embedded Professor-in-Residence showed the breadth, scope and opportunities for this model. Here at Roberto Clemente Community Middle School, there was also an Artist-in-Residence who had worked on several projects with teachers and pupils, including a cross-curricular project on Ancient Egypt using 3-D printers to make amulets.

The Professor-in-Residence who had been established in the school for 11 years sees her role as facilitator - identifying where teachers can go further offering “concierge services” of how best to go about this. Betsy stated that she was “born to serve”.

Although located in an area of extreme poverty, with gun violence and crime on the doorstep and children living in challenging conditions (e.g. being homeless), the staff and Professor-in-Residence talked at length about how the school must be a safe haven. Even with cuts to the budget, such as the removal of a school librarian, Betsy found innovative ways to include members of her book group working on a rotation in the school until she could come up with another, more long-term, solution.


Within the school, there was a shared sense of mission. Staff morale was high and the Professor-in-Residence was treated as a Co-Principal by staff and the Principal himself. The School Principal, Hector Montes, said that the budget (10K USD) for the Professor-in-Residence was worth every penny. Betsy works in 4 schools and is impacting the professional development in each one. I was extremely impressed with Betsy’s work. The school described her input as indispensable and all the evidence firmly suggested that this was the case.

(Link to video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=YD8PtZrijJk&app=desktophttp://steamempowerment.blogspot.com

Sign in the Roberto Clemente Community Middle School

Professor in Residence, Betsy Golden together with Artist-in-Residence and teacher colleagues

Prof Betsy Golden, Jo Ebner & Principal Hector Montes

Jo Ebner at the William Paterson University Campus

Nancy Norris Bauer, Jo Ebner & Betsy Golden

The William Paterson University Campus

Artist-in-Residence Maths design on staircase of school

Francisco Ocasio & Azaria Cunningham, now Middle School teachers having

undergone the partnership training at the William Paterson University &

Roberto Clemente school


Case Study 5 - Manhattanville College and Edison School PDS Partnership

Visit to Manhattanville College, Westchester (in partnership with Edison School)Professor-in-Residence, JoAnne Ferrara BACKGROUND

Manhattanville College initiated a small-scale Professional Development programme 18 years ago. This began with an examination and assessment of its teacher preparation programme. The school began a search for a partner school with which to share best practice. They ascertained that the school should be an urban or suburban, full-service, elementary community school that closely mirrored the College’s own demographic which was comprised, mainly, of immigrant children.

The Edison School was identified as a natural fit as it demonstrated academic success with a high needs, low-income population. It is a Title 1 (high needs) school with a steady increase in student diversity, larger enrolments and great student mobility (Schere 2005).

Manhattanville College Campus

Thomas Edison Elementary School


Currently Edison has 440 pupils in grades K-5 of whom 88% are Latin, 2% Afro-American and 6% Caucasian. Over 85% of the pupils are eligible for free school meals and 50% have English as an additional language. Since the arrival of a new principal in 1997, the school has demonstrated a dramatic increase in academic achievement, which staff ascribe to the school’s philosophy, which vows to:

‘strengthen the network of relationships between the child’s home, school and community; thereby, enabling students to come to school ready to learn and to experience academic success’.

The PDS partnership between Edison School and Manhattanville College was launched in Autumn 2002 by JoAnne Ferrara and is now in its 16th year. Over that period, 150 student teachers have received training. Each semester Edison staff identify students who need extra support and the Manhattanville student teachers provide individual instruction to these students. Additionally, the academic staff support the future teachers in school-wide community building activities which include reading circles, learning nights and parent engagement activities. 45% of Edison recruits are Manhattanville graduates.

Manhattanville also supports ongoing training for in-service teachers. These members of staff expand their professional knowledge and create mutually supportive learning communities. There are monthly Lunch and Learn sessions during which teachers discuss their practice in a less formal setting. All first and second year teachers continue to be mentored by Manhattanville academics, many on a weekly basis and mentors and mentees submit end of year projects at the end of each academic year. The teaching has been flexible and responsive and this year’s offerings for student teachers have included sign language classes and an ESL course (both following requests from staff). Furthermore, Manhattanville offers free or reduced tuition for Edison teachers to purse a Masters degree or additional certification. 34% of teachers have taken at least one of the professional development graduate courses.

