|
|
|
7. Design and management issues Articulation between courses and staff groups
- Is there a range of appropriate provision to match the different needs of different groups of new teachers at different times (see Target audiences)?
- Is this provision coherent and linked so that teachers can see a progression as they move from junior and part time positions to senior and full time positions?
- Is the provision cost-effective or are elements duplicated?
Matching course goals and processes to institutional goals and cultures
- How is the mission of the institution and its culture reflected in the type of provision for new teachers?
- How far should the form of provision be linked to institutional mission?
The balance of generic and discipline specific approaches
- How do teachers learn about the way their discipline is best taught?
- How do teachers learn to stand back from the teaching of their discipline and recognise generic issues and approaches?
- Is there an appropriate balance between generic teaching issues and crucial discipline-specific teaching issues?
Identity of the trainers, their competence and support
- Who are the most appropriate people to deliver provision?
- Are all those with something to contribute involved?
- Where do they get there skills and knowledge from and how do they keep up to date?
- Where is their back-up and support, especially if they are isolated?
- Who are their eventual replacements and how can they be developed or recruited?
Use of resource materials
- Is face to face provision backed up by resource materials?
- What materials are used, how and why?
Use of 'learning on the job'
- Is effective use made of teachers' concurrent teaching experience 'on the job'?
- Can their teaching duties by adjusted to provide experiences which will lead to better learning about teaching?
Provision of support
- Who can teachers discuss and check their teaching plans with?
- Who can observe teachers and give them supportive feedback?
- Who can discuss teachers' teaching experience with them?
- Where do teachers get emotional and personal support from?
- Where do teachers get practical and technical support from?
Use of observation of teaching
- Is teaching only talked about or simulated or is actual classroom teaching observed and analysed?
- Who does the observation? Are they trained in observation and giving feedback?
Assessment and judging successful completion
- What counts as successful completion of a programme?
- Are there threshold standards of competence and if so, how are these judged?
Matching the focus and process to the stage of development of the teachers
- Is provision matched to the changing foci of attention of teachers as they develop (e.g. from anxieties about the perceptions of others, to concerns for competence, to concerns for development)?
- Does provision change in process (e.g. from training to action research) over time?
External accreditation and recognition
- Does completion of the programme achieve any external accreditation or recognition?
- Does the re-orientation of provision so as to achieve external accreditation gain more than it loses?
Preparation of teachers for future careers (in other institutions)
- Is provision narrowly focussed on undertaking current teaching duties?
- If provision is future-oriented, does this include the possibility of futures in other institutions?
Methods of evaluation
- What would represent a 'successful' provision and how would you be able to find out?
- What are the formal requirements for evaluation and how are they met?
- What hunches do you have about the effectiveness of the provision and how could you check these out?
- Is your provision more or less cost-effectiveness than that at other institutions of a similar or different type?
Accreditation of prior learning and prior experiential learning
- How is the prior experience and competence of new teachers acknowledged, accredited or exploited within your provision?
Extension into continuing professional development
- How does provision for new teachers lead into career-long professional development, either in terms of formal provision or for individual teachers?
Balance between teaching and other aspects of academic roles
- What is the balance in provision between an emphasis on teaching and an emphasis on other aspects of academic roles?
- Who decides on this balance?
- How do you know if it is an appropriate balance?
Relationship to appointment procedures
- Does the institution have any way of appointing potentially excellent teachers or those who will make the best use of provision for teachers?
- Do applicants know about provision for new teachers and is the attitude to this provision taken into account at interview?
Relationship to career advancement decisions
- Does it make any difference to a teacher's career or any personnel decision if they either ignore provision or fail assessed elements of provision?
- What is the impact on the effectiveness of provision of any such link to career advancement?
Optional vs compulsory courses
- Is it compulsory to attend sessions or complete a programme for new teachers? If not, why not?
- What is the impact on the costs and effectiveness of provision of making elements compulsory?
Access to courses by other categories of teachers
- Can other categories of teachers make use of provision for new teachers?
- What impact does this (or would this) have on effectiveness of provision?
Accommodation
- Is accommodation for provision adequate? Does it constrain the type of provision possible?
- What messages about the status and seriousness of provision does the accommodation give to teachers?
|
|
