Teacher Training (PGCE)
Leicestershire Secondary SCITT provide school-based initial teacher training (secondary) at Rushey Mead School. It's an absolute joy to work with their knowledgable team to teach the postgraduate elements of the teacher training course.
The post graduate elements are two 'units' which outcomes are outlined by the University of Leicester. Over the last couple of years I re-wrote the teaching content and taught both units to PGCE students.
Initially the content was written for face-to-face teaching and taught to 60 students in 2019-2020. Last year the content was adapted and refined to teach 80 students fully online due to Covid related restrictions. I taught as Lead Tutor alongside Dr Suzanne Culshaw.
Both units include modules on Learning Theory, Teaching Theory, Action Research and Academic Writing. The latest research on teaching and learning was drawn on to plan and teach these units, resulting in excellent postgraduate, 'Level 7' outcomes for trainee teachers.
Individual classroom-based research is undertaken by each student which they write about in a 5,000 word assignment. In my role as Associate Tutor for the University of Leicester, I marks (and second marks) student papers as well as provides feedback for markers in my role as Lead Moderation Marker for the SCITT.
Testimonials
I had the pleasure of working alongside Joy when teaching the PGCE aspects of the Leicestershire Secondary SCITT programme. Joy’s knowledge and understanding of learning theories and pedagogues are excellent. She is able to make difficult concepts understandable and accessible [...] She provides students with regular, detailed, timely & formative feedback and her marking (level 7) is exceptional. She has a very positive and engaging online teaching presence; she is sensitive, inclusive and understanding. She truly is a joy to work with and I thank her for being such an excellent mentor, role model and colleague!
The (online) training sessions Joy ran were excellently put together, highly informative and varied in their approach, including activities and breaks to keep students motivated. Joys support and guidance in individual sessions was also exemplary. She helped to break things down and set achievable targets. Without her patience and help it would have been incredibly difficult to succeed in gaining my Qualified Teacher Status.
The Theories of Learning session was so engaging! It was super fun to make our own theory of learning using play-dough and the other materials! Funny, I didn't realise how much I was learning until we presented to the group and I heard myself speak! Thanks so much, it was brilliant!
Dream team! Joy and Suzanne are positive, calm and helpful. The sessions were really good and informative. They allowed me to feel confident about the assignment and how to write a critical reflection. [...] Overall I cannot express how helpful they were.
I learnt so much today. The session was well structured, I enjoyed the pace, discussion and it was interactive. Not at all the typical lecture I was expecting from master's level topics.
We couldn't deliver our great programme without the amazing work that you [@SuzanneCulshaw] and @JoyGiannaros do with our trainees. Just want to make sure you know it is greatly appreciated.
Joy and Suzanne are truly invested in ensuring that all learners are confident and are prepared to complete their assessments. Each PGCE session is structured to focus on areas of fears/concerns, and the particulars of how to complete assignments. Also, Joy and Suzanne are presenting powerhouses! Whilst one is presenting, the other has an eye on the chat to answer questions live. It is so very useful, and they alleviate fears!
When I didn't get a Level 7 first time around, Joy worked so closely with me to help me really understand why I only got a Level 6. Even though I didn't think it was worth me re-submitting, Joy was so encouraging and supportive, she helped me understand how to improve my work and I ended up giving it another go! Can't believe I got a 'good' Level 7 second time around!!!! Joy is such an amazing role model as a teacher. Thank you so much!
The structure that you applied to everything was really helpful, I found this logical and methodical approach to be great in terms of gaining full understanding.
Just added to my Calendar “Zoom Joy” and it made me smile. What a lovely end to the week for me! .
My lasting impression of the units is that it has been very informative and a very supportive environment. Joy and Suzanne have used all the feedback we have given and acted on it to make each session that the one before.
Really enjoyed the sessions. uplifting and confidence boosting at the perfect times throughout the assignment.
Having finally completed the feedback survey I just wanted to send a personal email to say that I very much appreciated Friday’s session and it has helped me refine my synopsis. Also It is clear to me how much work you are putting in to these projects, and helping us trainees get through it. We are all appreciating your efforts
I found that you were both brilliant: you are clearly so passionate about your work and truly care about how we all feel and how we do with our work. I also appreciated the amount of effort put into your content [...] and presentation, and that you take all of our comments on board.
Both the tutors have been EXTREMELY supportive with everything, and what at the beginning looked very scary now it actually looks ok!
Expertise of our tutors has been superb combined with their approachable and CALMING nature has been most helpful in such stressful [Covid] times!
