The House of Commons 2016-2017 Retention and recruitment of teachers report has found that continued professional development “improves teaching practice, professionalism and can help improve teacher retention.”
However, the same report has also found that England has had a weaker commitment to CPD than most high-performing countries and that “many teachers will not be doing CPD that will lead to real improvements in the classroom.”
Connect have developed C-Live, a virtual reality training platform comprised of pupils with unique abilities and personalities who respond in real time to the performance of the teacher with the class.
We believe that this gives schools and teachers the opportunity to undertake CPD which has a lasting, positive impact for a number of reasons:
Practical Training
It has been claimed that when CPD is treated solely as a way to increase teacher knowledge, the result is that teachers end up with a wealth of information on particular subjects but don’t improve any practical skills. C-Live is a practical platform, allowing teachers to learn by doing, and helping them to apply new knowledge to improve job performance.
Specific Scenarios
It can be hard for teachers to practise specific situations that they are struggling with in the real classroom, as these are dependent on pupil behaviour. C-Live has a large bank of scenarios ranging from managing disruptive classroom behaviour to offering support for children with special educational needs or disabilities. Schools can also create bespoke scenarios to address specific areas that their teachers need to work on.
Unlike traditional role plays with actors, C-Live also offers a variety of builds including multiple classroom settings and adult avatars which can easily be switched, allowing teachers to practise scenarios with different year groups and class sizes within minutes.
Evaluation
C-Live can be recorded, allowing teachers and schools to evaluate their performance and reflect on what could have been done differently. Scenarios can then be reattempted, allowing teachers to try different strategies and see how the outcome changes. All scenarios can be brought to a satisfying conclusion, which further empowers teachers when dealing with tricky situations on a daily basis.
Make sure you download our CPD infographic here
If you would like more information about how you can use C-Live for CPD in your school, contact us on 01270 449 165 or email us.
