Teachers will cover:
- how to establish an effective learning environment
- how to effectively manage behaviour
- the importance of holding and promoting high expectations for all pupils
Choose study materials for your early career teachers
It’s important to choose the right training materials for your school.
Consider things like:
- the style of content that’s likely to work for your teachers and mentors
- which programme structure will best suit your school’s needs
- whether you’d prefer some flexibility or a more prescriptive approach
The 4 options all offer theory and practical classroom techniques that:
- cover the early career framework
- are aligned to the teachers’ standards
As you can see below, they each take a different approach to the way they present their self-study materials.
Once you’ve chosen which programme you want to follow, you can set up accounts for your teachers and mentors to access the self-study materials.
Ambition Institute
The first year of this programme consists of one module per term broken down into weekly topics. The second year follows the same modules, focusing on areas that need strengthening. The weekly topics feature:
- evidence summaries
- videos of experts talking through their insights and how these work in practice
- a quiz to check teachers have understood the evidence summary
- questions for teachers to discuss with their mentors
See an example of an Ambition topic
Module 1: behaviour
Module 2: instruction
Teachers will cover:
- the link between effective instruction and pupil learning
- the elements of explicit instruction and the ‘I-we-you’ model as a useful way of approaching this
- how instruction can support more effective pupil thinking
Module 3: subject
Teachers will cover:
- the curriculum
- your mental model of the subject or phase you teach and its implications for your planning
- how to know what pupils have understood, the barriers you face in doing so and how to respond to their needs
View Ambition’s programme handbook in PDF format:
Education Development Trust
This programme consists of 2 modules per term across the 2-year programme. They are broken down into weekly activities which enable teachers to:
- understand the evidence behind education research and its implications on teaching
- learn practical ideas to try in the classroom
- reflect on their development and identify ways to improve
See an example of an Education Development Trust topic
Module 1: establishing a positive climate for learning
Teachers will learn about teaching your pupils how to behave in the classroom, setting clear expectations and reinforcing these with consistent routines.
Module 2: how pupils learn - memory and cognition
Teachers will gain an understanding of how the brain works, and how they can then design more effective learning for their pupils.
Module 3: developing effective classroom practice - teaching and adapting
Teachers will focus on the fundamental techniques they can use to become a more effective teacher.
Module 4: the importance of subject and curriculum knowledge
Teachers will learn practical ways to develop their subject and curriculum knowledge.
Module 5: assessment, feedback and questioning
Teachers will work on developing effective assessment and feedback practices.
Module 6: a people profession
Teachers will focus on developing strong professional relationships to build the best outcomes for their pupils.
Module 7: embedding a positive climate for learning
Teachers will look at what motivates pupils so they can develop a really purposeful learning environment.
Module 8: how pupils learn - memory and cognition
Teachers will consider how they can make new learning stick over time so pupils remember what they’ve been taught.
Module 9: enhancing classroom practice - grouping and tailoring
Teachers will enhance their teaching effectiveness by learning advanced group and pair working skills.
Module 10: revisiting the importance of subject and curriculum knowledge
Teachers will focus on how they can use their in-depth understanding of the subjects they teach to strengthen their pupils’ knowledge.
Module 11: deepening assessment, feedback and questioning
Teachers will build on their existing knowledge to develop further practical ways to hone their assessment, feedback and questioning techniques.
View Education Development Trust’s programme handbook in PDF format:
Teach First
This programme consists of 6 half-termly modules during the first year of induction. The second year follows the same modules, focusing on areas that need strengthening.
The modules are broken down into weekly topics where the teachers will:
- watch video tutorials from education experts
- read case studies about the topic
- answer questions which they can then discuss with their mentor
See an example of a Teach First topic
Module 1: how to create an effective learning environment
Teachers will explore what effective learning environments look like and strategies they can use to achieve them.
Module 2: how do pupils learn?
Teachers will explore the findings and evidence gathered during studies of how pupils learn, and the related implications for teaching.
Module 3: what makes classroom practice effective?
Teachers will hear an education expert talking about the features of effective classroom practice and why they are so important. They’ll then explore the features in detail and have time to plan them into their sequences of lessons.
Module 4: how to use assessment and feedback to greatest effect
Teachers will hear from education experts about why assessment should be at the heart of their teaching. They’ll also explore ways to give purposeful feedback to their pupils and what they can learn from summative data sets.
Module 5: how to support all pupils to succeed
Teachers will hear a variety of educational specialists talk about ways to support all pupils to succeed across the curriculum, and why this is important.
Module 6: how to design a coherent curriculum
Teachers will learn how to design a carefully sequenced and coherent scheme of work and how this will improve learning for their pupils.
View Teach First’s programme handbook in PDF format:
UCL Early Career Teacher Consortium
This programme consists of 8 modules across the 2 years. The modules are broken down into weekly topics where the teachers will:
- read research about the topic
- learn practical skills from case studies
- reflect on what they’ve learnt
Module 1: enabling pupil learning
Teachers will focus on how they set up their classroom as a learning environment. They’ll be able to reflect on the different ways they can influence their environment, and learn practical strategies that keep pupils safe, motivated and focused on learning.
Module 2: engaging pupils in learning
Teachers will look at the impact of pupils’ prior knowledge on their learning and how knowledge changes through the cooperation of working and long-term memory.
Module 3: developing quality pedagogy
Teachers will extend their knowledge of effective modelling that enables pupils to tackle difficult concepts.
Module 4: making productive use of assessment
Teachers will build on their existing knowledge of assessment principles.
Module 5: fulfilling professional responsibilities
Teachers will consider what it means to be professional, and approaches to managing their professional development.
Module 6: enabling pupil learning, part 2
Teachers will focus on one particular part of their teaching to evaluate the impact their practices have on their pupils.
Module 7: engaging pupils in learning, part 2
Teachers will focus on how to improve their teaching without adding to their workload.
Module 8: developing quality pedagogy and making use of assessment, part 2
Teachers will look at how to gather evidence about the impact their teaching is having, followed by practical tips on altering their practices to get better results.
View UCL’s programme handbook in PDF format:
If you’re still not sure, you can contact us for more information