{"id":1654,"date":"2020-11-04T12:09:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T12:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/sioe\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2020-11-04T12:09:52","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T12:09:52","slug":"supporting-the-regions-stem-teachers-professional-learning-built-on-collaboration-enquiry-innovation-and-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/sioe\/2020\/11\/04\/supporting-the-regions-stem-teachers-professional-learning-built-on-collaboration-enquiry-innovation-and-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting the region\u2019s STEM teachers: Professional learning built on collaboration, enquiry, innovation and trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0<\/span>Wipro Teacher Fellow and Teacher Mentor Programme<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is an evidence-based, individualised programme of professional learning designed to improve primary and secondary teachers\u2019 confidence, motivation and capability in one or more of the STEM subjects.<\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

The programme is funded by\u00a0<\/span>Wipro Limited<\/span><\/a>, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. Wipro has large educational funding programmes in India and the USA. Wipro Limited is now also supporting STEM education in the UK, by funding the\u00a0<\/span>Wipro STEM Teacher Fellows<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Teacher Mentor<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0programmes in South Yorkshire, the only area of the country in which this programme runs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over 18-24 months, Teacher Fellows develop their knowledge and skills in teaching the STEM subjects through workshops and inquiry. They are supported throughout by Wipro Teacher Mentors (expert, experienced teachers and subject leaders from local schools), who are also supported through their own bespoke programme of professional development.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the programme, we have been collecting data to understand how teachers are benefiting from the programme and what we can do better as the programme continues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The blog post below, which describes some of our findings, was recently published on the Wipro\u00a0<\/span>Teacher Fellows programme website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Evaluating the Wipro programme<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alongside delivering the Wipro programme for Teacher Fellows and mentors, we are carrying out an internal, formative evaluation. This plays a key part in our quality assurance of the programme, by helping us to understand participants’ experiences and perceptions, what they learn and enjoy and what we can do better. In summer 2019 we carried out interviews with ten mentors and twelve Teacher Fellows. In this post, we briefly describe some of our learning from this evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning together: the many positives<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The feedback from Mentors and Teacher Fellows is very positive about the programme, with both groups saying that it is the best professional development they have ever experienced. Participants enjoy the Wipro sessions taking place out of school, and regard this time away from the classroom as a really important part of the programme, where they can discuss their ideas in a supportive environment, speak to other teachers and build networks across other participants and their schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Teacher Fellows programme contains different strands of learning which are intended to complement each other. The Teacher Fellows are overwhelmingly positive about their experiences, finding the sessions to be useful across several aspects of their practice and professional development. They were particularly inspired by the\u00a0<\/span>Evidence-informed approaches to learning<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0programme strand, enjoying the practical nature of the sessions, and that strategies and approaches discussed were immediately useful in the classroom, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n