SCOTENS at AERA

One of the joys of my professional career is working with the cross-border network for teacher education which was set up following the Good Friday Agreement and continues to thrive! This week SCoTENS is in New York!

SCoTENS (the Standing Conference for Teacher Education, North and South) – (a unique cross-border network in times of maximal crossness about borders!) is the focus of a Seminar at the American Education Research Association Conference in New York City on Saturday 13^th April 2018.

The seminar which is sponsored by the Education Studies Association of Ireland will outline a social history of SCoTENS and also present some of the early findings of an evaluation of the value of SCoTENS which has been undertaken using a framework designed by Prof Etienne Wenger, the key theorist in situated learning who was they keynote speaker at our annual conference in 2016.

This Wordle (wordlr.com) sums up the key value of ScoTENS based on key words in the data – just to provide a glimpse of the data which we are still working on….

Posted on April 13, 2018 by lindaclarke_msu50l

Evaluation of the Global Learning Project in Northern Ireland (2015-2017)

Between 2015-2017, Professor Linda Clarke and Dr Lesley Abbott carried out research to investigate the impact of the Global Learning Programme (GLP) on schools in Northern Ireland. The research included an examination of the programme’s effect on the capacity of teachers to deliver global learning. It also explored the extent to which the GLP has helped pupils achieve global learning outcomes.

The research took the form of a longitudinal study, incorporating a mixed methodology. Evidence was gathered through two main avenues:

1. In-depth interviews: Pupils and teachers were interviewed from six GLP schools in Northern Ireland. Starting from when they were either in P5 or Year 8, pupils were interviewed at the end of three successive school years to ascertain the extent to which they had achieved global learning outcomes. The teachers were interviewed annually as well. They discussed the delivery of global learning within their schools and the overall impact of the GLP.

2. Online surveys: These were completed by teachers and senior leaders from schools involved in the first two GLP cohorts. To allow the impact of the GLP on classroom practice to be monitored over time, participants filled out an initial survey in 2015, followed by two additional questionnaires in 2016 and 2017.

Posted on March 30, 2018 by lindaclarke_msu50l

Joyful Learner in Bangkok

Today I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the UK Teacher Training Capability Showcase at the British Embassy, Wireless Road, Bangkok, Thailand. The event was funded by the UK’s Prosperity Fund initiative in Thailand. The audience of around 100 included representative from the Rajabhat universities and from Thailand’s other universities where teacher education courses are offered.

Margaret Tongue, Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy Bangkok welcomed speakers and delegates and Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, Thailand’s Minister of Education, opened the workshop.

Prof Chris Atkin of Bishop Grossteste University, Lincoln began the day by presenting presenting the review of ITT in the Rajabhat sector carried out in 2016. The Thai Teachers’ Council (TTC) was represented by Dr Tinsiri Siiribodhi who launched their competence framework – shown in the diagram – centered on the needs of pupils as Joyous Learners and deliberately couched in non-academic, teacher-friendly language. The framework has been agreed and will be adopted across the ASEAN countries.

I was honored to be be a member of the team of academics from across the UK who spoke about each quadrant of the framework:

Know and understand what I teach: Dr Nick Gee – Bishop Grosseteste University
Help my students learn: Professor Linda Clarke – University of Ulster
Engage the community: Dr Aileen Ackland – University of Aberdeen
Become a better teacher everyday: Professor Wasyl Cajkler – University of Leicester

Teaching in Thailand and is not a high status profession; parents would prefer that their pupils became doctors or engineers (surprisingly, perhaps, law is not highly esteemed here either). The TTC is seeking to redress this issue by enhancing the professionalism of teachers.

The Place Model: interactive online concept

Posted on February 18, 2018February 19, 2018 by lindaclarke_msu50l