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This article was downloaded by: [University of Connecticut] On: 10 October 2014, At: 05:57 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK British Journal of In-Service Education Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjie18 Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training David Tomley a a Leicester University School of Education Published online: 12 Sep 2006. To cite this article: David Tomley (1993) Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training, British Journal of In-Service Education, 19:2, 41-49, DOI: 10.1080/0305763930190208 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305763930190208 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

This article was downloaded by: [University of Connecticut]On: 10 October 2014, At: 05:57Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

British Journal of In-Service EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjie18

Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher TrainingDavid Tomley aa Leicester University School of EducationPublished online: 12 Sep 2006.

To cite this article: David Tomley (1993) Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training, British Journal of In-ServiceEducation, 19:2, 41-49, DOI: 10.1080/0305763930190208

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0305763930190208

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in thepublications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representationsor warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Anyopinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not theviews of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should beindependently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses,actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoevercaused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

David TomleyLeicester University School of Education

Action Plans and Action Planning are appearingeverywhere in educational circles. For many, it wasprobably school development plans1 that broughtthe phase to the forefront, although in work-relatedtraining schemes initiated through the EmploymentDepartment, the practice of Individual Action Plan-ning has been common currency for some time.The Confederation of British Industry,2 the CareersService information,3 the joint White Paperpresented to parliament by the Secretaries of Statefor Education and Science, Employment, and Walesin May 1991 — Education and Training for the 21 stCentury4 have all served to raise the profile ofIndividual Action Planning over the last few years.

This paper attempts to explore the concept of In-dividual Action Planning and to indicate how theprocess is being used by one university in the in-itial training of teachers. Finally it looks at somelikely future developments and the part that In-dividual Action Planning can play in bridging thetransition from Initial training to induction and intothe continuous professional development ofteachers.

The concept of Individual Action PlanningIndividual Action Planning involves both a pro-

cess and a product.As may be inferred from the name, a plan of

action is produced which is pertinent, relevant andsignificant to a particular individual at the time itis produced. This product — the Individual's ActionPlan — states what action will be taken by that in-dividual and by when it shall have been taken. Theprocess of Individual Action Planning leads to theproduction of that plan. However, this shortdescription does not do justice to the total concept.

We all make plans. They may range from fan-tasies and wildest dreams to the detailed step bystep planning necessary when going on a complexjourney. However, in the context of education andtraining, the process and practice of IndividualAction Planning always involves guidance from andnegotiation with a knowledgeable other. The pro-cess is underpinned by a comprehensive tutoringprocess. It is not casual, haphazard or informal, but

takes place in a regular and systematic way, withina supportive and structured tutorial framework.

Ashworth (1990)5 in an unpublished paperdefined Individual Action Plans as: —

'A statement of learning need derived from acomprehensive counselling and guidanceprocess'

To this working definition he later inserted: — 'andthe means of meeting that learning need'6

recognising the outcome of the 1:1 discussionshould include a consideration of how the ex-pressed need could best be met and who might helpto meet it.

This working definition has come to include atime dimension too, so that not only is there aprioritising of targets but also an indication of datesfor meeting them and what has to be done in orderto reach them.

In addition the language used to describe ActionPlans and Action Planning has evolved. ActionPlans are statements expressing intent. They mayhave academic, vocational and/or personal dimen-sions. They express an individual's targets forthemselves over the next phase of their develop-ment. This phase may be of variable duration, andthe purpose of the Plan will determine its nature.

Action Planning is a way in which individuals canmanage their learning. It gives them a degree ofresponsibility for and control over what they do. Byhaving negotiated targets, it prioritises their use oftime. It gives a framework that they themselveshave helped produce — and hence an ownership— within which their learning and developmentmay proceed.

There has been some discussion on the stagesor components of the Action Planning process, andhow the process relates to the recording of achieve-ment. Both recording achievement and action plan-ning are part of a continuous on-going process ofplanning, doing and reviewing. Just where thecycle is broken into is relatively unimportant. Allthree components are essential to effectivemanagement of learning, although, if pressed, Iwould argue that the planning process drives thecycle. In order to plan properly you first need to

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know where you are going; you then need to ascer-tain where you are; then to consider the variousroutes open to you; then to choose a route bear-ing in mind any constraints or particular needs orwants; then to travel the chosen route, with thehelp' of people and/or agencies available, to yourchosen destination. Once there you might well takestock and evaluate your progress, consider theroute taken and then plan for the next phase of thejourney. I have found that when people are askedon what sorts of occasions they take stock of whatthey can do or when they review their achieve-ments, it is often when they have first considereda career move, a change of direction or are con-templating some such alteration in their pattern ofexistence. They are moved to consider theirpresent, existing levels of expertise by the stimulusof a possible change.

