University of Sunderland, Gateshead College and East Durham and Houghall Community College (EDHCC) - Case Study for the Observation of Teaching Pilot
Introduction and background to the project
The University of Sunderland has worked in partnership with Gateshead College and East Durham and Houghall Community College (EDHCC) in delivery of their franchised Certificate in Education/Professional Graduate in Education (PCET) programmes for 10 years. There was, therefore, already a very strong working relationship between the providers.
Gateshead College had introduced the use of coaching as a form of continuing professional development (CPD) for practising and experienced teachers in November 2003. This was a new approach for the college, and initial feedback from teachers indicated that coaching was successful in moving their practice forward. The approach was particularly effective with teachers new to the profession. This led us to ask ourselves whether a similar approach would be as successful within our initial teacher training (ITT) programmes.
We established a collaborative project team, drawing on the different expertise of the three institutions, to explore whether the use of coaching could be beneficial to the observation process for trainee teachers studying towards Certificate in Education (CertEd) and Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes of study in the three institutions.
Key idea
"Would a coaching approach improve the effectiveness of the observation process for trainee teachers? Would a coaching approach be suitable in this context?"
Aims
The general aim of our pilot was to investigate the potential of using coaching methods as the main basis for teaching practice observations for CertEd and PGCE students from a range of curriculum/vocational backgrounds. The pilot tested the feasibility of such a model being delivered in two general further education (FE) colleges and the university.
Objectives
The main objective was to produce measurable performance outcomes which allowed the coaching model to be tested as a model for observation of teaching practice in ITT.
Our objectives were to:
- produce data and evidence to contribute to the wider research taking place in this area
- establish teams of learning coaches across the three institutions, who would be responsible for the delivery of theory and the coaching/observation process
- establish three groups of ten students from a number of curriculum/vocational areas, including the work-based learning (WBL) sector
- develop observation documentation to support a coaching model of observation
- develop a ‘coaching diary’ to provide assessment/evaluation and to audit the evidence which each member of the group would complete
- carry out three coaching cycles with each student during the course of the academic year
- determine the time allocation required to support a coaching model for observation
- support three groups of trainee teachers who had made significant progress in their learning/development and practice and who had developed a high degree of awareness in terms of evaluating their own performance and transferring that for the benefit of their learners
- develop a clear and robust symbiosis between the consortium staff and the Standards Unit.