Impact of ITE Partnership Project Report

The Impact of ITE Partnerships
on Teachers’ Professional
Learning and Development:
A Selection of Case Stories of
Good Practice
Start: 1st January 2008

Finish: 31st December 2008
Report to the Teacher Development Agency for

Schools
Submitted by:
Dr Marion Jones, Liverpool John Moores University
In collaboration with
Prof Anne Campbell, Leeds Metropolitan University and

Prof Olwen McNamara, The University of Manchester
Dr Grant Stanley, Liverpool John Moores University
Contents
Page
I. List of abbreviations 3
II. Acknowledgements 4
1. Introduction 5
2. Purpose, aims and objectives 5
3. Methodology 6
4. Quality assurance 7
5. Findings 8
6. Conclusion 8
7. References 9
8. Vignettes 12
8.1 Learning collaboratively 12
8.2 Professional renewal and reorientation 16
8.3 Whole school development and cultural enrichment 20
8.4 Developing a learning community 24
8.5 Building teaching capacity 29
8.6 Facilitating beneficial contacts 33
8.7 Towards a collegiate culture 36
8.8 Developing critical self-awareness and professional sensitivity 39
8.9 Driving improvements in teaching and learning 43
8.10 Experiencing new perspectives 46
Appendices 49
1 Email/letter of invitation to schools 49
2 Participant Information Sheet and consent form 54
3 Interview schedule 57
2
I. List of Abbreviations
AST Advanced Skills Teacher
CPD Continuing Professional Development
GNVQ General National Vocational Qualification
GTP Graduate Teacher Programme
ITE Initial Teacher Education
ITT Initial Teacher Training
LA Local Authority
MFL Modern Foreign Languages
NQT Newly Qualified Teacher
PDS Professional Development School
PPA Planning Preparation Assessment
PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education (with Qualified Teacher Status)
SAT Standard Assessment Tests
TA Teaching Assistant
TDA Teacher Development Agency for Schools
TLRs Teaching and Learning Responsibilities
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II. Acknowledgements
The project team would like to thank:
• The teachers from the following schools for generously giving their time for
conducting interviews:
Accrington Academy, Sports College, Accrington
Bramhall High School, Specialist Science College and Training School,
Stockport
Canon Slade High School, Specialist Arts College, Training School, Bolton
Cedar Mount High School, Manchester
Chorlton Park Primary, Manchester
Deyes High School, Specialist Science College, Sefton, Liverpool
Lander Road Primary School, Sefton, Liverpool
Mab Lane Primary School, Liverpool
Shorefields Specialist Technology College, Liverpool
Temple Primary School, Manchester
We would also like to thank the Teacher Development Agency for Schools for funding
the project on which this report is based, in particular Andrew Ettinger, who
encouraged us to submit this proposal and provided us with support and advice.
Marion Jones, Project Leader
Contact details:
Dr Marion Jones
Faculty of Education, Community & Leisure
I M Marsh Campus
Liverpool John Moores University
Barkhill Road
Liverpool
L16 7BD
0151 231 5277

m.jones@ljmu.ac.uk
Professor Ann Campbell

Leeds Metropolitan University
A.J.Campbell@leedsmet.ac.uk
Professor Olwen McNamara

The University of Manchester
Olwen.McNamara@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Grant Stanley
Liverpool John Moores University
G.Stanley@ljmu.ac.uk
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1. Introduction
This report is concerned with Phase 2 of a study into the impact of ITE on schools.
Phase 1 was a questionnaire survey conducted in 2006 of primary and secondary
schools in partnership with 5 HEI providers of ITE in the Northwest Government Office
Region. The survey instrument was developed from a common framework but
adapted to accommodate the roles of ITE co-ordinators and class teachers in primary
partnerships and professional and subject mentors in secondary partnerships.
Responses were received from a total of 1073. The predominantly positive response
apparent in the quantitative data of the survey was supported by qualitative
comments, which indicated that working with trainee teachers provided mentors with a
diverse range of learning and development opportunities. One of the key themes
emerging from Phase 1 was the contribution mentoring could make to the continuing
professional development of teachers. Over three quarters of teachers reported gains.
A fuller discussion of Phase 1 primary findings can be found in Hurd et al (2007).
2. Purpose, aims and objectives
Phase 2 of the study was originally planned to develop deeper understanding of

selected themes emerging from the findings of Phase 1 and consequently it was
decided to focus on the contribution of mentoring to teachers’ professional learning.
Funding for this phase was offered by the TDA. This study seeks to illustrate in a
variety of settings how ITE mentoring can provide a diverse range of opportunities for
workplace learning and the development of learning communities. It is thus located
within the wider context of the TDA National Strategy for CPD for Teachers (May
2007) in that it sought to examine the critical factors inherent in teachers’ workplace
environments that promote individual professional learning and whole school
development through involvement in ITE partnerships.
Traditionally, in school-based models of teacher training the focus of learning is firmly

placed upon the pre-service teachers and how they can best benefit from mentoring,
with the mentor having a central role as guide, supporter, monitor of progress and
assessor of competence. This study, however, sought to identify the reciprocal
benefits for mentors, in terms of the opportunities for professional learning and
development that it generates, by posing the following questions:
1. How does working with ITE trainees provoke teachers to engage in critical
reflection?
2. How does the ITE partnership assist teachers, departments and schools to
develop their knowledge and skills base?
3. What are the dynamics between individual teachers’ learning and how does this
extend across departments and the school as a whole?
4. Do ITT partnerships provide opportunities for teachers’ professional learning to
extend beyond and across school boundaries and contribute to the
development of local learning communities linked to partner universities?
The study was funded by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) with a view
that one output would be the development of materials to illustrate good practice in
school-based training, focusing specifically on the role of the mentor. Vignettes
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embedded within case stories of whole school mentoring practices were considered
suitable formats, easily accessible for an audience of teachers.
With this remit in mind the study aims to provide insights into the relationship
between mentoring trainee teachers and teachers’ workplace learning and thus
make explicit the hidden curriculum of ITE Partnerships with regard to teachers’
professional learning, as individuals, within and across departments and
schools. It also considers in what way these outcomes can be related to the
concepts of ‘expansive learning environments’ (Fuller et al, 2005), ‘workplace
learning’ (Cofer, 2000; Garrick, 1997; McGivney, 1999) and ‘communities of
practice’ (Lave & Wender, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and to what extent these
concepts are manifest in the selected school settings.
3. Methodology
A multi-site approach comprising 4 primary and 6 secondary schools was adopted

with the aim of generating rich data (Geertz, 1973). For ease of access, and to
harness the benefit of trusting relationships, the sampling frame consisted of ITE
partner schools in the two major conurbations in the North West of England. The
purposive sample represented a range of settings including: specialist (teacher)
training schools, schools involved with a range of training providers and training
routes, inner city and suburban schools and a newly founded academy. In each of the
ten settings data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 46 teachers (4 in
each primary, 5 in each secondary), encompassing those who held specific roles and
had varying levels of involvement with ITE partnerships. These participants included
various ITE co-ordinators, class teachers working with pre-service teachers,
curriculum co-ordinators, subject mentors, and teaching staff on the margins of ITE
partnerships.
The intention was to contextualise accounts of the professional identities and careers
of the staff that inhabited the various school settings to portray the experiences of
professional development through authentic voices of the mentors/teachers
themselves. The particular power of narrative, biography and telling stories about
professional development is an important way of researching teachers’ lives and
careers (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999).
The format of vignettes embedded in case stories has been selected to illustrate
teachers’ experiences involved in ITE partnerships. Each case story is based on one
of the 10 school setting and centres on an emergent theme. By employing this
strategy we aimed to capture mentors’ reality of working with trainee teachers and in
doing so highlight the potential opportunities it can generate for their professional
growth. The case stories can also be used as a learning tool with the aim of providing
a focus and stimulus for critical reflection and discussion (Barter & Renold, 2000;
Hughes, 1998; Sim, 1998) and thereby facilitate deeper understanding of teachers’
perceptions and beliefs of how working with trainee teachers could have an impact on
their professional development and workplace learning.
Data collection and analysis
6
In this study, a semi-structured interview was designed to collect relevant data
covering the teachers’ perceptions of professional learning as a result of mentoring
ITE trainees. Following the interviews with teachers, the data (transcribed interviews)
were assembled and an analytical framework devised for analysing key characteristics
of ITE was developed. The framework was drawn from themes emerging from the
data and drew conceptually on previous research in the field, notably that of Day
(1999; 2004); Garet et al (2001), Harland and Kinder (1997), Ovens (1999), Smith and
Coldron (1999), Lieberman and Miller (2001) and Darling-Hammond (1996). The
framework included:
• Effect, value and impact of ITE mentoring on individuals’ professional learning

• Tensions between ITE mentor role and professional role
• Ownership and autonomy and participation in ITE agenda
• Constraints/facilitators of professional learning within an ITE partnership
context
The data collection process adopted involved the team:
• Conducting and transcribing interviews

• Reading all the transcripts
• Systematically analysing a sample of interview data (biographic detail, career
history, professional development experiences, attitudes)
• Identifying commonly occurring key features, issues, critical incidents
• Triangulating the analysis with other team members
In this way, the 10 case stories are based on empirical data collected through semi-
structured interviews. Recurrent and common issues were identified and logged. The
team then identified a number of emergent themes based on their reading of the
transcripts and relating to the sample of teachers interviewed. Each researcher offered
their case stories and embedded vignettes to others to read and comment on and a
check was made on issues arising in each vignette to ensure balance and coverage in
relation to the data collected.
4. Quality assurance
Throughout this study, the project team was cognisant of their responsibilities as
independent researchers to the various stakeholders (higher education and
employment-based providers of initial teacher training and policy makers) and
adhered to the Liverpool John Moores University Ethics Code of Practice. Accordingly,
gatekeepers’ (primary and secondary headteachers) permission to participate was
sought via existing ITE partnerships links. Participation in the project was voluntary
and based on informed consent. All participants were assured of their anonymity
(unless they wished to be named) and the information provided is being treated in the
strictest confidence.
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5. Findings
The study generated convincing evidence that for individual teachers mentoring
trainee teachers can lead to professional renewal and re-orientation, opening up
unexplored avenues for career progression and professional growth, and the
affirmation of individual career trajectory, thereby affording teachers agency and
ownership of their professional learning and renewal.
The themes emerging from the 10 schools determined the focus of the vignettes, are
as follows:
• Learning collaboratively
• Professional renewal and re-orientation
• Whole school development and cultural enrichment
• Developing a learning community
• Building teaching capacity
• Facilitating beneficial contacts
• Towards a collegiate culture
• Developing critical self-awareness and professional sensitivity
• Driving improvements in teaching and learning
• Experiencing new perspectives
From the 10 case stories, we can also identify some strong indicators of collaborative
professional learning communities:
• Workplace and situated learning of a high quality;

• Leadership of learning by the practitioners themselves;
• Highly specific, contextual learning which can be articulated by the participants;
• Intergenerational learning between very experienced teachers, newly qualified
teachers and trainee teachers;
• School wide innovations and dissemination of practice;
• Positive effects on pupil behaviour and achievement.
These indicators reflect ways in which the teachers participating in this study
experience professional learning and development through being involved in ITE
partnerships and resonate closely with the concepts of ‘expansive learning
environments’ (Fuller et al, 2005), ‘workplace learning’ (Cofer, 2000; Garrick, 1997;
McGivney, 1999) and ‘communities of practice’ (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998).
Each of the 10 case stories gave rise to questions which practitioners might find useful
to consider with regard to their own and their colleagues’ professional development
and workplace learning through involvement in ITE partnerships and which are
attached to each account.
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6. Conclusion
Over the last two decades, education in England has undergone dramatic changes in
terms of the numerous and fundamental reforms and innovations of systems and
curricula. This trend has been particularly evident in the way in which teachers and
schools have been challenged to endeavour to raise standards in teaching and
learning. In this context the provision of good quality in-service training and continuing
professional development for teachers are regarded as major contributing factors not
only in achieving this goal (Strong, 2005), but also in addressing recruitment and
retention issues.
In addition to this schools have been allocated a central role in the preparation and
induction of new entrants to the profession. Teachers play a pivotal role in this
process by making a valuable contribution as mentors to both the training and support
of novice teachers (Kwo, 2007). To assist newcomers to the profession in managing
the transition from training to professional practice, experienced classroom
practitioners are expected to share their expertise and to take responsibility for
monitoring progress and assessing competence against a framework of
predetermined professional standards (TDA, 2008). This, we would argue, is a highly
complex role, but one which is also rewarding in terms of the reciprocal benefits
derived by mentor and mentee. It is hoped that professional learning, which is evident
in the attached case stories, results from the mentoring of trainee teachers in
partnership with universities, should be given high status in the schools, higher
education institutions, government and teachers’ organisations. The time is also ripe
for an exploration of the wider partnerships between schools and universities, in
relation to professional learning and research with a view to investigating the role of
academic partners in working with schools for change and development.
7. References
Barter, C & Renold, E (2000) ‘I wanna tell you a story’: exploring the application of
vignettes in qualitative research with children and young people, Social Research
Methodology, 3(4), pp. 307-323
Cofer (2000) Informal workplace learning. Practice Application Brief No 10 ERIC

website: http://www.ericacve.org/fulltext.asp.[accessed on 15th June 2007]
Connelly, F M & Clandinin, D J (1999) Shaping Professional Identity: Stories of