This leads to another related point. Schoolreports have usually been end of year documents,and from my knowledge of the NRA in schools, ittoo is viewed as an end of schooling document. Ina way this is not surprising, for looked at from theteachers' perspective it is the time when theirresponsibility for the development of their pupils isending. They are passing the torch to others,whether in training, employment, further or highereducation. But for the student, it is a beginningrather than an end. It is the start of their trainingor their employment, their higher or further educa-tion. Development should be looked at from theperspective of the individual who is the continuouselement, rather than from the perspective of theschool teachers, the training providers etc., whoare discontinuous elements moving in and out ofthe life of the individual. Taking this perspectivemight help eradicate the unhelpful idea of a sum-mative record. All records are transitory; they maybe summaries of developments and achievementsup to the present — but even tomorrow they maybe different.

The rhetoric of life long learning has been aroundfor a long time, but there are signs that there is nowa reality to the idea. Insofar as the training ofteachers has been concerned, the connections be-tween Initial Training and the firs.t year of teachinghave been extremely tenuous. This is changing. Inaddition, although the provision of INSET oppor-tunities for serving teachers has in some placesbeen generous, there is slim evidence that theINSET provided has been meeting the needs. Byand large, the INSET has been provision-led andcourse-led rather than individual needs-led. There

have been few opportunities for individual teachersto express their needs and for these to be fedthrough a system that responds to them. The ad-vent of school development planning and ofappraisal, are helping to change this situation.

Individual Action Planning in Initial TeacherTraining — One University's Experience

The entrants to courses of post-graduate InitialTeacher Training are becoming more diverse. Theyare no longer, if they ever were, only the newgraduates following the school — Higher Education— school route into the profession. More aremature entrants and many have undertaken otherfull-time employment before embarking on theirInitial Teacher Training (ITT). Certainly almost allwill have done part-time or vacation work of somesort and as a result of the totality of their ex-periences so far, bring with them to their ITT yearmany and varied skills and competences.

They begin their ITT from different points. Theyhave different expectations. They have differentneeds. It seems right that these matters should berecognised and built upon from the beginning of theyear. Forcing them all through the same ex-periences, even though they will certainly take dif-ferent things from them, seems hardly justifiable.

The emphasis has shifted from the Course to theindividual. This has been helped by the firming upof the expected outcomes that those leaving InitialTeacher Training should meet, and, in some places,by the partnership schemes between schools in theregion and the Schools of Education7 in the initialtraining of teachers.

During the ITT being described, each studentmeets a tutor four times over the year for a 1:1 Pro-gress Tutorial. Each tutorial takes about thirtyminutes. The first of these, early in October, is anentry tutorial where the skills and competences thateach person is bringing to the training are dis-cussed. To aid this, students bring to the tutoriala partially completed planning sheet (Fig. 1). Theevidence that the skills they describe is examinedand then targets are negotiated for the next phaseof the training. At present, these Progress Tutorials,which result in negotiated Individual Action Plans,take place in association with the Professional com-ponent of the ITT, which is described in more detailbelow, but working groups of subject tutors andschool teachers are presently engaged in develop-ing them for use in the subject areas and onteaching practice.

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Page 4: Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

University of Leicester • School of Education

PGCE Secondary Course • Individual Action Planning Sheet No.

Student. Tutor.

— Review

- Action Plan

Signed:

Student _

Tutor Date

For guidance on completion of this sheet,pfease consult your 'Individual Action Plan Cover Sheet'

Fig. 1

The three major components in the initial train-ing, each of which is either entirely or largelyschool-based are:

Professional Studies, which focuses on ten topicscentral to the needs of all newly qualified teachers(Fig. 2). These ten topics are produced in distancelearning, resources based learning or individualisedlearning formats and consist of activities that arelargely to be undertaken in the Partnership school— either singly or in groups, and readings andreferences to readings relevant to the topic. Someof the topics have associated talks or visits. TheProfessional Studies topics fall into three catego-ries. There are those which concentrate on class-room issues, those on whole school matters andthose on issues beyond the school. While there isan underpinning philosophy to the sequencing,students can and do work on several topics at thesame time and pick them up and return to them asthe year progresses. Students keep a log of their

reading and activities in their Record of ProfessionalStudies (Fig. 3), inside which are ten sheets, oneassociated with each of the Professional Coursetopics (Fig. 4). As the year unfolds, this recordbuilds up and each sheet acts as a Contents pageto a section of their accumulating and growing fileof work.