Inside the mobile dental bus

Signage in Thomas Edison School

Mobile dental bus which offers free dental care at Thomas Edison School

JoAnne Ferrara with teacher candidates


Prof JoAnne Ferrara receiving award at PDS Conference JoAnne’s Award


The teaching is deeply embedded in the school framework and, in this way, is also hugely beneficial to the pupils. Student teachers facilitate the annual College to Career visit, which encourages all pupils to apply for college and eligible pupils to take advantage of a 50% tuition reduction if they choose to attend Manhattanville. Several college-level courses are also held at Edison each term, mainly focussed on English and literacy.

Prof JoAnne Ferrara who was and is Edison school’s first Academic in Residence. has become a leading innovator in the field. An inspirational leader, prolific author on the subject of PDS and recent co-editor of ‘Expanding Opportunities to link research and clinical practice’ (March 2017 - to which I have contributed a chapter) was of course the person who introduced me to the concept of the Scholar-in-Residence and to this research.

At the Professional Development Schools’ conference, JoAnne was awarded a prestigious award for her dedication and commitment to PDS schools. In my view, JoAnne has made a huge impact on the PDS movement and it was a pleasure to see this recognised at the conference.

I was privileged to visit the Edison School once again as my final visit in the USA and to also see Manhattanville College, with Prof Diane (Dee) Gomez, JoAnne’s colleague at the university and also a former Professor-in-Residence herself.

Dee took me to visit Bedford Hills School with a new Professor-in-Residence before I revisited JoAnne at the Edison school and it was interesting to see these two contrasting settings.

Case Study 6 - Visit to Bedford Hills School

In contrast to the William Paterson/Roberto Clemente and Manhattanville/Edison partnerships cited above with Professors-in-Residence who had been in post for many years, Bedford Hills has only had a Professor-in-Residence in place for a few months. Relationships are still in the process of being established between the professor and the school and it was clear from my visit that the process takes time and requires significant investment from both parties in order to be successful. Dr Mary Coakley-Fields, the professor, was enthusiastic and clearly wanted to make a difference but was still in the early stages of implementing her programme.

It was difficult to draw any conclusions from this visit other than to recognise that a successful Academic-in-Residence programme requires a number of elements to work together in order to be effective. A key element, however, is the dedication of significant amounts of thought and resources to the selected institution and a prolonged commitment to the programme.

Summary Analysis of Questionnaires

An analysis of the responses in the questionnaires that I handed out to teachers reveals universal support for the concept of the Academic-in-Residence. All teachers found it a rewarding experience with teachers making declarations such as:

‘This relationship is a win-win-win’ and ‘I truly did not realise my growth potential’. Everyone mentioned that it has been genuinely helpful to their professional practice to learn from a more experienced individual with extra insight.

The only mild caveats to this almost total approval were suggestions that even more interaction and time would prove beneficial.

Academics’ responses to the questions on their questionnaire were equally positive. A few stated that their confidence in the classroom prior to the residency was quite low but that, while the experience had been challenging, it had also been much more rewarding than they had anticipated and it had helped to enhance their professional practice. Others stated that, while their original confidence levels had been high, there were still many aspects of classroom teaching that had surprised them. They had not expected to encounter resistance from the student teachers (several of whom thought that the academics might be ‘out of touch with the reality of the classroom’). All academics declared that they are now more aware of the daily stresses and strains of classroom teaching practice and several stated that, as well as broadening classroom learning more generally and acting as a ‘critical friend’, they felt that the great advantage for the student teachers was that: ‘this “third space” allows the freedom for new opportunities to be developed’. All the academics stated that they had genuinely enjoyed the experience and felt that their own teaching had been enhanced.

Dr Mary Coakley-Fields with group of teacher candidates

Teacher candidates with pupils Signage in the school


ConclusionMy research questions, and the rationale behind each of my school and university visits, were, ultimately, framed as follows:

1. Is a Scholar-in-Residence a valid and useful concept?

Further to my own employment of the Scholar-in-Residence model, my collaborative discussions at the Professional Development Schools’ Conference (Jacksonville, Florida, March 2018) and my visits to a number of schools across the USA and Australia, it has become abundantly apparent that the Scholar-in-Residence model can become a powerful tool for improvement and development both for members of teaching staff and for the pupils themselves. An unexpected finding is that it is also a valuable growth tool for the Academics.

2. If it is, what needs to be implemented in a school in order for the Scholar-in-Residence to be most effectively employed?