Educational Practice. New York: Teachers College Press
Darling-Hammond, L (1994) Professional Development Schools: Schools for

Developing a Profession
Day, C (1999) Developing teachers: the challenges of lifelong learning. London:

Falmer Press
Day, C & Hadfield, M (2004) Learning through networks: trust, partnership and the
power of action research, Education Action Research, 12 (4), pp. 575-586
9
Fuller, A., Hodkinson, H., Hodkinson, P. & Unwin, L. (2005) Learning as peripheral
participation in communities of practice: a reassessment of key concepts in workplace
learning. British Educational Research Journal, 31(1), pp.49-68
Garet, M S, Desimone, A C, Birman, B F & Yoon, K S (2001) What makes professional

development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers, American
Educational Research Journal, 38 (94), pp. 915-945
Garrick, J. (1997) Informal learning in the workplace: unmasking human resource

development. New York: Routledge
Geertz, C (1973) The Interpretation of Culture. New York: Basic Books
Harland, J & Kinder, K (1997) Teachers’ continuing professional development: framing

a model of outcomes, British Journal of In-service Education, 23 (1), pp. 71-84
Hughes, R. (1998) Considering the vignette technique and its application to a study of
drug injecting and HIV risk and safer behaviour, Sociology of Health and Illness, 20,
pp. 381-400
Hurd, S, Jones, M, McNamara, O & Craig, B (2007) Initial teacher education as a

driver for professional learning and school improvement in the primary phase,
Curriculum Journal, 18 (93), pp. 307-326
Kwo, O (2007) Towards a learning profession: Understanding induction in a district-

based community, in J Butcher & L McDonald (eds) Making a Difference: Challenges
forTeachers. Teaching and Teacher Education. Rotterdam/Taipei: Senses Publishers
Lave, J & Wenger, E (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Lieberman, A & Miller, L (eds) (2001) Teachers Caught in the Action: Professional
Development that Matters. New York: Teachers College Press
McGivney, V. (1999) Informal Learning in the Community. A Trigger for Change and
Development. Leicester: NIACE
Ovens, P (1999) Can teachers be developed? Journal of In-service Education, 25 (2),

pp. 275-306
Sim, A. J., Milner, J., Lovew, J. & Lishman, J. (1998) Definition of need: can disabled
people and care professionals agree? Disability and Society, 13, pp. 53-74
Smith, R & Coldron, J (1999) Conditions for learning as a teacher, Journal of In-
service Education, 25 (2), pp. 245-260
Strong, M (2005) Teacher induction, mentoring and retention: a summary of the

research, The New Educator, 1 (30), pp.181-198
10
Wenger, E (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. London:
Cambridge University Press
Teacher Development Agency for Schools (TDA) (2008) Professional Standards for
Teachers. Website: http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/s/standards_a4.pdf
[Accessed on 31st December 2008]
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8. Vignettes
8.1 Learning collaboratively
Bridge Lane is a larger than average, urban primary school in an area of significant
social and economic disadvantage. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and
the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is high. However,
the school holds a number of prestigious awards, including the Healthy Schools
Award, Investors in People Status, Basic Skills and Inclusion Charter Marks and Early
Years accreditation. Its strengths are reflected in a very strong staff team that fully
engages in the school’s self-evaluation and in development planning. The ethos of the
school is one of sharing and collaboration with a strong focus on professional learning
and development, as explained by the Deputy Head:
There is a great sharing of professionalism and of the work that’s going on. We
have done an awful lot of training in-house. We have not been sending people
out on individual courses. We just feel that we can all benefit and that of we are
all learning together, we’re all moving forward together, taking on new
initiatives.
For this very reason, the headteacher is keen to be involved in ITE partnerships, as
she believes that there are benefits to be derived by individual staff as well as the
school as a whole.
As a manager, I think that having students [trainees] in is a good move forward

to actually move staff forward and to model good practice as well. So, if you
have got students [trainees] coming through on a yearly basis, then you can as
an institution maintain that model of good practice.
At the same time, if there was something interesting or exciting brought in by a

trainee, it would be shared and discussed with the whole staff and implemented if
considered an improvement on current practice. The virtues of mentoring are extolled
by the Headteacher, who believes that working with trainees can develop staff’s
people management skills, which subsequently will stand them in good stead when
applying for more senior posts. Jackie, who is Assessment Co-ordinator and Maths
Co-ordinator, has been teaching for fifteen years and been working with trainees for
eight. She highlights the mutual relationship of mentoring and its effect on the learning
process:
I think once the students [trainees] are aware that it is a constant learning
curve; then I think you’re sort of on an equal partnership, for they have lots of
skills for us. I think quite often that the students [trainees] have other skills as
well and other experiences, particularly IT. The IT skills of the younger teachers
are far superior to what we had when we were being trained. I think their
knowledge of the new programmes available helps us. I would never know how
to work an interactive whiteboard, unless I have students [trainees] in. They
show you and their enthusiasm rubs off on you. So, I think it is a working
partnership. And I do think that they have a lot to offer. And they have lots of
new ideas and things. And although they haven’t got the experience subject-
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based, I do think that they have experience in other ways as well, yeah. It’s a
team thing.
Jackie has also discovered that trainees can provide access to valuable resources
and knowledge relevant to the planning and development of the curriculum, such as
the university library.
Students [trainees] can go to the library, we can’t. So, quite often, when we are
doing topics, we say, “Go to your library and get this, because we know the
University has it. They may only be teaching a part timetable, literacy and
numeracy, but your topic may be the Victorians.” So, you would then say, “Get
anything you’ve got on the Victorians.” And then, together, we would plan the
topic. Because the more materials you’ve got, the better.
In her endeavour to keep up-to-date with educational developments and pedagogical

knowledge, Jackie appreciates the link with the University:
Well, the students [trainees] tend to bring a handbook, which they normally
pass to the class teacher. It will give us detailed information as to what they
should be doing, what strategies they’re applying. Obviously, the new
frameworks have come in. So, hopefully, on the student’s [trainee’s] manual it
will say that they should be following the renewed framework objectives. So,
then, as a staff we know.
The concept of collaborative learning is fully embraced within the ITE partnership and
this collaboration helps Jackie to achieve a ‘creative learning’ approach to pedagogy,
an approach which schools are now being asked to implement. . Jackie illustrates how
collaborative learning is part of the mentoring process of trainees:
It’s all about creative learning now. So, I think it’s a case of trial. See if it works
and then go with it. We do try things out as a staff. We’ve tried the new
spelling. We took on a reading scheme. We’ve gone into looking at creative
thinking, mind mapping and accelerated learning. As a teacher, I appreciate
anything new, even classroom management techniques and games that
students [trainees] bring in. And if you see it works, you just take it, you know.
Observing trainees’ practice is seen as another opportunity to engage in collaborative

learning:
When you are doing an observation, it’s quite nice to sit back and watch the
different skills. You don’t often, on a day-to-day basis, look at yourself and say,
“Professional knowledge, professional skills, understanding, assessment for
teaching and learning.” You don’t break that down when you’re teaching. But
when you’re observing, and you’re taking notes on the quality of teaching and
learning, the quality of classroom management and control, you sort of sit back
and think, “Oh, I do that! Oh, what could I do instead of …? Or, what could I
suggest to the student [trainee]?” And it makes you sit back and think of all the
other strategies and techniques that you can use as well. You know, that’s
where your reflection is, when you are doing observation with the student
[trainee].
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Particularly in the case of an excellent trainee, a true working partnership of
collaborative learning can manifest itself in mutual observation and modelling of good
practice, as Jackie explains in greater detail:
The students [trainees] that we’ve had have done fantastic displays. Now, I am
dire at Art. But they are coming in and teach lessons and the children have
produced fantastic work. And you think, “Wow, I need to do something like
that.” So, you try it. It’s a steep learning curve for us. I have been doing the job
for sixteen years, but I still haven’t stopped learning.
When students [trainees] are doing focused observation on maybe literacy or

numeracy, it makes you deliver the best possible lesson. I do produce good
lessons most of the time, but when you’ve got a student [trainee], you will try to
be absolutely outstanding in every aspect. You pull your ICT, your control
techniques, your management, your use of praise. You pull everything,
because you are going to be modelled up on this platform for them. You know,
that’s the ultimate what they’re aiming for. It’s a challenge for them then. Yeah,
I think it’s great!
The reciprocal benefits for mentor and mentee are thus evident, but are not confined
to this one-to-one relationship. According to the school’s open ethos of collaborative
learning, sharing of good practice is commonplace, as Jackie explains:
If students [trainees] have done something fabulous, we might walk into next
door and say, “Guess what! Such and such just did ….. It’s brilliant this!” And
we will share it that way. And, you know, if it is absolutely amazing and no one
else has seen it, I would say to my colleague, “Come and watch.” And that’s the
way we would do it. We are very informal and we would share their good
practice just as we would hope that the student [trainee] would be sharing our
good practice here.
As highlighted in Jackie’s accounts learning collaboratively with trainees can result in

mutual gains, but, equally, can be highly challenging. One particular aspect in her
professional development where she has learned a lot is teamwork, for example how
to be constructively critical. Having to assess trainees’ competence against the
professional standards has made her more aware of other standards, such as the
‘Excellent Teacher’, which she is considering to advance her career further. Her
involvement in ITE has thus provided her with both opportunities for workplace
learning and career development.
One of Jackie’s junior colleagues, Kate, has only been working with one PGCE trainee
so far. Nevertheless, her experience of the mentoring relationship was extremely
rewarding and beneficial to both their professional development. The following
example provides an illustration of this process:
I would sit down with the student [trainee] every evening and we would reflect
on the day. And it didn’t just have to be when the student [trainee] had taught, it
would also be when I had taught. It was almost like co-coaching in a kind of
way, because we pick up on the good points that each other had done. And, I
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think, if you can spot that in your own teaching and you can help somebody out
with theirs, then it is good practice.
I think a lot of the risks that we took were from collaborative talking and
planning together. Because, although my student [trainee] was given some
kind of freedom with her own plans, we did also discuss where I would then
take it once she had left.
When asked to sum up the benefits of experience as an ITE mentor, Kate says:
I think it’s team work, co-operation and collaboration. … uhmm … Having time
to reflect. I think that’s probably a very big one for me. But since then, I do
actually take more time to sit down and reflect upon my own practice, where
there is a student [trainee] in there or not.
No doubt, the examples provided by these primary practitioners highlight the fact that
school’s involvement in the ITE partnership can be a powerful force to motivate and
encourage staff to engage in collaborative learning and professional development.
Some questions for consideration:
1. Can you recall an instant when a trainee teacher employed a particularly

effective strategy or technique?
2. How are examples of good practice demonstrated by trainees shared with other
staff in your department and the school as a whole?
3. Which aspects of your professional practice do you think could be the focus of
collaborative activities and learning conversations involving trainees and
colleagues?
4. To what extent do you feel your school ethos reflects and promotes a
collaborative learning culture? Could you give an example?
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8.2 Professional renewal and re-orientation
Christine is Professional Mentor at a large rural, high achieving comprehensive

school, where she co-ordinates ITE provision for undergraduate and postgraduate
trainee teachers following a variety of training pathways, such as the B.A. in Education
with QTS, PGCE and GTP. Prior to taking on this role, she had taught PE at two
challenging inner city and suburban schools, working her way up to Head of Faculty of
PE. However, following a brief career break due to maternity leave, she decided to
look for a post of less responsibility as Second in the PE Department which would
allow her to dedicate more time to her family. The oversubscribed Specialist Science
College, located in an affluent area in a rural setting, seemed to provide a less
stressful working environment than the previous two schools, and as such seemed the
perfect choice. Although Christine enjoyed her new role, it only took two years until
she felt ready to move on to new challenges. When the post of Professional Mentor
became available, she realised that a change of direction in her career trajectory
might be appropriate:
It was a nice step for me, because when I came here, I moved down from Head
of Faculty to Second in Department. I became interested in the idea of moving
people forward and training other people, and I think it was also because I
wasn’t doing it within my subject (PE). I wanted something else.
Christine also recognised the potential value and relevance of her previous
experience as a teacher and her active involvement in the ITE partnership in relation
to this new role:
I would say that probably the reason why I got the job was because I had done
quite a lot of work at that stage for XXX University, in particular because I had
been a quality assurance tutor. In this and in my previous schools I went round
schools checking the quality of staff working with students [trainees]. So, I’d
done that role. I was also on the ITE Partnership committees at the university
and I did a seminar for students [trainees] at the universities. So, I’d done a lot,
really.
Supporting people in their professional learning would also provide her with a range of
opportunities to develop her competence not only as a classroom practitioner and
mentor, but also as a manager and leader across the whole school. When asked in
what way her involvement in ITE over the past 20 years has had an impact on her
own professional development, she identifies two distinct aspects:
Definitely leadership skills, and thinking more sort of outside [the box], of not
just doing it, but having to reflect on it a lot more. So, it’s a lot more reflective
than what I was actually doing. In order to explain to others why they were
doing it, what they were doing, and what purpose was behind it, I quite like the
idea of problem solving and finding the best routes and options and trying out
various things.
In this respect, her involvement in ITE, whether in a subject related capacity as mentor
or more generically as professional mentor, has taken Christine on a journey of
professional renewal and re-orientation, as she explains below:
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I’m someone who tries new ideas and I certainly take on initiatives all the time.
I like that side of it and so I think that was another reason why I sort of came
into it.
Interestingly, Christine no longer teaches her specialist subject PE. Through working
with trainees, she has discovered a new curriculum area, as she describes below:
I now teach Performing Arts, I don’t teach PE. So, I’ve moved and I’d probably
say that’s come from a number of influences. Through students [trainees],
because in the old sort of days, when I first started out, there were students
[trainees] who did a PGCE in PE, but they were Dance specialists and,
sometimes, they happened to come to my school. So, Dance became a love of
mine. When I came to this school, there was no Dance to the extent it is taught
now. We’ve got GCSE and A level Dance and Performing Arts. So, it has
blossomed. I don’t think it would be at the strength it is now if it wasn’t for the
student [trainee] teachers. Because there is no question, they’re bringing in
new choreographies all the time and new ideas and I don’t have the time to
research it all myself.
Christine has been a Dance Skills teacher for the past 5 years and is convinced that
her involvement in ITE was the catalyst that brought about this change of direction.
No doubt, that’s happened because I was in ITE. There’s no question on that