Students undertake Professional Studies in mixedsubject groups (known as Partnership Groups) ofabout 16 and spend one day each week in theirPartnership school addressing issues relevant to theten topics. Each Partnership Group is tutored by aLink Tutor from the School of Education who linkswith.the Professional Tutor in the Partnershipschool. It is the Professional Tutor in the schoolwho acts as the key communication centre and net-worker, putting students in touch with teachers inthe school who can best help meet their currentconcerns and IAP targets.

Subject Studies, which as the name indicates, ad-dress those matters to do with the learning andteaching of a named subject at the secondary agerange. People with degree qualifications in a sub-ject are rarely well equipped to guide and promoteits learning in others. In any case, what passes asschool Science as defined by the National Cur-riculum or an A level examination board, bearsscant resemblance to what may have been pursuedby an undergraduate following a degree in micro-biology or genetics. Equally, what passes asgenetics at one higher education institution may bevery different from what constitutes the study ofgenetics at another. In subject studies too, peoplecome with different knowledge, understandings,skills and competences, different expectations anddifferent needs. These are strengths to be built on,for collectively, the group is better than any singleindividual. Individual Action Planning is presentlybeing developed within each subject area. One dayeach week is spent in twos or threes, in the Part-nership school focusing on matters specifically todo with the learning and teaching of the specialsubject. A second day is spent on Subject Studiesat the School of Education, except during the blockteaching practices.

Block teaching practice, of which there are twoover the year. The first of these is normally under-taken in the Partnership school and the second ina different school which gives additional experien-ces and learning opportunities to the student.Figure 5 gives the outline format of the Initial Train-ing year.

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Professional Topics

1. Positive discipline and good relationships In the classroomclass management; behaviour of groups; making sense of others' advice

2. Promoting equal opportunities for all learnersfor girls and boys; for different racial and cultural backgrounds

3. An effective use of Information technologyyour skills on entry and on completing the PGCE programme

4. Helping learners and assessing and recording their progressthe Individual learner, groups of mixed ability and attainment; particular teaching/learning methods; principles of assessment and record keeping

5. Whole school responsibilities In basic skillsteaching basic skills in all areas of the curriculum; information skills: languageskills; provision for all children with special needs

6. The cross-currlcular themes of the national curriculumeconomic awareness; citizenship; environmental education; health education; careerseducation and guidance

7. The pastoral system and personal and social educationtutor group skills & responsibilities; your legal responsibilities; support servicesoutside the school

8. Links to other schools and colleges, and with the world of workliaison and transition; 16+ entitlement; the world of work; European and interna-tional links

9. The school and Its communitythe roles of parents and governors; activities involving the community; communityeducation; the image of the school

10. The education debatethe legal framework: evolution and structure of the education system; the origins ofcomprehensive schools: recent changes including the Education Reform Act; currentissues including LMS, GMS; future controversies

Fig. 2

University of LeicesterSchool of .Education

PGCE Secondary

Record of Professional StudiesCover Sheet

Name:

Unk Tutor:

PartnershipSchool/College:

This record Is for discussion with your Link Tutor at Progress Tutorials alIntervals during the year.

It should act as a record of your Individual reading, Investigations, andreflection in each of the ten topic areas covered by the Professional TopicsFile. A course requirement Is that you should conduct such activities In allten topics, but there Is sufficient scope In the requirements for you to giveparticular weight to the areas which are o( special Interest to you.

On each of the ten Summary Sheets, you should show the extent of yourwork as you carry it out, and make appropriate cross-references to therelevant page or activity numbers In the Professional Topics File.

Your work (perhaps In the form of reading notes, documents obtained,materials prepared, etc.) should be Interleaved in the appropriate positionsin the Professional Topics File. (If you accumulate bulky Items which aredifficult to file • audio or video tapes, for example - devise a method forstoring these and Index them by topic area.)