Middle Leader courses
It's a pleasure to work with this large group of schools (25) to update, adapt and deliver the following four middle leader courses fully online:
- Securing the Quality of Teaching and Learning
- Using Data and Assessment
- Curriculum Design
- Pastoral Leadership
Middle leaders joined these interactive and dynamic courses from all over England last year. Delegates engaged in online, whole group sessions, one-to-one coaching, and small group critical friendship (Swaffield, 2008) activities.
The latest thinking in learning and teaching theory was drawn on and critiqued alongside delegates' classroom realities and wider critical educational debates to create a rich learning experience for each delegate. Content and activities were delivered through the use of recent online learning tools, which enabled keen delegate engagement over the two terms of the course.
A key feature of each course was the focus on engaging with recent educational research. Each delegate undertook an action research project to apply their learning and create meaningful and lasting change in their area. Each course concluded with project presentations, peer evaluations and action planning - a wonderfully purposeful yet celebratory session of delegates incredible achievements!
Testimonials
Anonymous evaluation forms are completed at the end of each session and at the end of the course. This provides precious reflection time for delegates and valuable feedback for our own development. Here's what some GDST delegates said:
Thought it was great, very interactive for an online session and felt confident to share my ideas and discuss. Thank you Joy!
Joy has a really excellent approach - academic and pragmatic. The overall organisation, content and atmosphere on the course all made it for me. I have not attended such a well balanced or challenging course through the GDST before, and our standards are generally very high!
I think the delivery was excellent and the content really made us think deeper about our own curriculum designs. Also the chance to go away and apply it before feeding back with a presentation is excellent.
I have really enjoyed the course on what can be a mundane topic. It's definitely made me be more reflective about my own way of working, how I lead and how I can take things forward. I'm now excited about assessment and data!
I found this a really exciting opportunity and one which has been made even better by Joy and her knowledgable / kind approach to the virtual experience. I have always felt my contribution and opinions have been highly valued and the communication outside of virtual interaction has meant I have always been well informed and not out of my depth. I am excited to take what I have learnt back to school!
A really good course. I have gained much more insight into my own leadership style and how to be an effective leader. I have also gained a wider insight into colleagues' experience of leadership.
The most valuable parts of course for me is the detailed and valuable individual feedback Joy gave me. She is an astute listener and was able to help me apply my learning and reading to my personal situation through our one-to-one coaching sessions. As a result I was able to identify a useful project to work on using action research and now feel I have more visibility as a leader
It was a positive and affirming experience and came at the perfect time for us to be re-invigorated with fresh purpose and excellent pedagogy. Thank you so much Joy, I really enjoyed working with you and your supportive approach.
The discussion topics were always pertinent and interesting; I gained so much from them. Incredibly useful was the frequent time built in to reflect on our current practice - time is so rare in teaching and leading, Joy understood this perfectly and made space for it.
The additional research, suggested reading and videos were so useful for me. I really appreciate how you were always available on Teams to meet or talk further in-between sessions; you thoroughly facilitated and supported my learning.
Other projects
Workload case studies
Work-related stress in the teaching profession has increased year on year and has been cited as the main reason for education professionals leaving the profession (Teacher Wellbeing Index, 2019). Workload reduction has been identified by the DfE as a priority (DfE, 2019), and senior leaders of schools in England and Wales will be asked by Ofsted to justify how they reduce staff workload (Ofsted, 2019).
Learning Perspective offers workload case-studies to schools who wish to gain an honest insight into the workload of their employees. Studies have shown that employees are reluctant to disclose unmanageable stress to their employer (Teacher Wellbeing Index, 2019). The case-study model allows employees to talk freely about stress and workload without fear of judgement.
A workload case-study provides senior leaders with real insights into what elements of workload teachers and support staff find difficult, and makes recommendations on how to reduce that workload.
A recent workload case study was conducted with a Trust of three schools. The research took the form of semi-structured interviews where all ethical guidelines (BERA) were upheld. Emergent themes were identified across all three schools and presented in a thorough report to the school.
A follow-up case study with the school two years later demonstrated that the majority of participants cited either 'substantial' or 'some' positive changes made by the Trust to reduce their workload since the first case study. A fantastic success for the Trust and their teachers!
National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
This qualification was delivered alongside a colleague from a Teaching School Alliance (Department for Education accredited provider).
There was a cohort of 23 school leaders who focused on a specific leadership challenge in their school or Trust. By using the latest evidence-based learning school leaders were shown how to put their findings into practice in their school setting.
The NPQSL aimed to develop their leadership knowledge and expertise to improve outcomes for teachers and pupils in their schools. The content was organised around the key challenges that they faced in their role.