In spring 2007 the TDA launched a pilot project targeting the sufficiency and quality of school placements for initial teacher trainees in maths and science.
The key purposes of the project were to:
- reduce barriers to increased recruitment
- increase the sufficiency and quality of maths and science placements by developing multiple placements
- assess the practicability of using multiple placements in a final, assessed placement
- gather evidence from stakeholders of the ways paired and multiple placements enhance training
Most of the 19 participating providers reported that they had devised successful ways of placing trainees in multiples and had gathered evidence to support developments with further partnership schools. Three-quarters of participating providers reported improvements in the quality of placements for trainees, providers, mentors and pupils. An important outcome was effective support for teachers and trainees in working collaboratively to improve pupil learning.
The improvements in terms of increased placements and quality led nearly all pilot providers to express a strong commitment to continuing the multiple-placement approach through a second phase during 2007/08, and other related work with their partnership schools. Other providers have now joined the project and 30 are participating in phase two.
View more tdaNews for May 2008