For each Progress Tutorial you win need to have the following documentsavailable and up-to-date:

Record of Professional Studies • containing 10 Summary Sheets

Individual Action Plan - containing Planning Sheets forthe current and previous tutorials

Professional Topics File • containing wcrK done, filed bytopic

On lh« inside paoia you win find k.- more detailed r/jrdanee on the U M l >

and completion of Summary Sheets '

Fig. 3

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Page 6: Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

Ol Fig. 4

Secondary PGCE Year Outline 1992-1993

Week beginning

September 14

September 21

September 23

October 5

October 12

October 19

October 26

November 2

November 9

November 16

November 23

November 30

December 7

December 14

1

3

"TTT7

TT10

77T21314

I

January 11

January 18

January 25

February 1

February 8rebruary 15

February 22

March 1

March 8

March 15

March 22

15

T?17

Tfi?20Z\22

2324

25

Easter Vacation

3(0

April 19

April 26

May 3

May 10

May 17

May 24

May 31

June 7

June 14

June 21

June 28

262728

29303132

3334"

3536

p 3 In Partnership school

Monday Tuesday

Christmas Vacation

p j | First teaching practice - Partnership school"

§^| Second teaching practice • different school

Wednesday Thursday Friday

Fig. 5

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Page 7: Individual Action Planning in Initial Teacher Training

Initially, with school-based ITT and the involve-ment of over forty schools in the Partnershipscheme, it was inevitable that the experiences ofthe students would differ in quality and substance.As experience of the Partnership scheme hasgrown, it became more possible to expect schoolsto deliver certain experiences to the students whowere to be based there for their two days per weekover the whole year, as well as for one of their ex-tended teaching practices. Schools unable toguarantee certain sorts of experience become morelikely to be unacceptable as Partnership schools.

The structures and processes supportingIndividual Action Planning

In its first year, the Individual Action Planning pro-cess was conducted in the Professional Studiescomponent of the year. This was the one area ex-perienced by all students, so it was possible toagree common practices among the team of six-teen tutors involved.

Soon after arrival for their Initial Teacher Train-ing, students meet their Link Tutor for their first Pro-gress Tutorial. This is, in effect, an entry tutorial.Prior to it, students are introduced to the conceptof continuous professional development, and therole that Individual Action Planning can play in this.At times of anticipated transition especially, it isimportant to give thought to the next long term goaland to be as clear as possible about it. For teachersin initial training, the goal is fairly clear but it canbe refined and redefined as time passes. During thePGCE year the IAP process is concerned with shortterm targets, those for the next few weeks — whilebearing in mind and continually checking the longerterm goal.

The students are asked to write down those skillsand competences that they think they are quitegood at and have some relevance to teaching. Tohelp them in this they have the list of skills, com-petences etc., that the Professional Studies workis expected to develop. This list acts as an auditor checklist to aid their thinking. Inevitably usingsuch a list enables them to see the sorts of issuesthat they need to develop further and on which theyneed to focus over the year. Many students findit hard to translate their experiences into skills andneed help with this. Others are reluctant to ack-nowledge that they are bringing any relevant skillsto their training even trTough this is patently not thecase. In discussion with their Link Tutor, they areable to negotiate and prioritise their targets and listthose that they should focus on for the first part

of their training. In order for this to be effective,the Link Tutor has to have a clear idea of thesequencing of the experiences that the student islikely to meet over the course of the year, and socan say that certain of the student's suggestedtargets are best left until later and others given ahigher priority for the next phase.

To begin with, some students find it difficult tofocus sharply enough on specific targets. They aretoo woolly or broad in their goals for the next phaseof the course. With help from their tutor they learnto have short term goals to achieve by certain datesand also they learn that they have to think abouthow their targets can be met. They start to ask whocan best help, and to involve the Professional Tutorin their partnership school, as they seek to meettheir targets.

Over the year students have four ProgressTutorials with their Link Tutors (Fig. 6). These areat key times of change in the training programme,e.g. at the start of the year; soon after the first ex-tended teaching practice and before their longestperiod in the Partnership school; just before theirsecond extended teaching practice and as they areabout to finish their initial training year and makethe transition into their first post as newly qualifiedteachers.

