Case Study
Introduction
This case study examines the idea of teacher initiated and organised CPD events, called TeachMeets, that generate free content & the opportunity for teachers & other educational professionals to share knowledge across a local, national & international context. The results of this case study indicate that the model itself is applicable to a range of different settings (including staff meetings and classroom situations) and provides, with the support of educational businesses & providers, an additional template for developing CPD in educational settings.
The aims of this case study were to report on the effectiveness of the event based on teacher feedback, their perception of how it impacted on their classroom practice & also to gauge how realistic it is to have teachers organise their own CPD.
Author’s disclaimer: Most case studies I’ve read are formal. But that’s not what this one is going to be like. In this particular case study, I’ll incorporate some facts, some quotes & some statistics, but also some personal opinions & preferences. The simple fact remains true that each individual TeachMeet around the country is different to any other. The model is the same, but the realisation is unique to the organiser & specific circumstances of the event itself.
Context
Origins:
TeachMeets are an idea that was spawned by some innovative teachers about 5 years ago, specifically one, Ewan McIntosh. The idea works on the premise that in any organisation, there are a number of people who have different strengths & weaknesses. Rather than going to outside agencies to address these, it is possible, through co-operation to share ideas that result in all staff members having access to them.
TeachMeets started off all about technology in the classroom. Teachers would come together and talk about something that they had done in class which had worked – and impacted on children’s learning. This could have been a piece of software, a self-assessment system, a way of engaging them – anything really. The only rule for these events was that you shouldn’t sell your idea, you should share it. Th emphasis was on the vast array of free & available technology, courtesy of the internet Web2.0 technology boom.
A TeachMeet is an organised (but informal) meeting (in the style of an unconference) for teachers to share good practice, practical innovations and personal insights in teaching with technology. These events are often organised to coincide with other educational events like the Scottish Learning Festival and the British Educational Technology and Training Show BETT.
Participants volunteer (via the TeachMeet website) to demonstrate good practice they’ve delivered over the past year, or discuss a product that enhances classroom practice. [1][2]
TeachMeet events are open to all and do not charge an entry fee.
Wikipedia Entry for TeachMeet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeachMeet
My role in the process:
I first attended a TeachMeet in October, 2009. The event was organised by an Assistant Headteacher of a Manchester school called Steve Kirkpatrick, and was being held at the Salford City Learning Centre (BBC 21Century Classroom). There were around 20 people there and I later found out that there were around the same number of people again online. The event gave me access to a range of activities & resources that I had not realised existed and I used them immediately to impact on classroom practice around the school. *please see appendices for a full list of web2.0 technology that have been talked about in TeachMeets* With a colleague, Tom Sale (who had told me of the event and with whom I attended) we set about organising an event in Blackpool in January 2010. This event was reasonably successful & we were approached by the LEA & asked if we would run another event in June to coincide with the Blackpool Innovation Awards, which were being presented by Professor Stephen Heppell.
Methodology
The basic premise of the event was to afford people the opportunity to share their experiences and create a wealth of resources to draw upon.
The theory of sharing collective knowledge is not a new one. We have always disseminated information in this way, but mostly it has come from a ‘Sage on the Stage’, rather than the power of the collective. In this instance, the idea was to combine both roles. The collective produced the sage who was willing to share what he had learned with others. This type of ‘paying it forward’ CPD is an excellent model for sharing good practice in classroom situations too.
We were fortunate to be able to pull in a ‘name’, Professor Stephen Heppell, who was working in Blackpool at the time. Our Senior Primary Consultant, Adrian Metcalf, brought him along.
Observations
In previous TeachMeets, I had observed a certain type of teacher. One to whom technology was to be embraced & utilised – some one willing to have a go. Tom Sale & I were keen that this time, all staff from the local area would be afforded the opportunity to see the amount of learning tools available (without the Geek tag being applied).
We wanted people to have access to not just technological talks, but also good practice as well. Some of our presentations were theoretical, others a retelling of the process of change in the curriculum. In essence, we wanted to broaden the model to fit the people attending, rather than fitting the people attending to the model itself.
As a result, we included a questionnaire with each of the goody bags for people to fill in and rate the event, so that we can gauge how it has impacted on different stakeholders in different ways.
The feedback from the questionnaire was overwhelmingly positive.
Stats are as follows:
Q1.
Q2.
Q3.
Q4.
Q5.
Points to improve were the element of time keeping. I admit, we let people overrun, my fault completely, but we made sure that all people who were signed up to speak were able to. There was also a strong lean towards technology, as the history of these events has dictated a strong emphasis on this.
Discussion
The buzz generated from this event has reached further that either Tom Sale, co-organiser & teacher at Mereside Primary School, Blackpool or I could have anticipated. In the recent Blackpool Borough Headteacher’s Conference, the stand out of the year went to the TeachMeet. Both Tom Sale & I were awarded Innovation Awards at the Blackpool Digital Media Awards for creating the event. But mostly, the success has been at the chalkface, with teachers using the technology & examples that were talked about.
This discussion has developed into opportunity. Blackpool, as a borough, through the support of all Primary Headteachers, want to run an event on a termly basis. This has meant a real shift in perspective in the way that CPD events can be run. The hope is that, with the inevitable cutbacks in educational spending, teachers will still be able to access training and development opportunities, either through attending an event – or potentially running one.
Conclusion
The event itself was a great success. It was the largest of its kind, attracting teachers and educators from all parts of the country. It wouldn’t have been possible to have organised it without corporate sponsorship. If anyone is considering running an event like this, it is imperative to plan your budget and work to it. We ran an event in January without sponsorship and it worked well, but was a third of the size of this latest one.
Having Senior Management supporting you too is essential. As all teachers know, heads talk to each other and if you have enthusiastic advocates at different schools, they create a buzz which is transferred to their respective workforces.
In conclusion,
References
Blog posts of teachers & educators that attended
Jan Webb (Microsoft European Innovative Teacher Award Winner 2009) http://bit.ly/bIPOmA
Bev Evans (ICT Teacher & creator of www.communication4all.co.uk) http://bit.ly/bczx6r
Zoe Ross (Head of IT) http://bit.ly/9SVuj6
Dianne Spencer (Head of Heathfield Primary) http://bit.ly/btrz5o
Michael Shepherd (Head of Hawes Side) http://wp.me/pvUIF-4p
http://teachmeet.org The collective wiki for all TeachMeets around the world.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Typeface Creative and Natalie Jay Weaving, Jan Webb. Jan Webb said: RT @mister_jim: If anyone has time to help me out, pls can u check http://teachmeetbpool.hawes-side.net/case-study & gimme some tips? [...]