because it developed in me the ability to move people forward and lead, train
and develop other people.
While she has been reaffirming her own career trajectory, Christine has been equally
concerned about creating opportunities for professional development and workplace
learning for colleagues. She perceives her role as having two remits: firstly, to prepare
those aspiring to become teachers, and secondly to provide appropriate staff
development to ensure quality support for trainees by all staff. In this respect,
Christine is very uncompromising when she insists:
Everyone does it. That’s the whole purpose. My expectations are that everyone
does it. I mean, I’ve got the job. We have so much class observation that has to
happen and I don’t think staff would be capable of that, or would be trained up
enough, wouldn’t be astute enough in recognising things. They wouldn’t be
aware of how to speak to people in a positive manner, because it’s not about
telling people, it’s about questioning them to get them to realise what they need
to change. I don’t think we’d have moved forward as much in teaching and
learning because there is no question a student [trainee] can put you to shame
when they start doing fantastic starters and plenaries and you’re not.
Providing in-service training on mentoring was not confined to colleagues at her

school, but involved staff from feeder primaries:
I have done mentor training for the whole school, and how to do observations
etc. Every member of staff was trained on how to be a subject mentor. Mainly
for the reason that as a school, I think, we are quite proactive, and coaching
17
and mentoring now is essential, and you’ve got to do it. And this is one of the
ways, one of the easy ways for everyone to have an opportunity to be able to
show that they are actually developing other people. Everyone gets updates on
things like that. I’ve also done it with one of our feeder schools. We did cross-
moderating with them. We did it because they were pretty new to ITT and we
weren’t and we tried to lead them. There was a member of staff who was really
keen. So, we did staff inset again, lesson observations and all that.
Moving outside the boundaries of her own school into the wider community of practice
was partly provoked by a deep-felt, personal motivation to move others on, but was
also inspired by her long-term, extensive involvement in ITE and the wide repertoire of
skills, knowledge and understanding of the wider context of professional learning she
had acquired. In essence, Christine’s journey could thus be described as one of
renewal and re-orientation, on which the ITE partnership provided critical junctures at
which new, unexplored avenues for career progression and professional growth
presented themselves.
One of her latest strategies in updating teachers’ knowledge and skills is to directly
involve the trainees in cascading innovative practices. For example, to enhance pupils’
learning in Science, two PGCE Science trainees competent in the use of a new
electronic resource, the ‘interactive voting system’, delivered a full day’s training to
staff and trainee teachers from five schools. Subsequently, all trainees at Christine’s
school produced appropriate materials for the use of the resource and incorporated it
as an effective feedback technique in their teaching. Christine’s account exemplifies
how this was achieved:
What’s happened now is that three departments want to buy the device. So,
the students [trainees] have used it and the staff have recognised its benefits.
We had known about this resource before, but never had the time to cascade
through the school. It’s like all the game shows you see where people do
voting. So, every child gets a little voting system and it’s got A, B, C, D on it. It’s
great for assessment of learning, because on the screen a question comes up.
The person’s answer who has buzzed first comes up, so they know they have
done it first. And that’s good! That’s really good for the child’s self-esteem. And
then it tells you, percentage wise, how much of the class got it right. And then
later, when you want to scrutinise the results further, it tells you which children
are struggling. So for the teacher it is phenomenal.
Christine is delighted with the impact this strategy has had in her school. Three
departments, Science, Technology and PE, have decided to buy the device.
ITE mentoring has provided her with new, exciting opportunities at a particularly
critical stage in her career. Following a brief career break, she embarked on a new
trajectory that resulted in moving subject areas as a teacher from PE to Dance and
Performing Arts and taking on a leadership role in initial teacher training and staff
development that transcends departmental and school boundaries.
18
1. How do you think your involvement in an ITE partnership can open up new
avenues for your professional development?
2. Which skills and what kind of knowledge do you think you can acquire through
being involved in an ITE partnership? To what extent do you feel these skills
and knowledge are of transferable value in performing other roles as a teacher,
manager or leader?
3. What skills and knowledge have you personally developed through being
involved in an ITE partnership?
a) By working with trainees
b) By taking part in events organised by the ITE provider
19
8.3 Whole school curriculum development and cultural enrichment
Elaine became involved in ITE mentoring trainee teachers immediately after

completing her induction year. She started as an NQT at the same school where she
had been working for the past five years and has gradually worked her way up to MFL
Primary Co-ordinator and AST for languages in primary education. Her desire to work
with trainee teachers stems from her personal experience as a trainee, when she
benefited from the support and guidance of an excellent mentor.
It really did inspire me. You can have all the enthusiasm in the world, but you
need to have a good leader, someone who will mentor you, who knows what
they’re doing, who will take risks, who allows you to think outside the box. And
for me that was inspirational and why I wanted to become a mentor.
Elaine feels still as enthusiastic about teaching as on the day when she decided to join
the teaching profession as a student. She is emphatic about the fact that the positive
impact of trainees’ presence within a school must not be underestimated and can be a
powerful catalyst in implementing change and whole school improvement:
I still remember training, and the energy and enthusiasm you have at that point
in time. And to bring that into school, bring that into the classroom is just
phenomenal! Teaching moves very quickly and although I’m only in my fifth
year, things have moved on, especially in languages which is my specialism.
When people come with ideas, when you see a spark in the classroom, it
makes you re-evaluate your teaching. The last student [trainee] I had was
fantastic and after a lesson observation, I instantly went to see my senior
manager and said, “I remember when I was like that and I want to be like that
again.”
Elaine’s special responsibility is the co-ordination of MFL within the primary

curriculum. She is also a primary languages AST, the only one in the Local Authority,
and feels that working with trainees is helping her to maintain and develop her own
expertise, which ultimately enables her to provide guidance and support to colleagues
within and outside her school. She points out that many ITE trainees bring with them
particular specialisms, which can be harnessed and employed to enrich and develop
the whole school curriculum and to drive innovation of practice:
It really is a win-win situation. Because they go abroad on placement, they add

a whole new dimension to our school that I can’t. That really helps with the
national curriculum and the quality of teaching in our school.
Personally, Elaine believes that she and her colleagues have benefited greatly from
working with trainee teachers, and that mentoring should be perceived as a reciprocal
process that is about learning from each other. Her Deputy Head is in full support of
this stance, as he subscribes to the view that observing trainees teach modern
languages results in tangible benefits for both. While it assists staff in developing their
own proficiency in the foreign language and acquaints them with the specific
techniques of modern language teaching, trainees will benefit from their mentors’
experience as classroom practitioners who can provide guidance on planning, pupil
20
behaviour and assessment. Elaine recalls how she has benefited from this two-way
process:
Working together is about continuous improvement. When I began teaching

modern languages, I didn’t know how to teach it and had to make it up from my
existing pedagogical knowledge base. When I see that the students’ [trainees’]
lesson format is the same as mine, it reassures me to know that I’m doing the
right thing.”
Elaine particularly welcomes the contribution trainees make to the MFL resources
bank of the school.
One of the main things for me are resources. These students [trainees] arrive
jam-packed full of fantastic power points, new ideas, technology. In terms of
enriching our school in that way, it’s been fantastic! Also, in terms of cultural
enrichment, because these students [trainees] are able to go abroad. That’s
vital! It’s key because they bring back the culture with them. They bring back
seeing and teaching in Spain, which then impacts and helps our children
having a love of Spanish. They can see it in action with their own eyes. So,
they will come back and they might have been there during a festival – Semana
Santa – bringing back real life photographs, real life recordings, that they can
use in the classroom and say, “Today, we are going to do something about
Spanish festivals. Have a look at this!’ I can’t give the children that. So, that’s
just fantastic!”
Elaine points out that cultural enrichment of the children’s learning experience is
particularly important in her school, as the pupil population is overwhelmingly white
and located within a community of ‘significant social and economic disadvantage’.
Family visits to or holidays outside the UK are the exception rather than the norm.
The Deputy Head agrees with Elaine’s stance when he states that there is a need to
give children the sort of learning opportunities they might otherwise never have. When
the Spanish counterparts of the English trainees arrive in the school for their 4-week
placement, their children’s acquaintance with the foreign culture and language is
intensified and comes to life. Elaine perceives the Spanish trainees as a valuable
resource that can be used effectively to provide the children with first hand
experiences of the foreign language and culture:
They teach culture and fiestas, because I feel that’s where our weakness is.
So, here’s the expert!
Apart from the impact on children’s learning experience the Deputy Head particularly
recognises the contribution MFL trainees can make to his staff and the school as a
whole by extending the existing knowledge and skills base and by building up the
resources bank:
We have two or three postgraduate students [trainees] every year who have
Spanish as their specialism. Because staff are present in their lessons, it has
inspired staff, I suppose. It helps their own understanding of the language,
because obviously, Spanish teaching in Year 1 is at such a basic level. Lots of
21
staff won’t have any knowledge or understanding of Spanish, but being in those
lessons helps them to develop their own language capability and looking at the
methodology of teaching primary foreign languages, which is very specific.
They often come with IT resources, because MFL is so visual, so oral, they
can’t just stand in front of the classroom. It has to be exciting and interesting for
the children. So, if they’ve got any ICT work they have done, they usually leave
that in school for us.
What makes this reciprocal arrangement doubly rewarding is the fact that their
mentors accompany the trainees. It is not only the trainees, but also their mentors who
benefit in terms of their own professional development. This takes place via joint
lesson observations and evaluations of trainees here and in Spain, leading to new and
alternative perspectives. Below, Elaine illustrates how her visit to the Spanish primary
school provoked her to reflect critically upon practices employed in her own school
and those observed in Spain:
It is so funny when you see Spanish teachers walking into school in the
morning. This is our English book and we are going to work through it. And you
think to yourself, ‘If only you knew!’ I have been lucky enough to go over for a
week and teach. I have taken a portable smart board and a projector and I’ve
done ICT. In Spain, teaching MFL is still very much chalk and talk and I think
we have come such a long way with our national strategies, our differentiation
and special needs provision that, you know, if we could mix it, it would be
perfect.
Another influential factor in Elaine’s development of the MFL curriculum has been the
link with the ITE provider. Her excellent relationship with the tutors from the University
has enabled her to move beyond the boundaries of her school and gain an
understanding of the wider context within which initial teacher training is located. It
helps her and her school to keep up-to-date with developments in MFL teaching in a
variety of ways, as she illustrates below:
It constantly makes me re-evaluate my own teaching. Working with the

university tutors means observing together, moderating, evaluating. I was
invited to the annual languages conference in Manchester. It was fantastic! I
would not have had the opportunity had we not had so many students
[trainees].
This is particularly important to her, as in her role as AST for primary MFL Elaine’s
remit is to work not only with colleagues in her own, but also other schools across the
Local Authority with whom she meets regularly in half-termly cluster meetings. Her
trainees also attend these meetings, as she considers them ‘the new experts’. For
example, they gave presentations about their placements in Spanish primary schools.
Through their enthusiasm they inspired the teachers who themselves had never had
any such experiences. Furthermore, Elaine believes that the observation and
feedback skills she has developed through her active involvement in the ITE
partnership transfer well to working with teachers supporting in the development of
MFL teaching skills.
22
As highlighted by the Deputy, curriculum development and school improvement are
key elements that are placed very high on the agenda of this primary school.
Regarding the development of the MFL curriculum in his school, he summarises
proudly:
As a school, we never want to stand still. We’re always keen to take on board
new initiatives. We’re always keen to try things out. Spanish we’ve got up and
running in school now through our links with the university and through the
students [trainees] we are also linked with the two tutors. We also have two
members of staff who speak Spanish. We’re in front of the game.
1. Can you think of a curriculum area within your school that could benefit from
further development and enrichment? How could trainees be used to facilitate
this?
2. How could your links with an ITE provider(s) and your work with trainees
provide you with opportunities for continuing professional development? You
may wish to consider aspects of subject knowledge, specific skills and
resources.
3. Can you think of areas in the school curriculum where you would welcome
focused input and leadership from your ITE provider(s) in the form of
collaborative activities and CPD events?
23
8.4 Developing a learning community
John has been teaching PE for a considerable amount of time. For the past 20 years,
he has been Head of PE at an oversubscribed, rural, high performing comprehensive
school. When he first started supporting trainee teachers on school placement14
years ago, he had not undergone any formal mentor training. However, his desire to
assist them in their learning stemmed from the passionate belief that teachers have a
professional obligation to ensure that the next generation of new entrants are
adequately prepared and that experienced teachers like himself are able to offer the
necessary expertise to support them.
Following the completion of mentoring training and subsequently attending regular

