CPD Archives - David Monis-Weston

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016

The science of learning (part 2)

Following on from “Learning that works (part 1)” which was about what happens in our brains regarding paying attention, this post looks at how we assimilate and associate ideas and form memories. It’s a bit oversimplified, but gives a sense of what’s going on, I hope.

PS As the lovely @Nick_J_Rose has pointed out, I’ve simplified things and somewhat conflated the ideas of ‘chunking’ and ‘schema’ – the former being about working memory and the latter being about long term memory. I’m grateful as ever for his feedback and I’ll try and unpick this in the next blog. You can read more about chunking, schemas and prototypes here.

DISCLAIMER: I’m neitherÂ a qualified psychologist nor neuroscientist so please let me know if I’ve made any errors here. I’d be really interested in any feedback that you have – please comment below!

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016

Learning that works (part 1) – some ideas from psychology

A few basicÂ ideas about helping students (or indeed teachers) learn based on how the mind works.

This is the first of what I expect will be a few posts about learning. I’d love your reflections and ideas, or indeed any criticisms – I’m always keen to learn!

January 18, 2016January 18, 2016

Telegraph: How do we unleash greatness in teachers?

My new piece in the Telegraph today which trails my talks at the Telegraph Festival of Education at Wellington College

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/Festival-of-Education/12103607/How-do-we-unleash-greatness-in-teachers.html

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

The free national CPD database

Are you a CPD provider with courses, consultancy or resources for teachers and schools in England? Then this message is for you!

Dear CPD provider,

The National CPD Database is shutting down on 31st March 2012.

GoodCPDGuide is aÂ non-profit organisationÂ running a new, free national CPD database for use by all providers and teachers. It was set up because we feel that the ability for teachers to find quality CPD is too important to lose. We want to continue the great work of the TDA while striving to improve and further develop this important public service.

We are, therefore, able to list all your CPD courses and servicesÂ absolutely free. We ensure that teachers trust our services through strict quality assurance, including:

Community reviews where users rate courses on impact on professional practice,
A strict code of conduct that ensures all providers commit to following best practice guidelines,
A GoodCPDGuide Quality Rating system giving certified ratings after inspection byÂ CUREE.

Having launched at a National College event in Westminster two weeks ago, we already feature over 300 courses from big name providers including the Institute of Physics (IoP), National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE), the ASCL union’s MAPS CPD service, Creative Education Ltd. and the University of Hertfordshire as well as many smaller consultancies and training providers, with more appearing every day. Our service is available to every school and every teacher.

So why choose to list with GoodCPDGuide?

It isÂ completely free. No registration costs, no annual fees, no referral fees or commission.
Teachers trust our site. We pride ourselves on leading the way withÂ quality assurance.
We offer aÂ bulk upload facilityÂ which uses exactly the same format as the TDA database, so there is no duplication of work.
Our review system is open and transparent and you canÂ respond publicly to every review.

You canÂ start listing today. SimplyÂ sign upÂ for the site, click on “Become a Provider”, agree to abide by the terms and code of practice, and start entering your courses straight away. Alternatively if you have any questions you can contact me atÂ david@GoodCPDGuide.com.

I look forward to seeing your courses listed on England’s new free national CPD database!

Kind regards,

David Weston
GoodCPDGuide Founder
David@GoodCPDGuide.com
Twitter: @GoodCPDGuide

January 24, 2012February 7, 2012

GoodCPDGuide launch

We have launchedÂ GoodCPDGuide.comÂ in public beta!

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve launched our website in public beta, and to make it even better, the whole site is nowÂ completely freeÂ for teachers, schools and training providers.

Our site includes training courses, consultancy services, masters qualifications, videos, books, and podcasts. All providers can sign up and add their professional development services at no cost, and we never charge any commission. We’ve already got over 300 courses and resources listed with more appearing every day, and we already feature some big names in CPD such as the Institute of Physics, the ASCL union’s MAPS CPD service, University of Hertfordshire and Creative Education as well as a selection of great books from Amazon.

We take quality very seriously and all providers are required to agree to ourÂ Code of Practice. Any user in our community may write a review of anything in the database to rate their the quality of delivery, impact on their professional practice and the standard of facilities and service provided. This allows users to share their experiences, both good and bad, and we allow providers the right-to-reply to anything written about them. We are also working on an exciting collaboration withÂ CUREEÂ to create a quality assurance kite-mark that can only be obtained after an inspection of the course being delivered.

GoodCPDGuideÂ is now aÂ non-profit social enterprise to make sure that we can really make a difference to teachers and provide high-quality relevant CPD, with the aim to commission research in to the best way for schools and providers to deliver great training. We also hope to organise a conference to bring together schools and providers in innovative and exciting ways.

So, if you’re a school looking to deliver training, offer an outstanding practitioner for consultancy or simply seeking the most effective professional development out there thenÂ sign upÂ to our website and receive updates as we bring on board the very best in CPD.

