When it comes to identifying levers that make a real impact on children’s learning, effective professional development is arguably the single most important one.
Quality of teaching is critical to the success of students and it is that realisation – underscored by a mounting body of academic research evidence – that is shifting the focus of schools’ appraisal processes and CPD to focus on maximising those teaching skills, promoting collaboration and targeting precise areas of practice.
When we asked BlueSky users what they regarded as the main purpose of professional learning in their organisations, more than 90% said it was to improve the quality of teaching, with 75% opting for its impact on pupil outcomes.
It sounds relatively straightforward, doesn’t it, but it is fiendishly difficult to accomplish using the traditional paper-based approach (see case study). Thankfully, more and more schools are leaving those professional development and appraisal folders to gather dust on an office shelf and are instead adopting digital systems that can more easily bring that ideal within reach.
A step by step approach