developmental meetings organised by the local ITE provider, John felt that he wanted
to become more deeply involved in the ITE partnership. For the last three years of his
career, he has played a key role as cluster co-ordinator for secondary schools in his
Local Authority, who currently have trainees and those who would consider having
trainees in the future. He explains how the cluster has a positive impact not only on
the development of trainee teachers, but schools as a whole:
It’s quite significant, actually, and has developed and evolved quite
considerably. It’s quite a powerful influence … on students [trainees] and
teachers and effectively on pupils themselves. We had our annual conference
on Monday. Yeah. One of my teachers did her learning conversation for the
TLA accreditation. Again, it just provides that environment to look forward to,
not just in relation to your mentoring, but your teaching as a whole. You are
listening to what other clusters are doing, you’re getting feedback from those
other clusters and you think, “Oh I like that idea!” or “That’s something we
were thinking of. Let’s pursue that a bit further.”
John strongly believes that working with trainees is a two-way process, in which both
parties involved benefit. For example, when trainees possess expertise in a certain
field due to previous experiences in the world of work or display confidence in an area
that to the majority of teachers is relatively unfamiliar and fraught with risks, such as
the use of new technologies. In John’s department, trainees have been instrumental in
the introduction and implementation of new technologies, thus extending the
knowledge and skills base of individual teachers and departments. One particular
example he describes is that of radio microphones:
They would fit a student [trainee] with a radio mike and the teacher would stand
further away and then just transmit little bits of information to their earpiece. It is
something we could also use with staff when observing lessons, when we
observe each other. We are in the early stages of using them and intend to use
them a lot more. One of the good things about having students [trainees] in
school, and I mean in the PE department, is that everyone is willing to try new
things I’d be more than happy, if someone said to me, “Can I see your lesson?”
“What are you doing right now?” “What about so and so?” if someone was just
dropping in little questions while you are working.
24
By using this new technology to provide trainees with guidance and support during the
delivery of a lesson, John believes that it encourages teachers to engage in critical
analysis and reflection of their own practice:
One of the biggest benefits when having students [trainees] is that you are
constantly reflecting; not only on what you see a student [trainee] do, but it
also makes you reflect on what you’ve done and how you’ve done it in the past.
That way you take a little step back and look at it from the outside and have
time to reflect.
Mentoring trainees can thus create spaces for reflection within teachers’ busy work
schedules, which otherwise would not become available. Within these legitimate
spaces, teachers themselves become learners, as one of the subject mentors for in
Science department (Laura) explains:
Sometimes, you find yourself telling them that they need to do something, and
you actually think, “I haven’t done that for a while. I need to do that as well.”
One of the students’ [trainees’] tasks is to observe a teacher’s lesson. They
then need to look at how closely my lesson relates to my lesson plan. That
again is an interesting conversation with them after the lesson, because you
find yourself justifying why you missed out that bit and why that bit took a bit
longer.
Collaborative learning takes place not only between teachers and trainees, but also
between trainees themselves via the ‘paired placements’, as Louise, the subject
mentor for Science illustrates:
The two that came in and did the paired placement at the start of this year were
brilliant. They also worked as a pair and supported each other in lots of ways
talked about, like their lessons, they’d already discussed between them. They
were absolutely brilliant at evaluating and talking to each other, so they almost
took over the role that you think you have.
Another example, which had an impact on teachers’ practices in the Science

department in John’s and other schools within the cluster, was the ‘interactive voting
system. It resembles television game shows where participants select the correct
answer from a number of possible alternatives by pressing a buzzer. Initially, it was
intended to raise Year 9 pupil performance in the SATs in Science by providing
detailed feedback to both pupils and teachers, and as explained by the Professional
Mentor great benefits are derived by pupils and staff:
For the teacher it’s phenomenal and it’s great for assessment for learning. It
tells you the percentage of correct answers and the pupils can see who was
the first to give a correct answer.
The introduction of the interactive voting system formed part of a Professional

Development School (PDS) project and involved trainees linked to Science
departments in five schools. After attending a whole day training event, they learned
how to use the device and created materials for its use in the classroom. Following
positive responses from teaching staff, the two Science trainees who had attended
25
training were asked to cascade their expertise to all the other trainees in the school. In
this way, they were used as vehicles to introduce and demonstrate the use of this new
teaching and learning strategy in front of teachers whose classes they were teaching.
The impact of importing this new technology into the school is reflected in teachers’
feedback, who described the interactive voting system as ‘fantastic’ and ‘fabulous’. As
a result of having seen this new approach in action and producing the expected
results, three departments, Science, Technology and PE, have decided to purchase
the resource for the coming academic year.
John strongly believes that through being involved in ITE programmes, his department
has developed a strong culture of sharing and learning from and with each other:
Because we are all based in one room and again we are quite a vibrant lively
department, if things are happening, then we’ll know about it and we’ll share.
Yes, I think students [trainees] do add to the quality of what we do and we
perhaps wouldn’t have moved as fast forward without them in the school and
the work across the cluster of schools is the next step up from this.
The concept of a learning community is not limited to John’s department, but extends
beyond the school’s boundaries into the cluster of schools which he co-ordinates and
the local ITE provider. He has been keen to liaise not only with mentors in schools, but
also to develop a collaborative relationship with the tutors from the ITE provider.
Following requests from cluster schools, he has requested a meeting for mentors to
review and discuss the new initial teacher-training curriculum and the manner of its
incorporation in the university-based programme.
To speak to lecturers to find out what they did, how they did it, … what their
teaching strategies were, … how they were modifying their work etc. so we
could then work with them on that. … It hasn’t actually happened yet, but I
would like to get it done as soon as possible next year, because I think it would
be a powerful vehicle.
Meanwhile the cluster itself has taken the initiative to provide targeted input in the way
in which trainees are prepared for teaching in secondary schools in relation to specific
skill areas, which in the past have often been identified as problematic. John
explained how an idea was translated into practice:
This came from one of the cluster meetings. One of the clusters has been
providing courses in netball, gymnastics and athletics. So, we had already said
that we wanted to do that within our cluster, now that would mean a school
putting it on, lets’ say table tennis. And then other [trainees] from our cluster
schools could also come. … And then we want to impact on the universities,
because obviously, we are at the chalk face. We are delivering to children.
Another strand of John’s involvement in ITE is his role as moderator. Evaluating and
assessing trainees’ competence against the professional standards in collaboration
with other mentors across a number of schools provides him with an opportunity to
offer and at the same time develop his expertise as a classroom practitioner, as he
explains below:
26
I go to the school. I observe the lesson with their mentor. I observe the mentor
feeding back. Then, I ask questions that have been supplied by the university
to the student [trainee] and to the mentors about the quality of the training they
are getting and I think the important thing is that they are getting a consistently
high quality deal at every school.
John strongly believes that through his active involvement in ITE as a mentor, cluster
co-ordinator and ITE moderator, he has developed a detailed understanding of the
wider context within which the ITE framework is located and a critical awareness of
trainees’ needs and entitlements. It also raises his critical awareness of the
idiosyncratic nature of the various school settings and the cultures within them, as well
as the ways in which these differences affect trainees’ learning.
As illustrated by his comment below, John particularly values his communication with
tutors from higher education and mentors from other schools, which introduces him to
new and at times challenging perspectives and facilitates the cross-fertilisation of new
ideas and practices.
I mean, you go into schools, you are chatting to the PE staff, you are chatting
to the students [trainees] and it’s always, “What do you do here? What do you
do with your Year 10 GCSE?” And sharing of best practice happens, you know,
at the annual conference the other day, again you know, you get chatting to
different people.
John is convinced that his involvement in ITE has provided him with the opportunity to
take on a central role in developing a learning community, which involves reviewing
established practice, exploring new directions and venturing into new territory. He
explains how the cluster has been instrumental in providing the space for such
development to take place:
One of the things we have done within the Local Authority cluster is we have
created time with heads of department meetings. We have one head of
department meeting a term and have created time for an ITE slot. So, we use
time to share that information or to discuss issues; only briefly sometimes,
sometimes more lengthy, and that then facilitates cross-fertilisation of ideas
and suggestions.
The school’s involvement in ITE has thus facilitated opportunities for professional
learning that have transcended departmental and school boundaries. In an endeavour
to sustain the growth and development of this emerging learning community, it is now
important to engage more extensively in collaborative activities with colleagues in
higher education and for consolidating the established links with cluster schools.
1. John’s school has played a leading role in developing a learning community

that involves not only his own but also staff from other schools. Can you identify
areas in your own professional development or whole school development
where access to such a community would be beneficial?
27
2. How are new knowledge and classroom practice related to teaching and
learning shared within your department and across the school? Can you think
of a particularly innovative resource or technique used by a trainee that you
believe should be shared with other colleagues?
3. What opportunities have been available to you to participate in ITE activities
involving colleagues from other schools, the Local Authority and/or higher
education? Can you give an example of how this has impacted on your
professional learning?
28
8.5 Building teaching capacity
Stewart has been working with trainee teachers for the past ten years. He has always
considered being involved in ITE as a worthwhile and valuable activity for a number of
reasons. When he was appointed Head of Faculty of English, he made it his priority to
establish links with the local ITE provider to provide placements for trainee teachers.
His current school is an 11-16 urban community school with over half of the pupils
coming from ethnic minority backgrounds sharing 45 different first languages between
them. Just over half of them have learning difficulties and GCSE A-C passes are well
below national averages. However, in spite of these challenges, standards are rising
steadily and Stewart believes that having trainees in the school ‘makes you better’:
Well, as you are training teachers, especially within English, we were pilots for
the literacy strategy, so we were having a lot of focus on the actual mechanics
of teaching and pedagogy and the learning process. So, there is nothing better
than a live experiment and training, training teachers, especially in the early
stages, for example, lesson planning, curriculum development, mapping
objectives, looking at teaching and learning styles. Every time you voice that,
you are actually learning something more yourself, as you experiment with that
and evaluate and look at student [trainee] teachers’ reflections. It also gives
you an excuse to share practice.
Ultimately, Stewart believes that a school’s involvement in ITE allows them to cherry
pick trainees with the possibility of offering them a post. He explains what he is looking
for in the selection of suitable candidates:
I very much want people who are strategy compliant, very innovative, very
enthusiastic. I don’t want necessarily pre-literacy experienced teachers, who
would say, ‘I always do this.’ There has been a sea change in the curriculum at
both key stages and there is a lot more performance required from English
departments now. The best people to deliver are those who are intellectually
capable, who write academic and critical essays, who have had to prepare
research and who have had to become more intellectual and more academic to
deliver the subject. So, we started that way.
Recent staff appointments from the trainees on placement at the school have been
informed by such criteria. They were very much subject specialists, but also had
specialisms within their subjects. This strategy has been employed for the past 5
years, making a significant ITE appointment each year. Stewart illustrates how the
new teachers recruited from trainees have had an impact on capacity building and
quality enhancement of the faculty team:
Well, three of those new appointments are now very much not only supporting,
but also writing Key Stage 3 of the new curriculum. This proves that the journey
we took was for us, because the person I trained three years ago has now
written Key Stage 3 Curriculum. And we have the curriculum we want for our
children. It has given us that open-minded and clear-sighted view of the
curriculum. The curriculum is a tool box and some aspects will suit certain
individuals and some will suit certain types of classes, even certain year
29
groups. Others won’t and it’s having that critical faculty to say, “This is the best
pathway for our children.”
When trainees are offered a placement at the school, they become members of a
highly collaborative team, which places reviewing and critical analysis of professional
practice at the heart of their professional remit, as Stewart explains:
It came out of what started as the students’ [trainees’] weekly review. We

