Achieving your Masters in Teaching and Learning

Mary McAteer, Lisa Murtagh, Fiona Hallett, Gavin Turnbull

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781844452149
• eBook ISBN: 9781844456284
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Higher Education

This book is for all those taking the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). The contents reflect the units of this new qualification, building on Initial Teacher Training, deepening and broadening professional understanding and skills while addressing individual teacher needs. Chapters cover core topics such as developing pedagogy, assessment for learning, special educational needs and behaviour. The book provides invaluable support for beginning teachers as they manage their professionally based, postgraduate learning, including guidance on critical thinking, reflective practice and research skills, and is clearly linked to the newly developed framework of Professional Standards for Teachers.

CHAPTER 1

About the Masters in Teaching
and Learning

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Chapter Objectives

By the end of this chapter you should have gained an understanding of:

• the background to the MTL;
• how the MTL differs from other master’s programmes;
• the different roles of key individuals involved;
• the benefits of the programme.

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Introduction

As a newly developed programme, much is still being written about the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL), and it can be difficult to get a clear overview of it. This chapter is designed to give a straightforward, brief overview of the key points that newly qualified teachers (NQT), school-based coaches, head teachers, and higher education institution (HEI) tutors will need to be aware of as they embark on planning and delivering it. It gives a brief synopsis of the background to its development, key aspects of its structure and design, and some indication of the roles and responsibilities of the personnel concerned.

Background to the MTL

The proposal to make teaching an all-master’s profession is perhaps the biggest change in teacher education since the early 1980s, when a bachelor’s degree became a requirement for all new teachers in the United Kingdom. For the first time, this meant that all teachers, primary and secondary, would be qualified to degree level.

In recent years, initiatives by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) have supported and funded the provision of high-quality continuing professional development for practising teachers, building on the mandatory induction requirements. Most of this professional development has been linked to master’s-level work studied either in universities, or in partnership arrangements with them. The introduction of the Professional Standards for Teachers (2007) Framework, and the linking of these standards to performance review and career development have formalised the need for teachers to plan their career pathway within the Standards Framework. The TDA Strategic Plan 2008–2012 proposed that the newly developed MTL would, as a practice-based professional development qualification, build on initial teacher training (ITT), deepening and broadening professional skills while addressing individual teacher needs. While it is proposed that the qualification will ultimately be available to all teachers, the initial roll-out will be for newly qualified teachers.

Why was MTL developed?

In ‘Being the Best for our Children: Releasing talent for teaching and learning’ (2008a) the DCSF outlined its intention to create a new master’s-level qualification in order to boost the quality of teaching needed to improve the achievement of all pupils. This new qualification was to be directed primarily to the needs of early-career teachers, providing additional support through induction and offering a more structured experience of early professional development. The vision was that the new programme would be practice-based, and would both develop and improve teacher quality, specifically through enquiry and the use of evidence. The proposed consequence for participants on the programme was the development of higher-level teaching skills, and hence the improved achievement of all pupils.

What makes MTL different from other master’s programmes?

This programme was developed collaboratively with schools, local authorities, and HEIs, and was based on the concept that it would integrate the Professional Standards for Teachers while also addressing the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) master’s-level requirements (both of which are found in full in Appendices 1 and 2). In this way, the programme is designed to have both academic rigour and also maximum impact on practice development.

The significant feature of this new programme, which starts in January 2010 is the relationship between participants, their school and HEIs. School coaches and mentors will provide much of the ongoing support for participants, while HEIs will provide each participant with an academic tutor, who will also work closely with coaches and mentors to ensure an appropriate and coherent programme is being followed.

A further significant difference between MTL and other MA or MEd programmes is its contiguity with initial teacher training. It is designed to build seamlessly on ITT, providing high-quality early professional development in a way that develops both your practice as a teacher and your professional knowledge as an educator.

