Geography Teaching Today

What is CPD?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a career long process by which teachers can keep up to date in their subject and enhance their skills and knowledge for use in the classroom. There are a wide variety of activities that come under the CPD umbrella, and each of them enhances competence in teaching and provides up to date subject knowledge and innovation.

"All teachers should have a professional responsibility to be engaged in effective, sustained and relevant professional development throughout their career"
TDA Professional Standards for teachers in England from September 2007

Why do we need CPD?
CPD has a range of benefits, both for the teacher and the students who benefit from their expertise. Ensuring that Chartered Geographer (Teacher) candidates undertake a set minimum amount of CPD means that students, colleagues, senior managers and parents are aware that any Chartered Geographer (Teacher) has up to date knowledge and experience in their subject and will provide the best possible expertise in and out of the classroom.

The benefits of CPD include:

• Ensures that teachers are doing the best possible job they can and are confident and prepared in all situations
• Provides long term career prospects and enhances professional standing
• Acknowledges your commitment to innovation and sharing your work with others
• Provides documented evidence of your commitment to your own professional development
• Provides material which can be used to support job and Chartered Geographer (Teacher) applications
• Encourages collaboration with collegues both within school and within the wider geographical community
• Introduces innovative ideas into your teaching
• Helps you to develop your role within your department
• Identifies and strengthens weaknesses
• Introduces new staff to school policy

What makes good CPD?
Making CPD a way of life in your school or department is easy if it is approached in the correct way. Why not create a CPD noticeboard with details of courses and latest policy in your staffroom? Below are some points to think about when planning successful cpd:

• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Strategy
• Opportunity
• Equality
• Fairness
• Identifying and acting on weaknesses
• Helping to develop roles
• Sustainable CPD
• Parental involvement
• Links to National Policy
• Evaluates needs and links these to future CPD activities
• Giving teachers authority and ownership over their own CPD
• Includes all staff including teaching assistants and PGCE students
• Regularity
• Visibility
• Links to performance management
• Personalised
• Is monitored and evaluated
• Forward planning
• Included in school development plan
• Provides career guidance and targets for career progression
• Is relevant
• Establishes expectations
• Focuses on improving pupil achievement
• Makes staff feel valued
• Is well planned
• Appraisal
• New perspectives
• Flexibility
• Well defined audience
• Feedback and evaluation
• Reflection

What are the barriers to effective CPD?
There are various barriers that prevent good CPD from taking place, and sometimes prevent CPD from taking place at all. These include:

• Lack of collaboration
• Lack of personalisation
• Cost
• When voluntary, some staff opt-out
• No follow-up, therefore CPD has a limited impact
• Disruptive to teaching if held during the school day
• No sense of ownership
• Track record of bad CPD within the school
• Not seen as beneficial
• Little outside support
• Inadequate resources
• Low moral

What is the CPD requirement for teachers applying for CGeog?
In order to achieve Chartered Geographer (Teacher) status you need to be able to provide evidence that you have participated in a variety of CPD activities throughout your teaching career. This includes presenting as well as attending CPD sessions. There is no set amount of hours of CPD that you must have done to become a CGeog (Teacher).

What is the CPD requirement for teachers once they have been awarded CGeog status?
Once you have been awarded Chartered status, you will be required to log all the CPD you do and submit that log annually to the RGS-IBG. The minimum number of CPD hours per year you will need to collect as a Chartered Geographer (Teacher) is 35. You will need to do at least 15 hours internal and 20 hours external CPD to ensure a variation in your experiences. See the CPD ideas page for guidance on this internal/external criteria.