always try to put two sessions in. So, we’d have one for professional
development and one for classroom practice. We’d ask them, “You as a
student [trainee] teacher, how are you developing? Let’s have a look at your
folders.” And as an apprentice teacher, “How’s your lesson planning going?
How’s your monitoring? How is your assessment? Where’s your training
needs?”
Apart from providing trainees with adequate guidance and support, Stewart believes
that the process of mentoring pays dividends in terms of ongoing, relevant curriculum
development on the one hand and teachers’ continuing professional development on
the other. He states:
Usually, the student [trainee] will be working with the mentor or a teacher
whose class they are teaching, and we encourage them to work with the
students [trainees] on a curriculum level. If they are enjoying that process, we
ask them whether they would like to go forward for mentor training. Therefore,
we have this ongoing professional development within the faculty and one of
my outcomes would be that 100 percent of us would be ITE mentors.
A typical situation would be one trainee working in collaboration with two or three
teachers. Stewart concedes that the strategy of providing high quality training carries
a vested interest:
I think there is an unwritten thing that says, “We are going to give you the best
of our time and resources. We are going train you our way, which will hopefully
prepare you for wherever you go. But we have always got that eye on that we
would like you to stay here, if there is a job.”
Stewart is keen to recruit trainees who come equipped with valuable skills, which the
teachers do not presently possess and which the faculty team would like to embed
within their practices:
Our current GTP student [trainee] is a former professional actor and Drama
graduate. He has been supporting us in delivering Shakespeare at Key Stage
3SATs. He is very, very keen on secondary SEAL, supporting the emotional
and emotional aspects of learning, and we are currently looking at how to
incorporate the SEAL objectives and the strategy within our curriculum. Another
one of our students [trainees] is a linguist. She took part in the Pennsylvania
project last year. So, she is looking at how to integrate objectives and
approaches in the curriculum to generate more cohesive, positive classroom
environments. She actually went to Pennsylvania University last year and
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studied with the people that had set up the course, which is now known as the
UK resilience project for which Manchester is a pilot authority.
In addition to curriculum development, drawing on trainees’ specialisms through

sharing classes and resources is considered the best way to learn. Stewart is
convinced that integrating them fully in the Faculty’s day-to-day work is vital for
extending the knowledge and skills base. One specific way of promoting and
facilitating collaborative construction and capacity building is the public drive.
The students [trainees] will leave their work with us on our public drive. So, you
will see their schemes of work next to heads of faculty scheme of work. Not
only have we got a tailored curriculum, but because it is in a digital format we
can change the text, the focus, the context, you know, we can tweak and
change everything.
For example, in preparation for the thematic curriculum to be implemented in the

coming academic year, a Science trainee produced a bank of ten-minute starter
activities to support non-specialist teachers. Thus, the public drive provides a platform
on which to store and index pedagogical tools, which are easily accessible and open
for further modification and development. The truly collaborative nature of this facility
is reflected in Stewart’s comment:
It has become something that has gone side by side and I’ll go as far as to say,
you won’t know where the mentor’s or class teacher’s role stop and the
student’s [trainee’s] start. It’s an organic process.
Trainees’ ideas are taken seriously and taken on board, and joint evaluations of
lessons taught often reveal processes that are of interest to other teachers and of
relevance to other classes. Stewart provides us with a detailed example of how one
trainee’s idiosyncratic approach has transformed the teaching of Shakespeare within
the English department.
As an actor, Alan wanted to look at voice intonation, movement and proximity.

So, we started with the actor. We had the text and the performer. Usually,
because we have very little opportunity going to the theatre, we start with the
film. One actor’s performance, one director’s vision, one text, only one version
and we would then have to generate things around that. By starting this way
and by starting placing the pupil as the actor on the stage of the classroom was
the first stage. He then took it further with his Year 10 class and Romeo and
Juliet, where they did a lot of sensory interaction. One boy came with a piece of
silk and said, “This is Juliet.” In another room, they were doing a glove puppet
show of Romeo and Juliet. We would never have dreamt of taking it so far
down the kinaesthetic approach. We have taken it further now. We will listen to
a key speech by an actor and we will listen with our eyes closed in the dark.
And then, we’ll try and represent it and record it.
What is, of course, most important in trialling this new strategy is the response of the
learners. This multi-sensory approach was innovative to staff and pupils, but produced
the desired results. Once the pupils started playing with it, their ability to write at
length about a version they had seen or a critical response to an issue improved. To
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ensure all pupils would benefit from this new approach each member in the
department was trained. Another trainee who is starting her second block practice will
be working with the school’s lead writing teacher on developing the writing skills of
Year 9 pupils. Through their innovative practices, trainees are regarded as bringing
‘new blood’ into the school and their impact is seen to benefit pupils and staff. As
Stewart explains, there is training and application and we are moving with it.
One of Stewart’s team members, Naomi, who qualified only three years ago,
describes how by means of team teaching she engaged in practitioner inquiry with
one of her trainees. The aim was to identify behaviour strategies that would be
effective for a particularly challenging mixed ability teaching.
My student [trainee] was teaching her mixed ability class and I had not taught
mixed ability before that year. So, it was a learning experience for both of us.
Putting in behaviour strategies for that class was quite tricky. But we came up
with loads of different things. I led it, because I had a much greater
understanding of the pupils. We split them into ability groups and then we could
really, really experiment.
Since becoming involved in the ITE partnership, Stewart’s Faculty has appointed three
trainees and the expectation is that they will now inspire and motivate the team in their
endeavour to strive for continuous improvement of teaching and learning. It has very
much been a process of ‘feed them’ on their first placement and then reap the benefits
on their second. Within the context of a whole school capacity building exercise, their
talents and expertise can be skilfully harnessed with the aim of enriching the
curriculum, sharing and implementing innovative practices and, ultimately, generating
new pedagogical knowledge through collaborative activities with staff.
1. Trainee teachers in Stewart’s school are very well integrated into their
respective departments and engage in collaborative practice with their
colleagues. In what way do trainees in your school have an input into the
production of resources and the generation of new knowledge and practices?
2. Can you think of a resource produced by a trainee teacher that is currently in
use in your school?
3. Can you think of an example where a trainee’s resource or strategy employed
in the classroom has had an impact on other teachers’ practice?
4. How is trainees’ good practice disseminated within and across departments in
your school?
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8.6 Facilitating beneficial contacts
Stanford is a comprehensive school in a very deprived area of a northern city where

one fifth of the pupils are black British and one tenth are from Africa and Asia.
Teachers there, and by extension, pupils, greatly benefit from the contact that an ITE
partnership affords them with people and ideas from outside the confines of their
school. Due to time and budget constraints teachers’ opportunities to attend external
staff development events are limited, however, the school’s involvement in ITE
partnerships has been seen as an effective way of importing new skills and ideas
about teaching and learning into a school and inviting staff to review their own practice
in the light of the trainees’’ teaching. Mike, Subject mentor and second in the ICT
Department, greatly values the ITE link and the impact trainee teachers have on his
department:
These students [trainees] are coming to us with excellent ICT skills and in
some ways we are actually feeding off them with the improvement of the skills.
What we can offer the students [trainees] is the delivery of those skills. We
show them how to do it and the students [trainees] can help us enhance our
actual programme and software skills.
Indeed, Subject Mentor for Science, Siobhan, and one of her colleagues, Pat, agree
that working with trainee teachers can be a particularly powerful mechanism in
teachers’ own professional development, particularly if it involves engaging in
collaborative activities such as team teaching:
I think it does help to develop you, because I like to ask the students [trainees]
as well, because they do have lots of good ideas because it’s all fresh to them.
So, in that way it develops you as a classroom teacher, because they can tell
you new ideas, you know.
Yeah, when I’ve been observing in other lessons, I’ve seem some really nice
ideas that maybe need a bit of tweaking and need, I don’t know, I’ve suggested
ways to change them a little bit to suit our kids. But they have some really nice
ideas that I might possibly use for teaching certain difficult topics.
And they come in with all the power points and all that. And ‘cause they’re
having to research it constantly, obviously, you can get bogged down a little bit,
can’t you, as the classroom teacher, with what needs to be done daily and they
find all these little websites for you.
Professional Mentor, Mark, points out that teachers often take on board these new
teaching styles, techniques and approaches that they observe the trainees
implementing successfully during their lessons, and thus the school benefits. He
values the contact with trainees and believes that it can provide excellent
opportunities for reviewing one’s professional practice in the light of what they observe
trainees do.
Whereas the teacher would normally just sit and do a starter, student
[trainee] teachers have come in and done it in a different way. [They are up
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and about] using role-play etc. So the teacher can look at that and think,
“Oh, that seemed to work.”
Just such an interchange of ideas has happened in the ICT department, when
teachers last year worked with trainee teacher Ashanti who is now a first-year teacher
at the school. Mike, the ICT subject mentor, recalls one particular technique that has
now enhanced the instructional repertoires of teachers in the ICT department, who like
all teachers are constantly looking for ways to keep their starter activities from
becoming a fixed routine and lacking variety:
As a student [trainee], Ashanti brought in little games and things including

Bingo and a cube that he’d roll. And then, depending on what number came
up, he’d ask the questions; you know, questions with a starter.
In this respect, Mark is particularly aware of those colleagues who find it easy just to
remain in their safe comfort zone of what they have always done and be ‘quite staid in
[their] teaching ways. Such colleagues have routinised their classroom skills to such a
degree that they are constrained by the legacy of their training and are trapped within
a mindset of ‘I was taught like this.’ Mark believes that receiving regular impulses from
‘outside’ is crucial if classroom practice is to keep pace with current educational
developments. This poses a particular challenge for staff at Stanford, where a
considerable amount of time and attention is being expended in supporting the
learning needs of pupils in an area of high social deprivation. In such a pressured
environment, it is easy to become cocooned within established routines. Lynsay and
Jo, by contrast, experience the new impulses that are constantly generated when
working with trainees:
There is always the opportunity to see something which makes you think,
“Wow, that was a good idea. Kids really responded well to that.”
Siobhan gives a more concrete example of how trainees have introduced some novel
ideas into the implementation of a new syllabus:
Well, with the new course, because we are doing the new GCSE, erm,
everything has been new over the last 2 years. So we have taught it once all
the way through. We had to put together the course ourselves because it’s all
new stuff and a lot of the stuff we’ve never taught before, and a lot of it is very
new technology. And then we’ve sorted out all the resources and done all our
planning. But the students [trainees] have brought in some new ideas, for me
anyway, with some physics, new ways of teaching it, a different aspect, a
different way of doing things, and some of those resources I will use again.
Some nice, just simple Power Points and nice basic worksheets.
While Mark accepts that teachers may not always take on board the ways of
teaching promoted by the training providers, he believes that as a result of
observing and evaluating trainees’ lessons and by being observed by trainees in
turn, teachers are prompted to review their own practice in the light of their trainees’
teaching. Engaging in critical reflection is particularly beneficial for teachers in inner
city schools like Stanford where the day-to-day challenges of tailoring their
curriculum and instructional style to the needs of an ethnically diverse and socially
34
disadvantaged student population take up a considerable amount of time and
energy expended by staff.
In such an environment, ITE partnerships can provide beneficial contacts for staff to
engage in dialogue with colleagues from other schools and tutors from the ITE-
providing university. Pat, a Science teacher, explains how she has deliberately used
her trainee as a conduit to give her ‘an inside eye’ into what happens in other
schools:
I’ve used Samantha a lot to find out what was going on in Fairfield. So, I
wanted to know what was going on in Fairfield. It’s successful as well. It’s a
successful department. So I’ve been picking Samantha’s brain on what’s
going on in there, plus, it’s there that they do all the AFL – the assessment
for learning. So, I asked her what was going on with the assessment for
learning in Fairfield.
Subject mentor Siobhan agrees with her, as she believes that sharing of knowledge is
key to professional development and that it needs to be a two-way process. Siobhan
and Pat firmly believe that ITE Partnerships play a key role in developing an
infrastructure for schools to network and engage in collaborative activities with each
other and their ITE providers. They particularly welcome the opportunity of sharing
their insights into how well a trainee is doing with the tutors from the university. Having
an input into in the assessment of trainee teachers’ progress and competence
validates their work as mentors and the professional expertise they can offer as
classroom practitioners. As Siobhan explains:
It’s a confidence boost, isn’t it? If someone is pleased that you have helped
them you’re pleased, everyone’s pleased. They are pleased that you are
helping them and it can only have a positive effect.
1. Can you think of an example when a trainee introduced you to a new approach
to teaching and learning (e.g. use of a specific technique, strategy or
resources)?
2. Do you work collaboratively with trainee teachers (e.g. joint planning, team
teaching), and if so, what do you consider to be the benefits for you as a
mentor and teacher?
3. How often do you engage in joint lesson observation and evaluation with the
trainees’ HE tutors and how beneficial is this to your own professional
development?
4. How would you like your ITE provider to keep you up-to-date with pedagogical
knowledge and other educational developments?
5. Which aspects of your professional practice and school development do you
feel could be developed further through networking opportunities provided by
your ITE provider?
35
8.7 Towards a collegiate culture
Quarry Hill Primary School is located near a park on the south side of a large city. It
has 710 children on roll from nursery through to Year 6. The children come from a
variety of ethnic groups and there are a number of home languages spoken by
children. It is a large and lively school where all staff work well together.
Liz is an English specialist who used to hold the post of co-ordinating mentor. Her
appointment took place following a successful interview and resulted in the allocation
of pay points for taking on this additional responsibility. Support for mentoring has
diminished since the Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLRs) replaced the
previous teachers’ responsibility payments, as the co-ordinating mentor position at the
school was phased out and Liz had to be re-assigned to a co-ordinator’s post in
another area. She regretted this happening, as she had been very committed to her
role as co-ordinating mentor:
I became a mentor because I liked having students [trainees]. I had liked being
a student [trainee] and felt I could offer them help in the same way mentors had
helped me. Initially, I was appointed as mentor because I was happy to take
students [trainees] in my class. I’ve been working as a mentor for 8 years. I
have attended courses at three universities. I have also had a lot of experience
of being a class teacher, which helps too. I qualified as a teacher at XXX
University and I have been teaching for 18 years. I was a mature student
entrant. I came to this school as an NQT. I have stayed here all of my teaching
career because I liked the school and I liked the multicultural and socially
diverse backgrounds of the children.
As the TLRs could not be allocated for mentoring, Liz is now the Gifted and Talented
and Innovations Co-ordinator, working with projects such as Creative Partnerships
and projects to make the curriculum more creative and move away from so much
book work. In spite of this shift in emphasis in her career trajectory, she is still very
much committed to mentoring, not only in relation to supporting trainee teachers in
their learning journeys, but also to develop a supportive, co-operative and
collaborative culture, which is of benefit to school staff and manifests itself in positive
relationships.
We have worked more collaboratively as a staff since being involved in ITE