Structure and design of the MTL

You will find much more detail about the structure of the MTL in The National Framework for Masters in Teaching and Learning, published by the TDA in February 2009. The following section provides a summary and synthesis of the key points. The key principles which informed the development of the programme include the following and describe the programme as one which will:

• be practice-based, at master’s level, focusing on teaching and learning, and lead to effective teaching so that children and young people achieve their potential, regardless of their age, gender, abilities and background;
• be centred in practice-based learning, with the range of professional learning opportunities agreed by the teacher with their coach and tutor to meet their personal, professional, career and school needs;
• be built on ITT or previous professional learning and take account of the NQT’s route into teaching, or the more experienced teacher’s previous professional development;
• align with induction and performance management requirements;
• be a personalised professional learning journey that is structured in three phases, providing a coherent learning experience that progressively develops, broadens and deepens each teacher’s professional attributes, knowledge skills and understanding.

In addition, the programme aims to allow teachers to develop skills of enquiry, the use of evidence and research, through addressing four content areas, drawing on the skills of ICT as appropriate. Designed to be a personalised learning experience, it is intended that it can be completed within three years, and it is expected that this will be the normal timescale for teachers. MTL providers are charged with providing continuity should teachers move school or location during that period. In essence, this programme is designed to help you, as a practising teacher, to develop the skills and strategies that will support your ongoing professional development, as an effective and reflective practitioner.

This new programme has been designed to specifically meet the needs of practising teachers and allows for a high degree of flexibility and personalisation. There is a strong recognition that your needs within your school context are important starting points for further professional development and study.

In your initial teacher training, or other professional experience, you will have begun to use the skills of reflection and enquiry, and the MTL is designed to build on these, so that you become better able to use these skills in more formalised enquiry and research, and use evidence appropriately. In doing this, you will be afforded opportunities to develop, broaden and embed, and deepen your own knowledge of young people and their education, both in the school environment and beyond.

The TDA website identifies the MTL as the only national masters programme for teachers, delivered locally, which combines all the following features.

• A focus on children and young people
• School-based learning
• A personalised programme
• Alignment with induction
• Higher education institution (HEI) and school collaboration
• A trained in-school coach
• An assigned tutor from an HEI
• Funding

(www.tda.gov.uk/teachers/mtl/how_will_mtl_work.aspx)

The programme is designed in three phases to reflect this. These three phases build successively on previous learning, and address your needs in a structured and focused way. Each phase has its on specific principles and structures, and learning outcomes.

In addition to the three phases, there are also four content areas, which you are expected to address throughout your MTL study.

The three phases of MTL

The three phases are not equal in size or time, and are designed to emphasise the different nature of professional learning requirements and their development as you progress from NQT to early-career professional. Each phase has its own specific characteristics, and allows for the development of both professional knowledge and practice, and subject, phase or other specialism knowledge.

1. Phase 1 (worth 40 credits) the Developing phase, is closely aligned with the induction phase, and supports the development of skills of enquiry and the use of evidence in supporting your developing professional practice.
2. Phase 2 (worth 80 credits) the Broadening and Embedding phase, allows for focus on the four content areas in order to both broaden and securely embed professional knowledge, skills and understanding within the context of your own workplace.
3. Phase 3 (worth 60 credits) the Deepening phase, allows you to undertake a deeper study in a chosen specialist area. During this phase you will be expected to both engage in the review of existing expertise and knowledge, and also to undertake a formal enquiry into your own professional practice.

Figure 1.1 MTL phases

The four content areas

These four areas reflect the wide range of professional practice and knowledge that is appropriate in twenty-first century schools and settings. They will feature strongly in phase 2 of the MTL, providing the key focus for assessment opportunities.

1. Teaching and learning, including personalised learning, and assessment for learning.
2. Subject knowledge for teaching, and curriculum and curriculum development.
3. How children and young people develop, including behaviour management and inclusion.
4. Leadership and management, and working with others, in and beyond the classroom.