The schools in which the Scholar-in-Residence model was most effectively employed are the ones where the Scholar-in-Residence has been properly, and profoundly, embedded in the school’s daily framework. Relationships need to be built up in order for the Scholar to feel supported and for the staff to feel engaged and included in the design and implementation of the programme. Scheduled informal and social interactions appeared to be one key factor in the success of such programmes but other important factors were constant observation, self-reflection and mutual support. The academic-in-residence programme needs to be embraced, and actively supported, by all parties in order to be successful. Both the partner school and the university need to commit to the programme over an extended period of time for it to become truly worthwhile.

Recommendations Following my Fellowship, I intend fully to incorporate the positive aspects of my observations into my daily school practice. My recommendation to my own school’s proprietors would be to appoint a new Scholar-in-Residence, but one with an improved and modified role, fully supported by an engaged academic institution. I would encourage my staff to collaborate, and socialise, with the resident academic as much as possible and to enjoy the opportunities that this new academic relationship would enable. Theoretically, I would recommend that the scheme be rolled out across the other four schools in the group. This expansion would depend on many administrative and governance factors but I am keen to disseminate my findings to staff and governors in such a way as to make the concept of the Scholar-in-Residence seem as useful, interesting and fundamentally positive as I have found it to be following my visits to the USA and Australia.

More widely, I intend to disseminate my findings at conferences and in journals and continue to expand and develop my research through my Doctorate in Education with the hope that my findings may influence policy in the future.


Date Monday 26 February 2018

Time 9.00am - 2.30pm

School / Organisation Thomas’s Kensington (UK)

Visitor Miss Joanna Ebner, Headmistress Thomas's Kensington London W8 5PR 0207361 6500 [email protected]

JMSS Location 39 Innovation Walk Monash University VIC 3800 (Corner of Wellington Road and Dandenong Road/Princes Highway)

JMSS Phone +61 3 9905 1002

JMSS Liaison Amanda Stephens Manager, Outreach Programs and Strategic Partnerships [email protected] Ph: (03) 99020289

Car Parking No car parking is available on-site.

Purpose Ms Joanna Ebner, Headmistress of Thomas's Kensington, an independent London Preparatory School, has been awarded a 2017 Travelling Fellowship to visit the USA and Australia to research the value of schools having an embedded academic or scholar in residence. She is part of a growing school of thought that believes school improvement and initial teacher training is best driven through academically underpinned training and professional development that bridges the gap between theory and classroom practice.

Itinerary 9.00am - Arrival 9.30am - Overview of JMSS - Peter Corkill, Principal 11.00am - Tour of new Monash Teaching and Learning Building - Associate Professor Gerry Rayner, Monash University 12.30pm - Meeting with Sally Cheah-Johnson - Assistant Principal, Student Empowerment 1.00pm - Meeting with Andrew Chisholm - Assistant Principal, Curriculum 1.30pm - Lunch (Monash Club) - with James Driscoll, Monash Academic Liaison and Visiting Scientist at St Kevin’s College, Toorak and Associate Professor, Gerry Rayner, Monash Academic Liaison, Faculty of Education. 2.30pm - Return to JMSS


Appendix A

March 14, 2018

Miss Joanna Ebner Winston Churchill Fellow

Headmistress Thomas's Kensington

17-19 Cottesmore Gardens, London W8 5PR [email protected]

Time (EST) Location Conversation

Leaders Topic

7:30 AM Hotel pick up Tina Heafner 7:45 AM to 8:15 AM University of North

Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte

Tina Heafner Brief campus tour

8:15 AM to 8:45 AM MDSK Conference Room COED 321 C

Adam Myers Introduction to OSSEP Clinical Model

• SECD 4140 • MDSK 3151

8:45 AM to 9:15 AM COED 165 Joyce Brigman Class Visit for

Observation of OSSEP

• SECD 4140

9:15 AM to 9:30 AM Break 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM Cato COED Room

165 Adam Myers Class Visit for

Observation of OSSEP

• MDSK 3151

10:00 AM to 10:30 AM MDSK Conference Room COED 321 C

Joyce Brigman Discussion of OSSEP Clinical Model

• SECD 4140 • MDSK 3151

10:30 AM to 11:00 AM MDSK Conference

COED Room 321 C Mike Putman, Ian Bins, and Amy Good

IBM: Integrated Methods Block Introduction


Appendix B

Joanna EbnerChurchill Fellowship Report 2018

EMBEDDING A SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WITHIN OUR ......Schools” (Bor et al 2002). In 2006, Jo was...

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Transcript of EMBEDDING A SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WITHIN OUR ......Schools” (Bor et al 2002). In 2006, Jo was...