The timings of the Progress Tutorials are agreedby tutors at a PGCE committee meeting before theyear begins. The foci for each Progress Tutorial arefairly clear. They are almost determined by thestructure of the year, e.g. the placing of the exten-ded teaching practices and the timing of the assess-ment assignments. However, there is a regular andsystematic review of the student's progress,initiated by themselves with the evidence for theirviews being available at the Progress Tutorials. Themain source of evidence is the student's Record ofProfessional Studies and the associated file ofwork. The tutor is able to support the student intheir view of themselves or provide evidence thatmight indicate a contrary view. The production ofevidence to sustain a view is important and on oc-casions, both tutors and students have to recognisealternative perspectives to those they first es-poused. For tutor and student the skills associatedwith assertiveness are important. For this reasonassertiveness training features as an option earlyin their ITT. Tutors took part in training for the IAPprocess before the start of the year. Awarenessraising, consideration of how the process mightoperate, and possible levels of involvement oftutors were discussed at meetings, while a work-

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The tutorial scheduleWeek beginning

September 14

September 21

September 28

Octobers

October 12

October 19

October 26

November 2

November 9

November 16

November 23

November 30

December 7

December 14

1

TTTT¥T¥¥Toi t121314

Christmas VacationJanuary 11

January 18

January 25

February 1

February 8

February 15

February 22

March 1

March 8

March 15

March 22

151617

ia1920

2?22232425

Easter VacationApril 19

April 26May 3

May 10

May 17

May 24

May 31

June 7

June 14

June 21

June 28

Summer Vacation

Keep the planning sheets from yourfirst three tutorials in this coversheet.

End of PGCE coursa

First teaching post

At your final/exit tutorial, you will discuss targets for thenext stage in your professional development - inductiontraining in your first teaching postThe PGCE Secondary Course has adopted the National.Record of Achievement in order to provide you with aformat for your plans which has general recognition andwill be familiar to staff in schools and collegesthroughout England and Wales.

Fig. 6: The timing of the four Progress Tutorials

shop enabled tutors to practise the skills involvedin 1:1 interviews. The majority of the time at eachProgress Tutorial is spent in negotiating targets for.the next phase of the training. Students are en-couraged to focus on three to five targets, to makethese as concrete as possible, to consider how theymight set about meeting them, who might be thebest people to help them and to have agreed dates

by which they should be met. For some targets thedate might be the next Progress Tutorial, for others,e.g. completion of an assessed assignment, thedate will be defined, but for still others there willbe negotiation and agreement — a sort of learningcontract.

Individual Action Planning gives each student adegree of responsibility for and control over their

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own learning. The- ten topics in the ProfessionalStudies file do not have to be all studied to the samedepth. Students may have particular interests anddesires to study some in greater depth. Somestudents may be able at the start of the PGCE yearto fulfil most of the exit criteria for the topic on In-formation Technology, for example, and may spendlittle time on that topic. Others may know a greatdeal about providing equal opportunities in theclassroom and wish to improve their profile by con-centrating on topics with which they are lessfamiliar.

Templates of the Individual Action Planningsheets have been placed on the Apple Macintoshcomputers and the Nimbus network used by thestudents, as have templates for the inserts for theNRA. This means that students may develop fur-ther some of their IT skills as they use thesetemplates. In addition, they are able to cut andpaste from the templates to produce their owncurricula vitae in a final form that differs from thatof the NRA, but without the need for extra typing.

Being involved with Individual Action Planninggives the students experience of a process that willbe central to them in their professional life. Asteachers, they will take part in the appraisal pro-cess. Action Planning is central to this as are:— theprocess of review; collecting evidence of achieve-ments; using the views of others to evaluate theirachievements and the cyclic process of Plan — Do— Review. Likewise as members of a department,they will be involved in departmental reviews andas members of school staffs in whole schooldevelopment planning. The processes in each ofthese cases are the same. The more one plans thebetter one gets at it so that the individual's plan-ning skills are enhanced.

In Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, andpossibly elsewhere too, enhanced Induction Pro-grammes, based on the individual needs of newlyqualified teachers are being organised. These arebased on Individual Action Planning. If at the endof their Initial Teacher Training, students leave withan Individual Action Plan outlining their needs asthey see them, for their further professionaldevelopment at the transition into their first post,a most positive bridge is built between initial train-ing and the job, with the expected entitlement tocontinuous professional development thereafter.Those who have experienced Individual ActionPlanning in their Initial Teacher Training will alsobring the associated skills with them as they enterthe profession. They are more likely to use the

meetings with the Professional Tutor in the schoolto full advantage, to accept and expect that theircontinued professional development is always onthe agenda.

