Friday October 23, 2009

NEW BOOK REVEALS BENEFITS TEACHERS AND LEARNERS GAIN BY SHARING SKILLS OVERSEAS

Leading education charity CfBT Education Trust will publish a new book highlighting the wider educational benefits gained by teachers’ visits to schools abroad.

The book, Learning Links, will be officially launched at the 2009 Teaching Awards UK Fellows Weekend Ceremony on October 25. Written by Mike Baker, Wendy Wallace and Hilary Wilce, it tells the story of three groups of Teaching Award winners who visited CfBT-funded projects in Asia and Africa with the aim of sharing educational knowledge and best practice.

Caroline Haynes and Nicola Stanfield, who visited schools in Singapore, found observing the teaching of English and English-medium education to be a particularly useful experience whilest Dai Jones, Mary O’Kane and Tabitha Sawyer who visited Hyderabad, India gained an understanding of education delivered in often difficult economic and social contexts. During their visit they ran a well-received series of workshops on effective schools, creative teaching, eco-friendly schools and nutrition.

Special needs teacher Alison Marshman, who visited schools and educational projects run by CfBT Education Trust in Kenya, said: “I was very keen on the whole idea of learning more from other people in ot, her contexts. It enriches what you are doing and hopefully helps other people enrich their practice in turn”.

Dr Geraldine Hutchinson, Assistant Director at CfBT Education Trust and National Judge on the Teaching Awards panel, added: “The trips CfBT Education Trust provides to Teaching Award winners offer a unique opportunity for them to experience very different educational settings, learn new teaching methodologies and share their own skills with teachers overseas.

We have found that not only do teachers return from their trips inspired to develop their own teaching practices, many also maintain links with the schools they have visited overseas bringing a new cultural dimension into the classroom for their pupils. The trips often have a far wider-reaching effect on both teachers and learners in all countries concerned”.

Ends

Notes for Editors:

About CfBT Education Trust

CfBT Education Trust is a leading education consultancy and service organisation. Our object is to provide education for public benefit both in the UK and internationally. Established 40 years ago CfBT Education Trust now has an annual turnover exceeding £100 million and employs more than 2,500 staff worldwide who support educational reform, teach, advise, research and train.

As a not-for-profit organisation we commit around £1million of our surpluses every year for practice-based educational research.

Visit www.cfbt.com for more information.

About the Teaching Awards

The book is being launched at the Teaching Awards UK Fellows Weekend, held in London on October 24-25. The gathering is to celebrate excellence in teaching and to pay tribute to 150 teachers, heads, teaching assistants, governors and sustainable schools who each received silver platos at local ceremonies around Britain this summer. Eleven inspirational individuals and the ‘greenest’ school in Britain school will be named gold plato winners at the 2009 Teaching Awards UK ceremony, broadcast on Sunday on BBC2 at 6pm. All 150 silver plato winners have won a prize weekend at the Tower Hotel and will attend a gala dinner after the UK ceremony. Copies of Learning Links will be available there.

The Teaching Awards is open to every school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The awards were established by Lord Puttnam CBE in 1998 and are managed by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity. The Trust’s mission is to celebrate excellence in education and share expertise.

The Teaching Awards 2009 is sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children Services (NCSL), the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and Becta.

The Teaching Awards works closely with the Scottish Education Awards on a selection of awards at UK level. The Teaching Awards is supported by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland, the Welsh Assembly Government and all major teaching unions. Other supporters include BT, the General Teaching Council for England (GTC), RM, CfBT Education Trust, the British Council, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Rolls-Royce and Dorling Kindersley.

Nominate your favourite teacher for 2010 at www.teachingawards.com

For more information contact:

Gillian Goode
Marketing Communications Officer
CfBT Education Trust
60 Queens Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 4BS
T: 0118 902 1841
E: ggoode@cfbt.com
www.cfbt.com