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Philippa's blog

Systematic Reviews and Weather Forecasts

Submitted by Philippa on Fri, 07/09/2018 - 09:34

How purpose shapes the significance of systematic reviews for different education stakeholders 

  • Philippa Cordingley – Chief Executive CUREE
  • Paul Crisp – Managing Director
  • Steve Higgins – Professor of Education Durham University

We are planning a barbeque in our new house next weekend and we want to know if it’s going to rain. We look at the weather forecast and it tells us there’s a 25% chance of rain.

That’s no good to us – we want to know will it will rain, yes or no?

Teacher licensing and collaboration; a model for developing the confidence of the profession as a whole

Submitted by Philippa on Mon, 10/11/2014 - 17:37

The  model and process for teacher licensing needs to address a tension that runs through the profession. Most good things that happen in education are the result of efforts of groups of colleagues. But in most schools routine teacher activity and accountability systems are organised around how teachers work as individuals. Furthermore, a teachers’ first opportunity to work closely with others in a team context is frequently within a management role, when accountability issues create a strong undertow.

Philippa Blog: Summer 2018 - Teacher Education

Submitted by Philippa on Wed, 27/06/2018 - 15:52

I’ve been thinking a lot about our attitudes to subject knowledge and teacher preparation and CPD in England recently;

not least as a member of the OECD Expert Group carrying out country reviews of the quality of provision. While preparing for a conference in Tokyo where we will read across all of the nine completed country reviews, I was struck by the very significant contrast between the UK approach and practices in most other countries. I think we have a lot to learn as well as a lot to offer other counties.

What’s Going Wrong? Focusing on Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Teacher Professional Development

Submitted by Philippa on Tue, 25/10/2016 - 10:01

This recently published research report [http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164010/pdf/20164011.pdf] provides an account of the effects of a resource intensive CPD programme with a very specific focus and a plausible sounding theory of change. It was sustained, over a year, although the lion’s share (85%) took place over the summer (holidays?).