partnerships. There are close teams in all the phases with close relationships
and that supports the students [trainees] better as they have more help from
more staff. The KS2 team work more formally together. Students [trainees]
benefit from year group teams and collaborative approaches to Planning
Preparation Assessment (PPA) time. Students [trainees] come to all our
meetings and they are encouraged to contribute to the meetings. Peer
observation also works better because we have become experienced in
observation through partnership with students [trainees].
Liz’s endeavour to generate a supportive school culture, where learning is perceived

as an integral element by pupils, trainees and staff, has paid dividends. Whether
experienced or not, all staff are mentors. In this way, the school hope to develop a
collegial culture for professional learning through mentoring, particularly, as it is
36
becoming increasingly difficult for teachers to engage in CPD activities outside school.
Working alongside school and university staff and trainees supports good professional
learning and development and fosters collaboration as professionals. One of the key
objectives of developing the aspect of collegiality across the school is to encourage
experienced and new mentors to work together and to engage in learning
conversations. This is where trainees play the role of catalyst:
Having a student [trainee] is like having another professional in the class and
school. We all talk, discuss and develop our ideas together and think on our
feet.
The assistant head, Julie, who also acts as mentor due to her extensive experience,
elaborates on this point further. She had mentored trainees in three schools and
believes that
Mentoring and coaching students [trainees] has had a good effect on staff and
helps them be more open to peer coaching and mentoring and increases
collaboration between staff. There are good ICT skills at our school and the
staff use them to develop resources with the students [trainees]. They have
great, new ideas so the teachers learn from them. We are now more used to
learning on the job because of working with students [trainees]. As a result,
there is a lot of in-house training and learning from each other. It’s good to get
out and visit, … to other schools, …. go out to other places, get together with
other teachers. There is a whole school approach to mentoring so staff
collaborate and work together.
Another mentor, Rowena, is a new teacher, who is only two years into teaching. This
is her first experience of mentoring, which is why she feels a little daunted by the
situation:
It’s a bit of ‘in at the deep end’ because the school took on more students
[trainees] than anticipated.
However, when she knew she had the support of more experienced colleagues, she
felt ok with it. She became a mentor because as a trainee she enjoyed her placement
at school and thought she could give trainees a good experience because she was so
close to them in age and experience and could empathise with them. She had not
been formally appointed. The school just needed extra mentors because it took
trainees from Y university and was short of mentors and when asked she said yes.
Rowena feels like she is picking up new, fresh ideas from the trainee as well as new
concepts about how to teach things. She recalls:
When I was an NQT, I went on behaviour management courses with the LA;
and Key Stage 2 SATS in Literacy and Maths courses. But it is a different kind
of professional learning, learning from each other. I like talking to final year
students [trainees] because I think I can help them a lot because I’m close to
that experience. It makes me more articulate about what I am doing and I have
to explain things better, not take short cuts.
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As can be seen from the differing experiences of mentors, it is not necessary to be an
expert or an established and long-term member of staff in order to mentor trainees.
What does matter in this school are the collective, collegial and collaborative efforts to
develop and sustain a whole school approach to support for professional learning.
1. What features of school climate and culture do you feel need to be nurtured to
promote mentoring by all staff?
2. What do we mean by collegial behaviour?
3. What structures do you consider necessary to support a collegial culture?
4. Consider your own school. Who mentors trainees and who else could do this
with support?
5. What kind of professional skills, attitudes and attributes do you consider
essential for teachers who want to develop as mentors?
6. What do you believe to be the benefits and disadvantages of peer mentoring
and peer coaching with a full range of staff in a school?
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8.8 Developing critical self-awareness and professional sensitivity
Tindell Primary School is a large 2 stream entry urban primary school situated in a
diverse ethnic community in the NW of England. Throughout the year, Susan, the ITE
coordinator, manages a challenging array of school–based training experiences,
including: about 10 initial teacher education trainees from four different providers: a
GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme) trainee, 17 or 18 students training for teaching
support roles and other professions (TA3, GNVQ and Child care) and around 15 high
school pupils on work experience.
The sheer scale of the enterprise, the size of the school and the fact that Susan is a
full time year 5 class teacher means that realistically she gets little opportunity to be
involved directly in the training of students other than those in her upper Key Stage 2
age phase. When she does get involved it is mostly supporting colleagues managing
one of the more challenging trainees. She firmly believes:
This job is vocational and I don’t think it’s for everybody. When you do get a
weak trainee it is difficult and much as I understand university tutors
wanting their trainees to pass, but it’s not fair on the schools that they will
be employed in, and it’s not fair on the children it’ll impact on. Colleagues
find it very difficult, but you have got to say what you mean without hurting
the trainee and also getting through to them that this is not personal, this is
professional and there are certain standards, non negotiable standards.
They have to understand that if it comes to that you’ve got to be humane
but you’ve also got to be professional.
Shakira is the class teacher of the year 5 class parallel to Susan’s and as such has
more opportunity to benefit from her support and guidance than most. This proved
really helpful when she had somewhat of a negative experience with her first trainee.
Michael was a young man on his first teaching experience and Linda, a year 5 class
teacher new to the school, reflected: The thing he made me realise was that I really
felt for my children. Shakira recounts something of the events that had drawn her to
this conclusion:
It was all in the planning really, he hadn’t differentiated. It was a bottom set
Numeracy in year 5 and what he was making them do was far too difficult
and half way through the lesson he put his hand up and said, “Oh you’re
just not getting it”. … I just feel the need to be so positive with the lower
ability children who know they are in the lower ability set. You need to be
even more positive than you would normally be. I learnt from that how much
more they are aware of the fact that they are not as bright as the other
children and that they are in the bottom set and it is important to find
positive things in even the littlest things that they do. I think it made me
realise from watching the children’s faces that even your gestures are
important. My teaching of the lower ability set changed after that. I realised
the impact that my actions would have on those children psychologically.
Shakira continues to reflect upon what she had learnt as a professional from the
experience of mentoring:
39
I also think it does make you evaluate yourself because, I think, when you
are teaching you don’t get the chance to stand back and watch someone
else teach and you never get to go in anybody else’s classroom. Watching
him teach made me think, “Maybe I would have done this or done that.” I
was analysing my own teaching and that gave me a chance to assess my
own children as well, because you never get a chance to sit back and
assess your own kids when you are actually delivering. It gave me a great
insight into my kids and how they were responding and what they
responded too; when they switch off and things like that.
Although an uncomfortable experience for Shakira and her class it had been salutary
in some respects for Shakira. She is prepared to acknowledge:
There were plusses. It made me stronger, a stronger teacher. You know

when you are new as well, I mean, I was only in my second year teaching.
You think, “Well, I’m still new and I’d only just come out of my NQT year. But
it made me see how much I had come on since my PGCE year. So my
confidence grew enormously, so much so that I’m in year 6 now. Also, I got
a lot of support from my colleagues, and Susan particularly, because you
tend to think it is you being difficult, being too picky. But colleagues backed
me. They were very helpful with advice [and] said you’ve got to deal with it
very sensitively, but also fairly, especially as it is a first year student,
because you don’t want to put them off. But you want to make sure that
they know how high your expectations are. So, I think that you’ve got to be
careful with your phrasing and how you approach things, and then, again
positive, like the use of questioning to help them, “Might it be an idea if …?”
and to evaluate their own practice rather than me saying, “No, that wasn’t
good.” It helps with your communication skills when you deliver in those
sorts of situations and there’s nothing to say that I won’t be in that sort of
situation with a teaching colleague. So, you know it does give you practice
dealing with things, dealing with things sensitively and appropriately in the
interest of the student.
Linda had also found her first trainee, a third year undergraduate trainee, hard work:
As a teacher it was hard to hand my class over as I felt they weren’t going
to get what I wanted them to get. It’s hard to sit back and watch that
happen. I struggled to come to terms with it and Susan advised me,
“Sometimes, you have to step out of the room and let them have that go
and support them by giving them key questions that they need to focus on
themselves in the teaching and focus on two or three things that you want
them to develop that week and give them the opportunity to develop it.” A lot
of help came from the TAs as well, as we have a lot of experienced TAs
who have been doing it for 10, 12, 15 years and they have seen a lot of
students [trainees]. So I would ask them first, “What do you think?” and they
would tell me and we would compare with what I had written, and it was
nice to get their feedback as they are very experienced TAs. So they helped
a lot when I showed them what I had written and said, “Was I fair? You were
in that lesson with me and this is what I think. What do you think?” It is very
important when it is a first student [trainee].
40
Linda feels she has derived benefit from this first trainee, albeit limited:
I developed patience because of the amount of time I was giving to her. But
sometimes she would talk to me and we would come across a point and I
would say, “Yes I hadn’t thought about it that way.” So, at times, it would
make me think of things in different way like how to approach objectives
with children. So, I suppose, I did gain that.
After her first ‘bad experience’ Linda was reluctant to take on another trainee, but
when she did it was an utterly different experience which completely won her over:
Liz wanted to learn and asked the questions all the time. It was like,”What
else do you need?” “How about this?” She was very forthcoming and willing
to evaluate herself and say, “How could I make this better?” She was
willing to take on constructive critique and she would go away and think
about it and would come in and talk to me about it. I felt much happier about
leaving my class with Liz as I knew she was thinking about them and their
needs. Most students [trainees] are mainly thinking about getting
themselves through the placement, so the children’s needs don’t come into
it as much. Liz was much more aware of the children. She noticed things
particularly about some Arabic children in my class, which I hadn’t even
picked upon. It was like having two pairs of eyes in the classroom at times
and makes you see things that sometimes you miss just being at the front,
which I feel was really beneficial to me and has really helped me.
Another benefit is that Liz has lots of links with scientists. She has friends at the
university who are training to be neurologists and at that time they were doing a unit
on ‘Science in real life’. So Liz arranged to bring some of her friends into school to do
sessions with the children, who derived real benefit from it. Linda finds that as Liz is
more aware she could have more of a professional dialogue with her, “bounce off one
another”.
Tindell is a rich stimulating professional learning environment which hosts a wide

range of training experiences throughout the year and firmly believes that observing
others in the mentoring role helps staff reflect upon the process of learning, evaluate
their own teaching methods and, importantly, develop more critical self awareness and
professional sensitivity, particularly when dealing with weak trainees. Tindell is also
very aware of the opportunities afforded by able trainees with new and fresh ways of
looking that could encourage experienced staff to reconsider fixed ideas and develop
more flexible ways of working.
1. What are the particular challenges you have experienced when working with
weak trainees? How did you manage these challenges? #
2. How do you think working with ‘weak’ or ‘challenging’ trainee teachers can open
up opportunities for professional development, in terms of developing your
skills and knowledge base as a teacher and/or mentor? Can you give
examples?
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3. Linda was a little concerned she was not stretching Liz enough. Have you ever
been in the situation where you feel you have allowed an able trainee to coast?
What kinds of strategies have you used to challenge an able trainee?
4. Do you feel that the skills and knowledge acquired through working with trainee
teachers can be of benefit to you in other areas of your professional role?
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8.9 Driving improvements in teaching and learning
Anne is Professional Mentor at a large secondary school that recently has