Delivery of the programme

The programme delivery will be very much a shared enterprise, drawing primarily on the expertise of school-based coaches and mentors in partnership with HEI tutors. Schools and HEIs will be equal partners in this enterprise, and will have joint responsibility for both delivery and quality of the programme. In addition, the HEI provider will draw on a range of sources of expertise, including local authorities, in order to provide the best possible practice-based learning opportunities for teachers. School-based coaches and mentors will provide in-school support and challenge on an ongoing basis, and the whole programme will be delivered in a way which enables teachers to access personalised learning opportunities. Participants, coaches, mentors and tutors will also have access to online resources and forms of communication through the use of a virtual learning environment (VLE). For you as a teacher, the triadic relationship between yourself, your mentor or coach, and your HEI tutor is the key determinant in how the route through MTL is planned to be appropriate to your professional learning needs.

Who does what?

Your HEI tutor and school-based coach or mentor will work as joint equal partners in a range of capacities to ensure that you have access to the best possible professional learning experiences. Your school-based coach or mentor has particular responsibility for working from a school and local perspective, while your tutor will work from a regional, national and international perspective. Each of them will have a clear understanding of both the Professional Standards for Teachers and the QAA master’s-level requirements. In addition to these key personnel, your head teacher also plays a vital role in supporting the MTL work within your school. The specific roles in relation to the MTL are outlined below.

Your coach is the person you will be in contact with on a regular basis (possibly daily, if they are based in your school). They have lead responsibility for providing you with all the appropriate learning opportunities that will allow you to successfully complete your MTL. Working from a school and local perspective, they will also liaise effectively with the HEI tutor and be familiar with the requirements of working at master’s level.

The HEI tutor provided by the HEI will have the lead role in assessing the progress of the teacher undertaking the MTL. As with the coach, the role of the HEI tutor is based on them having a clear understanding of the professional standards for teachers and the QAA master’s-level requirements. Working from a regional and national perspective, the HEI tutor will work collaboratively with the teacher undertaking MTL and in a complementary role with the coach, and will take lead responsibility in assessing the master’s requirements of the MTL.

Table 1.1 indicates the nature and extent of the complementary relationship between these two key people, detailing their specific responsibilities in relation to eight key aspects of your learning experience.

Table 1.1. Relationship between coach and tutor

The role of the head teacher

Although not charged with specific responsibilities in the provision of the MTL, head teachers will have a central role in supporting NQTs in their schools who are engaged on the programme. Funding for the MTL will come directly to the NQT’s school, and so head teachers will have responsibilities in terms of the deployment of this funding to cover the costs of teachers and coaches being away from their classrooms. This is a key way in which this valuable work can be supported, and will ultimately benefit the school.

What are the benefits of the MTL?

This programme is not developed as a compulsory part of teachers’ professional development. However, it is envisaged that the benefits it provides will be attractive to both teachers and their schools. As a skills and process-based qualification, rooted in professional practice development, completing it will benefit teachers in equipping them with higher-order skills, improved practice, and the attributes of, and desire for, lifelong learning. It is also recognised that the early years in teaching are the most challenging, and having in place a structured and high-level professional development programme will provide support at this vital stage, and also provide evidence for later in your career that you have actively pursued your professional development.

In addition to the benefit to NQTs, there will be professional development opportunities for existing teachers to act as coaches, participate in training, and work towards a more collaborative culture in schools and settings. Working alongside HEI tutors will also be of direct benefit to them as they become part of a broader professional community and context.

Schools in the twenty-first century are changing ra...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• The authors
• 1. About the Masters in Teaching and Learning
• Part One Phase 1 - Developing
• Part Two Phase 2 - Broadening and embedding
• Part Three Phase 3 - Deepening
• End words
• Appendix 1 Professional standards mapped for progression by content area
• Appendix 2 QAA guide to master’s-level qualifications
• References
• Index