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In this post, Martyn Clarke, MA Programme Leader at NILE, describes how a simplified CPD Portfolio became an effective tool for over 800 Uzbek teachers to enhance their professional learning on a day-to-day basis.
The project
Since 2023, Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) has been working with their partners British Council Uzbekistan and the Uzbek Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) on the ‘CPD in State Schools in Uzbekistan Project’. This is part of a larger initiative that is also supporting the development of reflective practice in pre-service courses.
In 116 schools, over 800 teachers have taken part in activities in the “CPD in Schools Project”, supported by the Principal and a School-based Champion teacher (SBC) in each institution, in 23 clusters throughout Uzbekistan, each cluster mentored by an Uzbek National Consultant teacher (NC).
Project activities have included development courses and online support sessions for the SBCs and NCs from NILE trainers, but the huge majority of the professional learning activity has been carried out by our Uzbek teaching colleagues.
At the time of writing, 861 CPD Portfolios are being used.
The CPD Portfolio: What? So What? Now What?
A network of collegial relationships was created to support school-based teacher development through acknowledging and working on the everyday teaching experience.
In this process, a key tool has been the CPD Portfolio. This is a simple framework for recording experiences or actions (What?), reflecting on their meaning and implications (So What?) and identifying outcomes for new action/understanding (Now What?).
The nature and amount of evidence kept along with this portfolio record was the teacher’s decision. For example, if a teacher made notes on an article discussed with colleagues, they might keep the article and notes for future reference. If they observed a colleague’s lesson, they might keep the completed observation form. But equally, they might only record the enough detail to make meaning for themselves, as in the example below.
We found that many portfolio entries indicate that teachers have begun to accept a range of different activities as part of their CPD. Thanks to interventions by both NCs and SBCs, the great majority of individual entries were backed up by evidence of professional learning or follow-up action (So What? Now What?). The entries also show that many of the participating teachers have taken ownership of their professional development, rather than relying on top-down external training interventions. In the words of our Uzbek colleagues:
“The portfolios helped us to see that we are already doing CPD.”
“The portfolio helped us to see that just by teaching our lessons and talking to each other we are learning.”
“Before, we used to spend our free time talking about random things. Now, even a short 5-minute chat can feel meaningful and productive because it’s now a habit to note down anything I think is important for later.”
Possible reasons why the simplified portfolio was helpful
We explored with the project participants why they felt these simple portfolios were helpful in developing the notion of school-based CPD. Together, we identified their role in the following aspects of CPD activity:
Collating
Collecting information is the basic purpose of any portfolio. A key characteristic of the portfolio in our CPD project is that it does not dictate which resources and artefacts are added, nor how they are stored. It is simply a collection of key notes on what happened, why it is important to the teacher and what the implications for future actions might be. The purpose of the portfolio is not for teachers to evidence their learning to the project, but rather for them to collate that the learning has happened in a way that is meaningful for later review. Teachers have the freedom to add any accompanying artefact in a way that makes most sense to them in terms of accessibility. This allows for a greater concentration of detail in one place, and teachers reported that having all the activities viewable in one area made it easier to spot patterns, make connections, and reflect on progress.
Noticing
Teachers reported that once they got into a habit of using the portfolio, they began paying attention to what was happening around them in different ways. Sometimes, this was looking at what they already recognised through different eyes. On other occasions, this was noticing new aspects of their teaching experience that they hadn’t considered before. There was also the process of confirming pre-existing understandings. Learning moments took on a greater variety as they began to note down both intentional and emergent learning events and processes during their working days.
Recording
The simple act of writing things down can help us make sense of our thoughts. The process of having to organise and codify what’s happening in our minds into a form that makes sense to someone else is a learning process in itself. This is an underlying rationale for the use of learning journals and is well-researched and documented. However, it’s probably true to say that the sometimes lengthy and in-depth recording of learning in a typical journal is not always feasible in the busy lives of teachers, which can significantly reduce the motivation to engage in this activity on a frequent basis. The note form of the CPD Portfolio avoided this barrier to engagement, whilst the simple ‘So What? Now What?’ reflection framework maintained a space within which the learning process could happen.
Sharing
A significant part of the teaching role is a solitary activity (in relation to our colleagues) behind the closed doors of the classroom. We found that many of the entries in the CPD Portfolios were those highly individual learning processes which happened as a result of classroom events that were either planned or emergent. Even if these are recognised, analysed, and so contributory to a learning process for the individual teacher, finding a time to share with colleagues can be a challenge. Another obstacle to the sharing could be an identification of what is important to a colleague when you decide what to share. In a number of schools, however, the teachers have made their CPD Portfolios available to their colleagues on notice boards or in small group meetings designed for the purpose. In doing so, colleagues can explore each other’s learning for themselves and identify those aspects which are of interest to them personally. In addition, the SBCs are reporting that this public sharing of the CPD portfolio serves as a motivator to others to engage.
Planning
As identified above, one of the positive outcomes of the CPD portfolios is their role in identifying and supporting emergent professional development. But they also play a part in more intentional CPD activities. This is important. Thinking ahead helps teachers feel more in control. This is especially useful in contexts where teachers have a heavy workload. In these situations, it’s challenging to find the time to engage in activities that aren’t immediately focussed on the day-to-day job. Although all of the teachers we worked with recognised the importance of engaging in CPD, the urgencies of preparing and teaching lessons, marking homework and completing administrative duties always took a priority. The ‘Now What?’ aspects of the reflection framework encouraged teachers to identify specific actions to test new perspectives, ideas, or activities. By getting organised in advance, teachers were able to make sure they had enough time to learn, but without the stress that over-working can bring.
What we’ve learned
Simplified CPD Portfolios are not the solution to all teacher development challenges. They are a tool whose success depends on an effective environment. In this project, it’s essential to understand them within the context of the network of supportive professional relationships that the project sought to foster through ongoing training and group sessions for the participants in their various roles and responsibilities.
Nevertheless, our work so far suggests that the portfolios are useful in supporting school-based teacher development by highlighting the power of experiential learning at work.
What’s next
The Uzbekistan project has now expanded into a regional initiative. The Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA) programme is a transformative initiative designed to enhance English language teacher education and professional development across five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (https://www.britishcouncil.uz/en/programmes/education-society/aellca-accelerating-english-language-learning-central-asia).
At NILE, we are looking forward to developing our own learning about the potential of CPD portfolios as we support our colleagues.
About Martyn: Martyn Clarke has been an ELT professional for over 35 years. Martyn is responsible for leading on and coordinating all academic aspects of the NILE MA in Professional Development for Language Education.
As well as leading the MA Programme at NILE, Martyn is the leader for the Management in Language Education MA module and a trainer on the Trainer Development MA module. He is a co-author of the Eaquals Academic Manager Competency Framework (2021).
About NILE: NILE is a world-leading centre of excellence in professional development for language educators, both face to face and online, in the UK and overseas.
Since 1995, NILE has trained over 90,000 English teachers globally and has provided training programmes, ELT project management and consultancy for institutions and ministries worldwide. We have worked closely with IATEFL and various SIGs throughout this time, and strongly value the input, guidance and debate your association and its members provide. To learn more about NILE, please visit https://www.nile-elt.com/