Keeping Up-to-date With Practical Research and Enquiry

The General Teaching Council’s Research of the Month (RoM)

“Research is crucial to the development of teaching and the quality of learning: both education policy and educational practice should be informed by the best available evidence.” The GTC

Keep up to date with practical based research to inform your teaching and support your professional development.

The GTC's research activity includes appraising and utilising the fruits of others’ research, as well as sponsoring or directly commissioning new studies. Currently their programme of research is organised under the key themes of CPD, Pupil learning and Workforce.

Research of the Month

To access the Research of the Month, visit the Reseach area of the GTC website.

In addition to commissioning research, each month the GTC publishes a new ‘Research of the Month’. Research of the Month is a series of research summaries on topics which the GTC think will be of direct interest to teachers. The format and content enables teachers to decide quickly if the work is interesting and relevant to them and relate it to their own practice.

The aim of Research of the Month is to interrogate research on behalf of practitioners. Research is selected which:

• illuminates the complex tasks involved in teaching;
• enables teachers to see clearly whether there are links with their own pupils and practice, and what these are;
• provides detailed information about the particular teaching and learning processes in classrooms with which teachers can identify;
• is written and presented as accessibly as possible, in case teachers want to obtain and read the original text.

Recent areas include: ‘Transforming teaching and Learning with ICT’, ‘Promoting students’ persistence in meeting learning challenges’ and ‘Teaching Phonics effectively’. These summaries of effective practice are compiled by the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE). For those wishing to explore research further, (particularly relating to the impact and significance of coaching and mentoring in professional development) visit the CUREE Website

Teachernet’s Research and Development Resources and Links

At TeacherNet, Reasearch you can find out why research can help you in your teaching and how to become involved with research yourself. There are many opportunities to engage in research and teachers are supported in their work by:

• Teacher/researcher networks and partnerships
• Scholarships, fellowships, sabbaticals and exchanges
• Professional-development programmes and higher degrees
• Funding organisations

You can review findings and receive an interactive email update at the National Foundation for Educational Research and TeacherNet's current research and topical updates pages will also enable you to keep abreast of the latest insights and discoveries.

You can read short digests of recent journal articles on The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS), a searchable online database that aims to improve user access to academic research. You can access publications and articles including the NERF Bulletin: Evidence for teaching and learning, a recent resource that presents research evidence on topics relevant to teachers. You can get hold of the latest statistics and find out about sources of useful information in other countries. Any important dates and upcoming events can be found in the events calendar.

Recognition for your development work: The Teacher Learning Academy (TLA)

The TLA seeks to offer public and professional recognition for teachers' learning, development and improvement work.

• It aims to stimulate learning experiences for teachers which are effective for them, their pupils, their schools and for the education service.
• It seeks to support learning communities within and beyond schools that enrich teaching practice and support innovation.

All teachers who have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and are registered with the GTC are eligible to participate. Wherever possible you are advised to access support in one of the following ways:

• Through a school, hub of schools or local authority partnership.
• Through opportunities offered by the GTC’s professional networks.
• Through a national partnership programme that offers professional recognition from the TLA.

I’m Interested. What Do I Do Next?

• To enrol go to the Teacher Learning Academy: Online enrolement. This is a very simple online form which takes a few minutes to complete. You’ll need to enter your Teacher Reference Number, so make sure you have it to hand.
• To access detailed information about the Teacher Learning Academy, visit the GTC website. Here you can download information booklets, guidance and samples of submissions.
• To read and download local case studies submitted to the TLA at Stage 1 and Stage 2, go to the AST Virtual Office located on the Sandwell extranet.
• For local 1 to 1 and group support, advice and guidance, contact Cath Foulkes, the Sandwell TLA named officer. Tel: 0121 569 8294 E-mail: catherine_foulkes@sandwell.gov.uk