Evidencing Impact of training - our journey from 3 to 2 with HOW2s — A Testimonial from Middlesbrough College
How do you evidence the impact of the training and support provided to faculty? Gordon Duffy-McGhie from Middlesbrough Colleges explains how they did it and the part HOW2 played in the matter.
The situation before HOW2s
As a college, we were used to delivering training to all teaching staff on specific topics throughout the academic year. This meant one trainer, delivering set content to multiple teachers. Teachers (and trainers) found this method very time inefficient – having to go to a set place, at a set time, for a set period — and it clearly did not meet the needs of those staff who worked non-traditional hours. In addition, the training was never contextualised in order to meet the needs of each individual. As a result, during the inspection, we had evidence of attendance at training, but no evidence of the impact of training on future practice.
We incorporated the How2s into our Lesson Observation process, so that any areas identified as requiring development, resulted in the teacher seeking a How2 solution. Our Teaching and Learning Mentors and Coaches were then able to engage with each individual teacher on the steps they wanted to take to improve their practice. This proved to be both democratising and beneficial in terms of resource management and the tracking and monitoring of individual progress. The How2 dashboard accurately and efficiently records activity, enabling managers and staff to see work in progress and work not yet started.
We have been very happy with both the ‘back-office’ support – in terms of reporting usage/non-usage; expired accounts etc… — and the pre and post subscription training and development offered online. Each webinar was very useful in discussing emerging issues or revealing new tools and resources.
How2 staff are very pro-active in helping subscribers get and make the most out of the system and help staff engage more deeply with it.