experienced all the upheaval that becoming an Academy can entail. During this period
of transition, she believes that the school’s involvement in ITE partnerships constituted
a stable factor and provided a line of continuity for existing staff and a clear focus for
newly appointed staff. When a new headteacher appointed her as Professional Mentor
seven years ago, there were only 2 trained mentors amongst a staff of 60. Now there
are 50 mentors covering the full range of subject areas provided within the school.
Anne firmly believes that working with trainee teachers is a process with reciprocal
benefits for both mentor and mentee:
The students [trainees] are getting information and help from the mentors, the
mentors are getting all these fresh ideas that are new from university. It’s about
building relationships and it’s also having an impact on teaching and learning in
the school. … The children are learning far more when different people are
giving them different ideas and coming from different ways – a fresh pair of
eyes, so to say.
Anne believes that it is now firmly embedded in the culture of the school to have
trainee teachers, as the staff has recognised the benefits to teaching and learning that
results from being part of an ITE partnership:
I don’t think we’d be up-to-date with the latest teaching methods for some of us.
I think it’s made a lot of people sit up and think, “Oh, this is really different and I
like this.” I think if we didn’t have students [trainees] a lot of people wouldn’t be
changing their teaching methods. Because our exam results for Maths and
English aren’t up to the thirty percent mark, the driving force for the teaching
and learning is mainly coming from the Head of Curriculum Deputy. But, I think
having students [trainees] is having a massive positive impact.
Anne also believes that the culture of the school has been positively affected by the
school’s involvement in ITE, a sentiment that is reiterated by Simon, a curriculum
mentor for English. Simon has been teaching for 18 years and has supported Anne in
developing ITE partnership with a variety of providers. He has taken an overarching
brief to develop mentoring within the English department, as he strongly believes that
working with trainee teachers will have a positive impact on teachers’ practice and
ultimately on pupils’ learning.
Well, it keeps you on your toes. That’s for sure! The new ideas, just bringing in
new ideas, new approaches! It’s a case of ‘we can’t stand still’. We can’t rely on
what I did four or five years ago. These new ideas come from all over the
place. They do research, they get them from university sometimes, they meet
other students [trainees]. It’s just the drive they have and their ambition and the
fact that they are not willing to rest their laurels and the fact that they’ll question
what we’re doing and say. …. And you know, they have confidence. They have
the confidence to turn round and say, ‘Well, shouldn’t we be doing this? This is
what we should be doing.”
43
Simon points out that there is a danger for experienced and routinised teachers to
become complacent. Collaboratively working with trainee teachers is vital in that it
constantly forces established practitioners to articulate their practice and to justify the
strategies and techniques they employ in their teaching.
My student [trainee] this year said, “I don’t like this. I don’t feel comfortable with
it”. We said, “Why not?” … It’s a way into talking about things. This is one of
the strengths of our department. Students [trainees] feel they can actually talk
to members of staff. They don’t feel isolated. One of the things we have always
said to them is, “You are members of the department. You are treated the same
as any other.”
Simon is convinced that the discussions taking place within individual departments
inevitably have an impact on the school as a whole. He also believes that having
trainees promotes a culture of learning within which it is acceptable to request help.
Without trainees, he believes, staff would be more defensive. He also acknowledges
that ‘some students [trainees] can teach you a thing or two.’
I remember one girl we had, called Mary from the Scottish islands. She had the
most wonderful lilt, but she was a very softly spoken person and she never
raised her voice. But they listened. And you’re thinking, “Why are they
listening?” And you suddenly realise that she is making them listen by not
raising her voice. We had another student [trainee] who had all sorts of tricks,
charts and league tables. He introduced a competitive element into the
classroom: “Let’s see where table A is in the league table now? Oh, you’re third
from the bottom. You are going to have to do a bit better than that. And you
think.” Ah, I like that.’
Overall, Simon believes that the school’s involvement in ITE partnerships has certainly
changed its culture. His head of department, Bill, who has been a mentor for 9 years,
values the presence of trainees in the department, as he sees them playing a vital role
in promoting improvement in teaching and learning.
What we are trying to do, is to encourage students [trainees] to actually

contribute ideas while they are here. And, thankfully, they do. For example, all
students [trainees] are invited to departmental meetings and encouraged to get
involved. So, if there is anything they can pass on, you know, part of the
agenda of the department meetings is always teaching and learning. I insisted
on that being in there and if they’ve got something they want to add, then
great,. let’s talk about it.
Also in his one-to-one mentoring role Bill is very much aware of how supporting
trainee teachers has a positive influence on his practice as a teacher.
Now, at this school, they are very, very keen [on] thorough lesson planning. But
being an experienced teacher you are able to go into a classroom and deliver a
lesson without a major plan. But, students [trainees] need to see how it should
be done. If they are not seeing the right practice from you, how are they
supposed to learn and so, it’s made me reflect a lot. It’s made me think, ‘Are
my lessons up to scratch? Are my IT skills up to scratch? Am I doing all my
44
plenaries and starters and entering all the objectives on the board? It’s made
me perhaps a little better as a teacher.
At the same time as trainees are learning from the mentors the reciprocal benefits of
mentoring are indeed fully acknowledged by Bill and his colleagues, who perceive
them as a potential source of information on educational initiatives and developments.
Bill even recalls a situation where staff have actually approached trainees. Barbara, a
Teaching Assistant aspiring to become a teacher, also highlights the benefits of
working with trainees. She has a special vantage point in the classroom that allows
her to see things from a variety of angles, including the learner’s perspective. She
believes that trainee teachers are fresh and they bring something different and new.
They have got that planning in their mind all the time. They’ ve got plenty of
resources ready and children kind of like this new person coming in. I think
children benefit a lot. When younger people come in they have got that
freshness and the optimism and I think this permeates through to people. It
does to me anyway. When I’m watching them, I think, “Oh!” and it might be
something really small, something miniscule that you hadn’t really thought of,
or something more diverse or they might bring a new way to look at something.
They are not frightened of technology and they like using white boards. We as
a school have changed the IT system twice in the last two years and it’s made
teachers a bit wary. But students [trainees] come in with optimism. They are
optimistic that it’s gonna work. And if not, then there is always a plan B. And I
think teachers benefit from that as well. I’m sure they do and I certainly do as a
TA.
1. What are the drivers for improving teaching and learning in your school?
2. Can you recall an example of a trainee introducing new ideas, techniques or
resources that have been adopted by a department or across the school?
3. How are innovative ideas shared with colleagues in your department and the
school as a whole?
4. Can you identify areas in teaching and learning where you would welcome
further input from members of the wider ITE partnership, e.g. from the ITE
provider or mentors from other schools?
45
8.10 Experiencing new perspectives
Tom is Head of Art and one of three Professional Mentors at Cardinal Benedict, a
large, oversubscribed 11-18 comprehensive in a suburb of a northern industrial city.
Having taught Art for twenty years and having gathered extensive experience as a
subject mentor, he was appointed to this post when the school acquired training
status. Tom believes that working with trainees and subject mentors across different
curriculum areas provides him with a broader understanding of the teaching and
learning process from a whole school perspective:
It kind of broadens the partnership within the school, because I’m working with
teachers from other departments with whom I haven’t worked before. I am
usually professional mentor to three or four trainees, for instance, during the
year. So, I have worked with various subject mentors there and have
developed a professional relationship with them, similarly, in history, geography
and so on. I wouldn’t have come into contact with them before. And then,
beyond that, the development of a real partnership with the ITE provider X I am
the Professional Mentor, that’s if you like the link with X. I oversee the trainees
we get from X. I go to the meetings at X, the cluster meetings and so forth. So,
there has definitely a strong partnership built up there.
Tom is convinced that being involved in ITE is beneficial to schools as well as the
teachers and pupils within them.
I believe that it keeps a school fresh. Having people new to the profession
coming in for a relatively short period of time keeps things fresh. Because on
the one hand, you’ve got new faces coming into classrooms, which is probably
the least important part. What is more important is that these faces are coming
in, and they are being looked after. They are being mentored by subject
mentors and in turn having to think about their own practice, and what goes on,
and so, it makes us more self-aware. It makes us more reflective about our
own practice. It makes you focus on what is required to be a successful
teacher.
At Cardinal Benedict’s, being involved in ITE as a subject mentor is understood as an

aspect of a teacher’s professional development, which is why there are subject
mentors in almost all subject areas. Keith who has been working as a Science teacher
for 27 years supports trainees, but not as a formally appointed mentor. Nevertheless,
he believes that they bring examples of new practices and there is no end of new
educational ideas.
Trainees can add to the department’s resources bank, particularly in Key Stage
3. They have produced worksheets and power points from the Internet. I would
be looking for resources in chemistry and Physics in particular, as Biology is my
specialist subject. Trainees look quite intensively for resources on the Internet
and find things easily. New resources are then flagged up by individual staff in
an informal manner. Trainees also bring ideas from their placements in other
schools.
46
This often brings to the fore what teachers used to do earlier in their career and act as
a reminder. One of Tom’s subject mentors, Nuzhat, admits that she is rather traditional
in the way in which she teaches Maths. She has been a subject mentor for the past
five years. In spite of her extensive teaching experience of 12 years, she values the
day-to-day interaction with trainees and the opportunity that being a mentor affords to
introduce her to new and alternative perspectives and to allow her to re-articulate her
practice.
It forces you to think about things you do every day, strategies that you put into
practice every day. It kind of makes you put them into words. It helps you to
reflect on what you do as well. So, when you are talking to the trainees, if it
doesn’t seem quite right or sounds quite right, or doesn’t work quite right, you
make adjustments, and you improve it.
Nuzhat has found observing trainees teach useful in that it prompts her to review her
own teaching in the light of new, alternative practices. What she has found particularly
striking is the discovery that it makes her see things from the pupils’ point of view.
When I’m observing the trainee, you know, you definitely see what the pupils
are seeing and doing, and it makes you think. When I’m standing in front of
them, you know, to me it’s everything. Obviously, it’s my subject and I am really
interested in it. But I have sat at the back of classrooms – it’s not that the topic
doesn’t interest me – but the way it is delivered sometimes means that I just
cannot concentrate, no matter how hard I try. So, I think, “Well, the children,
some of these children aren’t even that interested in Maths. So, how are they
gonna concentrate?” Do you know what I mean? At the same time, I think, I do
this sometimes as well. And I think, “Just because I’m talking about how to
solve equations, I expect that they are all interested. They’re all sitting there
and they’re not saying anything.” So, you are much more aware of that.
In tune with the ethos of a training school Nuzhat believes that acting as an ITE
mentor has no doubt contributed to her professional development, not only in terms of
honing her skills as a classroom practitioner, but also in relation to the wider
educational context.
I think mentoring is better at improving your own teaching than any course I’ve
been on. It’s the practical element, I think. And it’s watching other people,
watching other people making mistakes that you might be making yourself that
you don’t realise you’re making until you see somebody else. It keeps you on
your toes about what’s going on. Because somebody just gave me a book on
changes of the national curriculum or something, I probably wouldn’t read. But
this kind of forces you to know what’s going on. And the trainees need to know
what’s going on.
Nuzhat feels obliged to keep up-to-date with educational developments for the
trainees’ sake.
They would miss out, because the trainees do bring a wealth of new ideas and
new experiences for the children as well. And the children get to do something
different and get to know a different face, so you know, a different perspective.
47
Nuzhat’s colleague Carl, who is into his third year of teaching and who is not a
formally trained mentor but occasionally lends his support to trainees, has also
discovered the advantage of reviewing one’s practice from a different perspective,
namely that of the spectator rather than the performer.
I can always work on things like my presentation on the board. My actual

written presentation isn’t good. And watching students [trainees] makes me
realise that even more. I also don’t praise students [trainees] enough, when
perhaps I should. Uhm, so, it does always make me think. … I think it’s
important, its’ good to have the trainees in. I think it’s good, again, from the
point of view that you can get new outlooks on the things.
Jean, a colleague in the Science department who has been teaching and mentoring
for six years, reiterates the benefit of adopting a different perspective. Currently, she
has no ambition to take on any other roles or responsibilities, as she enjoys her
current roles, as they allow her to develop her professional competence as a
classroom practitioner to the full:
It is interesting. It is making me think about my own teaching style and how that
has an impact on the kids. You know, questioning techniques, because when
you’re sat at the back of the classroom, you can see the kids desperate to
answer a question and you might not notice when you are in front of the class.
Just little things like that make you reflect on your own lessons a little bit more.
1. Can you give an example where observing a trainee’s lesson has made you
aware of new, alternative perspective to teaching and learning? Have you ever
modified your classroom practice as a result of this?
2. Has observing a trainee teach ever reminded you of effective practices you
used to employ earlier in your career, but have not used for some time? Can
you give an example?
3. To what extent does the ITE partnership provide you with opportunities to share
and discuss a range of perspectives on teaching and learning?
48
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Letter/email of invitation
Letter to secondary school
11th March 2008
Re: ‘The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and

development - case study of good practice’
Dear
You may recall that several weeks ago you agreed to participate in the above TDA funded
project. It involves interviewing 4 staff within your school (including yourself) about how their
involvement in the ITE partnership has facilitated their professional learning and development
as teachers and mentors.
With the aim of identifying examples of good practice we would like to include a range of
perspectives and arrange interviews with the following staff:
- The professional mentor/ITE co-ordinator

- Two subject mentors/heads of department in two specialist subject areas (subject A
and subject B)
- Two teachers not officially appointed as mentors, but working with student teachers in
subject A and subject B.
Please find enclosed an interview schedule with the kind of questions we would like to ask
and a participant information sheet and consent form, which should be completed prior to
commencing the interview.
We would be grateful if you could complete the enclosed form stating days/half days when we
could conduct the interviews at your school and return it to us in the envelope provided.
Many thanks for your time and support.
Best wishes
Marion Jones
Reader in Education
Directorate of Research and Enterprise
Email: m.jones@ljmu.ac.uk
Tel: 0151 231 527
49
Headteacher
Letter to primary school
11th March 2008
Re: ‘The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and

development - case study of good practice’
Dear
You may recall that several weeks ago you agreed to participate in the above TDA funded
project. It involves interviewing 4 staff within your school (including yourself) about how their
involvement in the ITE partnership has facilitated their professional learning and development
as teachers and mentors.
With the aim of identifying examples of good practice we would like to include a range of
perspectives and arrange interviews with the following staff:
- Primary ITE co-ordinator/headteacher

