On Thursday 1st September during INSET, Cranleigh School staff took part in a CPD carousel which was led by eleven members of the Common Room. Each session was related to independent learning, which is our Continued Professional Development (CPD) aim for this coming academic year.
It can be difficult to facilitate independent learning in lessons and it is also hard to measure its success. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility as teachers to help students to become critical thinkers, encourage them to form their own opinions, make their own decisions and take ownership over their learning.
The topics delivered during our INSET were wide-ranging and thought-provoking and included: the role of cognitive science in our teaching; how we can facilitate effective discussions and debates; the use of questioning; independent projects; how we can most effectively encourage students to engage with feedback within lessons; and the role of problem-solving and quizzing
I would like to thank all of the colleagues who ran these sessions during what was a very busy week. It was a really stimulating and valuable afternoon in which we had time to reflect on how we teach, discuss our experiences with our colleagues, and come away with a wide range of new ideas to start the term with.
Some feedback from members of the Common Room:
It was genuinely interesting to hear from colleagues and really useful to start getting your head back into teaching before next week.
The talks were excellent and thought-provoking, and there was real enthusiasm about having a teaching and learning focus at the start of the academic year.
Back to all newsIt was lovely to see such teachers with such a range of experiences delivering INSETs to groups of people who might nor ordinarily mix, to help us all improve and learn more about our craft.
