Even when new teachers have qualified and worked for a few years, they are only just starting to learn about the profession, say the authors of a guide to school-based training.
The Professional Development Management File provides an introduction to life in the classroom for new teachers as well as support for tutors responsible for developing their competence in schools.
The file is based around practical workbooks that each deal with one of the successive stages of professional development from starting training to learning beyond the first year of teaching.
According to the file’s authors, Harry Tolley, Mary Biddulph and Tony Fisher, new teachers should be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and “to develop balanced and well-rounded professional identities”. This required a wide range of classroom skills; mastery of relevant knowledge; a willingness to go on learning through systematic reflection on experience; a capacity to work collaboratively; the ability to sustain “critical friendships” and learning partnerships; and a commitment to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.
The Professional Development Management File, Pounds 49.50 plus Pounds 3 pp, is available from Chris Kington Publishing, 27 Rathmore Road, Cambridge, CB1 4AB