If you’re a training provider, higher education institution, subject association or consultancy service then sign up and list yourÂ code-compliantÂ courses and services forÂ free.

If you’re a potential sponsor or you’d like to collaborate with us then doÂ get in touch.

Enjoy the site, we hope it becomes your one-stop-shop for quality CPD.

November 25, 2011

TDA announce CPD database closure

We’ve just received an email announcing that the TDA are closing their CPD database in March, as they feel the time is right for the education community to produce its own tools.

This is their email.

Teacher professional development is the principle key to improving an education system, and so the question to be asked is what will replace it?

Here at Informed Education we’re confident we have the answer. We’ve been working away developing our new siteÂ GoodCPDGuide.comÂ to be all that the TDA database is and more. We already have over 300 courses listed on our alpha website, and have signed up big names such as the Institute of Physics, Creative Education and the University of Hertfordshire to list their training opportunities on our new site, with many more on the way.

However, we will be offering much more than just a list of courses:

Consultancy services, including finding local ASTs andÂ ex-LEA advisors
Podcasts and media clips
Books
Online courses and webinars
Reviews of courses provided by teachers, rating teaching, facilities and impact on their practice.
Education research summaries, written for teachers
Regular mailings to keep all school staff up to date with the latest training materials, opportunities, and research.
Reminders of key learning points from courses that teachers have attended, 10 days, 10 weeks, and 10 months after they attended.
Collaborative online areas for course attendees to share their ideas, learning points, and help each other implement their new ideas in the classroom.

We will be launching our public beta site in January, with a view to a full launch in March. We’re pleased to note that this timetable fits nicely in with the TDA’s plan to shut down in March, and we look forward to welcoming new teachers, schools and providers on board.

For more information contact Informed Education founder, and GoodCPDGuide developerÂ david@informededucation.com, (Twitter -Â @informed_edu)

October 25, 2011October 26, 2011

Some books that have inspired me

A whole load of books that have inspired me that I heartily recommend.

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure – a fascinating explanation of why human nature and psychology means we often plan the wrong way to improve. It explains how to use the principles of evolution to be successful.
Alex’s Adventures in Numberland – a wonderful array of stories and history of maths, from the insanity of Pythagoras’ cult to the Amazonian tribes who can only count to 3.
High Performers: The secrets of successful schools – a distillation of all the best practice from schools all over the country. A clear, concise and invaluable read.
Switch: How to change things when change is hard – a brilliant recipe for changing the minds of stubborn people and groups, with a clear explanation of how and why at every stage.
Fred Jones Tools for Teaching: Discipline, Instruction, Motivation – a refreshingly simple and powerful set of tools for the classroom teacher. Full of real-life examples, this book won’t fail to inspire your classroom practice.
Building a Professional Learning Community at Work: A Guide to the First Year – an introduction to the wonderful world of professional learning communities, with discussion of everything that can possibly go wrong, and how to deal with it.
Evidence-Based Teaching A Practical Approach Second Edition – the bible for every teacher. This is an absolute must-read if you want to stop wasting effort on fads and transform the teaching and learning in your classroom with proven methods.
Mistakes were Made (but not by me) – a mind-blowing book that changed my view of the world. Once you realise why your brain is tricking you in to justifying mistakes and beliefs you will see the world in a different, clearer and more understandable light.
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions – if you’ve ever wondered why so many people make the same mistakes again and again, and why people ignore logic and make rash decisions, this is the book for you.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – built on some ground-breaking research, Carol Dweck explains how you can transform learning by changing the language you use: in classrooms, homes, and workplaces.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – considering performance pay to get better results? Not if you’ve read this book, which should be on the bedside table of every policy maker.
Good to Great – the classic tome that gives the secrets to success for leading great organisations.
Multipliers: how the best leaders make everyone smarter – does your leadership style create growth in your colleagues, or diminish and suppress them? Read this book and find out some surprising things about yourself.

September 16, 2011October 2, 2011

Good CPD Guide

We’ve been very busy over summer, and are proud to announce our new product, GoodCPDGuide.com, bringing you a fresh approach to finding the right professional development opportunities, and making your training both more effective, and better value.

Find the most relevant training courses with ease, for free!
Keep up to date with courses that match your interests.
Make your CPD more effective – keep in touch with other delegates, share resources, and be reminded of your key learning points.
Check reviews of courses before you book, and review your experience after attending.

For CPD providers, our site will be a highly-effective way for you to reach the right teachers and schools.

It’s a risk-free way to advertise your courses and services.
No up-front fees or registration costs,and just 15% referral fee upon booking courses, or a flat-fee click-through charge to your website for further information.
You retain control of payments
Reach your target customers – we will carefully match your products to users’ needs.
Take control of reviews – you can publish a reply to any review, or reject inappropriate ones.

We’d love to hear from providers who would like to be listed when we launch. We’ll be publishing more information about the launch date very soon. In the meantime, do sign up for more information.