In addition, as teachers, they will be involvedwith recording the achievements of their pupils,with the reporting of these to the pupil and to theparents or those with responsibility for the pupil.Having themselves been involved in parallel pro-cesses is likely to be of help to them. They will beable to help their pupils set more realistic targets,to enable them to see the importance of providingquality evidence of their achievements, to recog-nise the value and necessity of praising and en-couraging, of giving feedback and of promoting theself-esteem and motivation that comes withsharing the responsibility and control of the learn-ing with the learner.

Future Developments: lAPs in Induction andin the continuous professional development(CPD) of teachers

There are several indicators that suggest thatit is primarily the individual who should be takinga lead in their own continuing professionaldevelopment.

Among these are the: —

• introduction of appraisal• increase in the number of short or fixed term

contracts• increasing local mobility of the profession• likelihood of periods of rest between jobs• recognition by individuals that they need con-

tinuous professional development (CPD)• upgrading of the importance of the induction

period.

Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to engagein a collaborative job evaluation, the outcome ofwhich is a negotiated Individual Action Plan statingpriorities for professional development over thenext eighteen months or so. Individuals will expectto see some attempts to meet the expressed needswhich have been agreed with an appraiser. In-dividuals' needs will feed into departmental needsand into those of the institution. Thus a coherentmechanism exists for carrying forward the agreedpriorities at each stage, so that there can be aneeds-focussed provision of continuous profes-sional development.

For people on fixed term contracts the need forregular evaluation of their progress and for indica-tions for further professional development are evenmore pressing. They will be keen to ensure that

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CPD opportunities provided actually meet theirneeds, for they have no time to waste on mattersthat are marginal to their needs. People on shortterm contracts necessarily have an eye on themarket and they will be keen to develop additionalexpertise that, while not necessarily being of im-mediate value, may well stand them in good steadin the future.

It is very probable that from time to time, manyindividuals will be unsuccessful in obtaining oneshort term contract that runs into another at thesame institution. Equally, it is almost certain thatdevolving staffing budgets to schools will result ina greater number of fixed term contracts. Combin-ing these two stiuations will mean that teachers aremore likely to change jobs more often and thatsome will experience periods of rest betweenposts. These rest periods are likely to become timeswhen they pursue aspects of further professionaldevelopment, and to use them most effectively,individuals will need to have engaged in thinkingmore sharply than might have been the case in thepast, about their priorities for CPD. They will at thesame time, have to have at the ready, a completedcurriculum vitae and an outline draft letter ofapplication, so that they may apply immediately forany suitable post that is advertised and is withincommutable distance.

The National Record of Achievement (NRA)would serve well as a portable summary of recordgiving, via an Individual Action Plan, their prioritiesfor further professional development and throughthe Personal Statement, an indication of how theysee their career path unfolding.

Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are starting toenter the profession at the present time with In-dividual Action Plans outlining their priorities for fur-ther professional development as they see them.These documents make valuable starting points fordiscussion with the Professional Tutor in the schooland with the Head of the Department to which the

NQT is appointed. Through regular meetings withtheir mentor in the school, the NQTs are, from thevery start of their career, encouraged to take someresponsibility for and control over their professionaldevelopment and to recognise that they have anentitlement to support from the institution that theyhave joined.

It is the quality of the individual teachers that givean organisation its edge. Through being encouragedand valued everyone can make more of a contribu-tion. A climate of openness and trust can flourishonly where there is a recognisable investment inthe people who are central to the success of thatorganisation. Regular meetings, with a trusted,more senior colleague whose perspective is widerthan one's own, and, which review and evaluateprogress and result in a negotiated Action Plan forthe next phase, represent a notable first steptowards this end.

References1. Hargreaves, D.H. et al. (1989), Planning for School

Development: Advice to Governors, Headteachers andTeachers. DES.

2. Towards a Skills Revolution (1989), Confederation ofBritish Industry, Centre Point, London.

3. It's Your Choice (1991), Careers & Occupational Infor-mation Centre, DES/WO/ED and Which Way Now? —Options '93, Careers & Occupational InformationCentre, Employment Department.

4 . Education and Training for the 21st Century (1991),ED/DES/WO, London HMSO.

5. Ashworth, B. (1990), Action Plans and LearningDelivery. Training Agency, Employment Department.

6. Assessment, Guidance and Action Planning (1991),Developing Good Practice Series, Employment Depart-ment, Moorfoot, Sheffield.

7. Everton, T. & White, S. (1992), Partnership in Train-ing:.The University of Leicester's new mode of school-based teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Educa-tion, 22, pp.143-155.

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