A major research project is being launched to examine the impact of teacher training, classroom practice and professional development on pupil outcomes.
The Nuffield Foundation has awarded a £2.4 million grant to the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) to lead a five-year project targeting teacher preparation and development.
The Teaching Improvement through Data and Evaluation (TIDE) project will aim to bring together data to explore how or what approaches to teacher training, classroom practice and CPD impact pupil outcomes.
The TIDE project will be the first of its kind to look specifically at the correlation between pupil outcomes and teacher training, classroom practice and CPD in the UK.
It will run in three phases, beginning in July 2024. Firstly, the team will use anonymised data to estimate the statistical impact of teachers on the attainment of their pupils.
The team will then explore the factors that contribute to teacher impact, such as training pathways, teacher-class assignment practices and in-school teacher development strategies.
Finally, TIDE will work with teacher development leads in partner schools to create and pilot improvements to teacher development strategies, such as mentoring or observation practices.
The project findings will then be shared using a mix of papers, seminars, open-access datasets and schools-facing dissemination. It will look at interim assessments as outcome measures.
Schools have not yet been chosen for the scheme. Organisers say it is set to involve schools in the founding multi-academy trusts of NioT.
Maximum benefit to children
TIDE will be led by the NIoT’s executive director of research, Dr Calum Davey, along with Professor John Jerrim and Dr Sam Sims from UCL Institute of Education, Professor Becky Allen from the University of Brighton, Professor Rob Coe from Evidence Based Education, as well as data experts at Oxford University’s Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science and experts in artificial intelligence at Faculty AI.
Dr Davey said: “This project aims to ensure that the time teachers and school leaders devote to their professional learning is of maximum benefit to children.”
Dr Emily Tanner, programme head at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “Teachers are fundamental to children’s outcomes. The Nuffield Foundation is delighted to support this research programme to strengthen the evidence on how best to support the profession and to integrate this learning into practice.”
The project will also be guided by an expert advisory group comprising teacher development programme leaders, current teachers and sector stakeholders.
The announcement follows the government’s decision to update and combine the training frameworks for early career and trainee teachers in a bid to boost recruitment and retention.
The move came almost a year after the DfE launched a consultation over the curricula amid ongoing concern about workload and a perceived lack of flexibility.
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