- A curriculum area co-ordinator
- Two class teachers who have worked with student teachers
Please find enclosed an interview schedule with the kind of questions we would like to ask
and a participant information sheet and consent form, which should be completed prior to
commencing the interview.
We would be grateful if you could complete the enclosed form stating days/half days when we
could conduct the interviews at your school and return it to us in the envelope provided.
Many thanks for your time and support.
Best wishes
Marion Jones
Reader in Education
Directorate of Research and Enterprise
Email: m.jones@ljmu.ac.uk
Tel: 0151 231 527
50
Email
Dear
I left a message on your voice mail today regarding a TDA funded project, which seeks to investigate
teachers’ professional learning through working with student teachers and within ITE partnerships. As a
member of the PDS cluster you may already have been made aware of this study by Barbara Craig,
who referred me to you.
The aim of the study is to identify examples of good practice by means of a case study approach and
involves 5 face-to-face interviews with teachers/mentors working with students. For further information
please find attached a Participant Information Sheet.
As the project manager, I would be delighted if you and your colleagues agreed to participate in this
project and would be grateful if you could let me know your decision by Friday 8th January by return of
email.
Many thanks for your time.
Yours sincerely
Marion Jones
51
Interview arrangements
Title of project
The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and development:-
a case study of examples of good practice
Suggested dates for staff interviews
Date and Date and

Staff member’s name time time (second
(first choice) choice)
Primary ITE Co-
ordinator/Headteacher
Curriculum area co-

ordinator
Class teacher 1
Class teacher 2
Name of school: ______________________________________________
Please return this form in the stamped addressed envelope.
Thank you for your support.
Marion Jones
(Project Co-ordinator)
52
Title of project
The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and development:- a case
study of examples of good practice
Confirmation of dates and times for staff interviews
Date and Date and

Staff member’s name time time (second
(first choice) choice)
Professional Mentor/
ITE Co-ordinator
Subject mentor/Head of
department (subject A)
Subject mentor/Head of
department (subject B)
Teacher not officially

appointed as a mentor
(subject A)
Teacher not officially

appointed as a mentor
(subject B)
Name of school:
Please return the completed form in the stamped addressed envelope.
Thank you for your support.
Marion Jones
(Project Co-ordinator)
53
Appendix 2 – Participant Information Sheet and Consent form
Participant Information Sheet
Dear Colleague,
You are invited to take part in a professionally focused research project which aims to
generate insights into the mechanisms involved in facilitating teachers’ professional
learning within an ITE partnership context. In agreeing to be involved in this study you
will be asked to provide consent to be interviewed.
Title of project
The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and development:- a case study of
examples of good practice
Project Manager
Dr Marion Jones, Liverpool John Moores University
Collaborating partners
Professor Anne Campbell, Leeds Metropolitan University
Professor Olwen McNamara, University of Manchester
Purpose of the study

This TDA funded project is a follow-up study (Phase 2) to a survey conducted by Liverpool
John Moores University, Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University and The
Open University in 2006 (Phase 1). It is concerned with the impact of ITE on school outcomes,
involving a total of 917 ITE mentors in primary and secondary schools in the Northwest of
England. It seeks to explore the impact of ITE mentoring on teachers’ professional
development and on the wider school workforce with the aim of identifying examples of good
practice by means of a selection of case studies.
It is anticipated that the study will provide insights into the relationship between mentoring
student teachers and teachers’ workplace learning within the context of ITE partnerships and
will thus make explicit the hidden curriculum of ITE partnerships with regard to teachers’
professional learning, be it as individuals, within and across departments and within and
across schools.
Key questions to be addressed

1. How does working with ITE students provoke teachers to engage in critical reflection?
2. How does the ITE partnership assist teachers, departments and schools to develop their
knowledge and skills base?
54
3. What are the dynamics between individual teachers’ learning and how does this extend
across departments and the school as a whole?
4. How can ITE partnerships provide opportunities for teachers’ CPD beyond school
boundaries and contribute to the development of learning communities?
Potential participants
We are particularly interested in talking to ITE co-ordinators/professional mentors (1), subject
mentors / heads of departments (2) and class teachers (2) working with student teachers.
However, we would also like to include teachers who have no specific role in ITE partnerships
or have not been involved in working with students, thus providing a range of perspectives.
Procedures and participants’ role

By agreeing to participate in this study, you will be asked to take part in a 30 minute, face-to-
face recorded interview. Ideally, we would like to agree one day with each school, when we
can conduct interviews with all those teachers participating.
If appropriate we would also be interested in gathering supplementary information via relevant

documentation and a detailed description of the setting. However, it will entirely up to you to
what extent you will be involved in providing information.
Please note!
All participants have the right to withdraw from the project/study at any time without prejudice
to access of services which are already being provided or may subsequently be provided to
the participant.
What will happen to the findings?

Following an invitation by the TDA to produce a portfolio of good practice of ITE partnerships
promoting teachers’ professional learning, the information gathered will be used to produce 10
case studies depicting 4 primary and 6 secondary schools, which will be included in the
Teacher Training Resources Bank (ttrb). We also intend to publish a report of the research in a
peer-reviewed, academic journal.
Unless you or your school would like to be named, your anonymity will be guaranteed and
information gathered will be treated in confidence.
If you would like further details concerning your participation in this study
please contact:
Dr Marion Jones Tel: 0151 231 5277 E-mail: m.jones@ljmu.ac.uk

(Project manager)
Professor Anne Campbell Mob: 078244826009 E-mail: a.j.campbell@leedsmet.ac.uk
Professor Olwen McNamara Tel: 0161 275 3500 E-mail:

olwen.mcnamara@manchester.ac.uk
55
LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY
PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM
Title of project
The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and development:- a case
study of examples of good practice
Please tick the appropriate box!
Yes No
I agree to take part in the above named project, the details of which
have been fully explained to me and described in writing.
I have read and understood the information provided on the Participant

Information Sheet
I agree to take part in a face-to-face, audio-recorded, 30 minute

interview.
I would like my name acknowledged in the report to be included in the

Teacher Training Resources Bank
I would like the name of my department acknowledged in the report to

be included in the Teacher Training Resources Bank
I would like the name of my school acknowledged in the report to be

included in the Teacher Training Resources Bank
Participant’s full name: …………………………………………………………………….
Signed......................................... Date...................................
I, Marion Jones, certify that the details of this project have been fully explained
and
described in writing to the participant named above and have been understood by
him/her.
56
Signed......................................... Date...................................
Appendix 3 – Interview schedule
‘The impact of ITE partnerships on teachers’ professional learning and

development – a case study of examples of good practice’
TDA PROJECT - QUESTIONNAIRE A
Primary and secondary co-ordinators and/or heads of department
Generic questions for all participants
1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
2. Why have you become a primary/secondary co-ordinator or a Head of Department working

with student teachers?
3. How were you appointed?
4. How many years have you been working in this role?
5. How well were you prepared for this role?
6. How many years have you been working as a teacher?
7. What are your specialist subjects?
8. Which other roles or responsibilities have you held?
9. How do you believe your school’s involvement in an ITE partnership has had an impact on
the way in which continuous professional development is perceived and the way in which
workplace learning takes place?
10. How can ITE partnerships be developed further to facilitate continuing professional
development for all teachers and teaching assistants?
11. Which other benefits do you feel can result from schools’ involvement in ITE partnerships?
For the individual teachers and schools as a whole?
12. What do you perceive to be the main constraints/facilitators of your professional learning
within an ITE partnership context? How could this be improved?
Specific questions
1. What do you perceive to be the benefits of your school’s involvement in an ITE

partnership in terms of teachers’ continuing professional development? To pupils,
teachers and other staff?
57
2. Could you give examples of your and staff’s professional learning through working with
student teachers and through being involved in the ITE partnership? Has this had an
impact on your practice? If so, please give an example of formal, structured
programmes and informal, incidental learning.
3. How do staff (including yourself) share their learning experiences with colleagues
across the school? (e.g. informally, haphazardly or through formal dissemination?)
4. Within the wider context of the ITE Partnership, have there been opportunities for your
and your staff’s professional development beyond the school boundaries? For
example, through collaborative activities with ITE providers, networking with other
schools and formal CPD programmes? If so, please give examples.
5. How is individual and collective learning through working with student teachers and
ITE providers shared and implemented into teaching practices?
6. What are the drivers of teachers’ professional learning and development in your
school? How is it managed? How are mentors appointed?
7. To how many ITE providers do you offer placements? In which way do you personally
or your school actively engage with ITE partnerships?
8. In what kind of activities and events do you regularly participate and why? What are
the benefits of this engagement with ITE providers in terms of your professional
development? (think of specific examples such as classroom practice, teaching and
learning, subject knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, curriculum development,
professional standards, mentoring/coaching skills etc.)
9. What are the challenges of being involved in ITE partnerships? Which aspects of your
ITE partnership do you feel need further development with regard to teachers’
continuing professional development and school improvement?
58
TDA PROJECT – QUESTIONNAIRE B
Primary class teachers and secondary subject mentors
2. Why have you become a primary class teacher or subject mentor working with student
teachers?
Specific questions
1. How does your work with student teachers impact on your teaching practices,
resources, your knowledge and skills base?
2. Could you give an example of reflective practice as a result of working with a student
teacher? How would you define it? What triggered this process? How has it influenced
and possibly changed your professional practice and possibly that of colleagues within
your department or the school?
3. As a mentor, to what extent do you feel the ITE partnership has provided you with
opportunities for continuing professional development within your school and through
collaborative activities with other professionals? Could you give an example?
59
TDA PROJECT – QUESTIONNAIRE C
Teachers not formally appointed as mentors
2. Why have you become involved in working with student teachers?
Specific questions
1. In what way do you believe your school’s involvement in an ITE partnership has
created opportunities for your continuing professional development in relation to your
teaching practices, resources, knowledge and skills base?
2. Do you feel that your school’s involvement in ITE partnerships has had an impact on
your professional learning and development? If so, please give an example.
60

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The Impact of ITE Partnerships

Start: 1st January 2008

Report to the Teacher Development Agency for

Dr Marion Jones, Liverpool John Moores University

Prof Anne Campbell, Leeds Metropolitan University and

2. Purpose, aims and objectives 5

AST Advanced Skills Teacher

CPD Continuing Professional Development

GNVQ General National Vocational Qualification

GTP Graduate Teacher Programme

ITE Initial Teacher Education

ITT Initial Teacher Training

MFL Modern Foreign Languages

NQT Newly Qualified Teacher

PDS Professional Development School

PPA Planning Preparation Assessment

PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education (with Qualified Teacher Status)

SAT Standard Assessment Tests

TDA Teacher Development Agency for Schools

TLRs Teaching and Learning Responsibilities

The project team would like to thank:

Marion Jones, Project Leader

0151 231 5277

Professor Ann Campbell

Professor Olwen McNamara

2. Purpose, aims and objectives

Phase 2 of the study was originally planned to develop deeper understanding of

Traditionally, in school-based models of teacher training the focus of learning is firmly

A multi-site approach comprising 4 primary and 6 secondary schools was adopted

Data collection and analysis

• Effect, value and impact of ITE mentoring on individuals’ professional learning

The data collection process adopted involved the team:

• Conducting and transcribing interviews

• Workplace and situated learning of a high quality;

Cofer (2000) Informal workplace learning. Practice Application Brief No 10 ERIC

Connelly, F M & Clandinin, D J (1999) Shaping Professional Identity: Stories of

Darling-Hammond, L (1994) Professional Development Schools: Schools for

Day, C (1999) Developing teachers: the challenges of lifelong learning. London:

Garet, M S, Desimone, A C, Birman, B F & Yoon, K S (2001) What makes professional

Garrick, J. (1997) Informal learning in the workplace: unmasking human resource

Geertz, C (1973) The Interpretation of Culture. New York: Basic Books

Harland, J & Kinder, K (1997) Teachers’ continuing professional development: framing

Hurd, S, Jones, M, McNamara, O & Craig, B (2007) Initial teacher education as a

Kwo, O (2007) Towards a learning profession: Understanding induction in a district-

Lave, J & Wenger, E (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.

Ovens, P (1999) Can teachers be developed? Journal of In-service Education, 25 (2),

Strong, M (2005) Teacher induction, mentoring and retention: a summary of the

8.1 Learning collaboratively

As a manager, I think that having students [trainees] in is a good move forward

At the same time, if there was something interesting or exciting brought in by a

In her endeavour to keep up-to-date with educational developments and pedagogical

Observing trainees’ practice is seen as another opportunity to engage in collaborative

When students [trainees] are doing focused observation on maybe literacy or

As highlighted in Jackie’s accounts learning collaboratively with trainees can result in

Some questions for consideration:

1. Can you recall an instant when a trainee teacher employed a particularly

Christine is Professional Mentor at a large rural, high achieving comprehensive

No doubt, that’s happened because I was in ITE. There’s no question on that

Providing in-service training on mentoring was not confined to colleagues at her

Some questions for consideration:

Elaine became involved in ITE mentoring trainee teachers immediately after

Elaine’s special responsibility is the co-ordination of MFL within the primary

It really is a win-win situation. Because they go abroad on placement, they add

Working together is about continuous improvement. When I began teaching