Season Two, Episode One: Tom Garry and Matt Swain (Supporting Early Career Teachers)
Apr 17, 2021
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Listen to educators Matt and Tom discuss teacher development, early career support, and building a coherent curriculum. They emphasize the importance of continuous professional development, bravery in educational change, and the parallels in learning needs between teachers and students. Discover valuable resources for developing great teachers and insights into improving teaching practices.
Implementing deliberate practice is crucial for effective teacher development.
Training should focus on high leverage teaching concepts and pedagogical content knowledge.
Curriculum-based teacher development helps build a narrative of skills and knowledge.
Teachers need systematic training in essential areas like behavior management and questioning techniques.
Balancing depth of knowledge with practical utility enhances teaching effectiveness.
Continuous improvement in core teaching skills is prioritized over flashy lessons.
Deep dives
Key Principle: Deliberate Practice and Application
Deliberate practice is key to effective teacher development, emphasizing the importance of practicing teaching techniques before implementing them in the classroom. Ensuring that training is immediately applicable and useful in every lesson, rather than just for short periods, helps teachers hone their skills effectively.
Focus on High Leverage Concepts and Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Emphasizing high leverage teaching concepts and pedagogical content knowledge, training is designed to provide teachers with the essential knowledge to improve their teaching practices effectively. Understanding that teaching well goes beyond subject knowledge, ensuring that teachers can effectively convey concepts to students.
Curriculum Approach to Teacher Development
Adopting a curriculum approach to teacher development, focusing on building a progressive narrative of skills and knowledge that teachers can apply in their classrooms. Ensuring that training materials are structured like a curriculum, with foundational concepts leading to more complex pedagogical strategies.
Coherency and Application in Training
Providing coherent and applicable training materials that align with the progression of skills needed in teaching. Ensuring that teachers undergo systematic development in essential areas such as behavior management, checking for understanding, questioning techniques, scaffolding, and modeling.
Balancing Depth and Utility in Training
Striking a balance between depth of knowledge and practical utility in training materials, focusing on fundamental teaching pillars while enabling teachers to implement these concepts effectively. Investing more time in essential concepts that matter and promoting deliberate practice in key pedagogies.
Continuous Improvement and Refinement in Teacher Development
Encouraging continuous improvement and refinement in teacher development, striving to do less but better with a vehement focus on mastering core teaching skills. Prioritizing the sweat-the-basic approach to teaching, ensuring teachers excel in essential areas rather than focusing on flashy lessons.
Importance of Practicing Deliberately in Teaching
Practicing deliberate actions in teaching, such as refining explanations, adjusting positioning, and modulating tone, can significantly enhance teaching effectiveness. It is crucial for teachers to focus on mastering the small details to continuously improve.
Value of Quietly Excelling as an Educator
Finding inspiration in educators who quietly excel in their work, consistently delivering high-quality teaching without seeking recognition. Recognizing the value of consistent hard work and dedication in improving teaching practices.
Emphasizing Deliberate Practice in Professional Development
Encouraging school leaders to incorporate deliberate practice into professional development to enhance teaching effectiveness. Utilizing resources like 'Practice with Purpose' to understand the benefits of focused, intentional practice in educational settings.
Evaluating Impactful Use of Time in School Systems
Advising leaders to evaluate how time is allocated in school systems and prioritize activities that enhance teaching and learning. Encouraging leaders to be brave in betting on teacher development and curriculum improvement by focusing on impactful strategies.
Creating Time and Prioritizing Impactful Practices
Encouraging leaders to examine time allocation in schools and make necessary cuts to prioritize impactful practices. Emphasizing the significance of time as a valuable commodity in improving teaching and learning outcomes.
In this episode, Matt Swain and Tom Garry join me to talk about all things teacher development, how the beginning teacher landscape is changing in England and what signs of promise they look for in the early career teachers they work with.
Show notes can be found a www.thinkingdeeply.info
Tom is the author of Mastery in Primary Mathematics: A guide for teachers and leaders - a book well worth checking out for those interested in primary mathematics.
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