Education Deanery hosts teacher learning events on Early Years and English as an Additional Language

The Oxford Education Deanery hosted two teacher learning events on 27 July, attended by a wide range of teachers and headteachers from primary and secondary schools around the country.

The first event focused on noticing, rehearsing, analysing and refining practice in the Early Years classroom. Led by Professor Kathy Sylva and Dr Sandra Mathers, the day included a mix of theory and interactive activities to support the identification of effective strategies to foster children’s language development. The comments from participants below are testament to the value the teachers placed on the event:

“The whole session had a profound impact on me. I am so interested to hear more about research which was delivered in a clear way”

“It has empowered me and inspired me to find out more and look at my own practice”

“What a brilliant day, made me proud to be in early years. Thank you”

Alongside the Early Years event, Professor Victoria Murphy, Professor Steve Strand, Dr Faidra Faitaki and Dr Hamish Chalmers developed a day of input focused on improving the educational experiences of students for whom English is an Additional Language. The day covered bilingual language development across the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. There were also sessions exploring multilingualism in the classroom and the assessment of EAL learners.

“Super interesting and relevant presentations”

“The breadth of research covered in the sessions was truly remarkable”

“It felt like what teachers do in the classroom really matters to you”

“It was a really helpful digest of all the research I don’t have time to keep on top of, with expert commentary”

We rounded off the day of learning with a formal dinner hosted at Kellogg College, which was an excellent chance for participants to continue their conversations and build networks.

The Education Deanery events aim to provide a conduit for our researchers to share their work directly with teachers, and for teachers to contribute to ongoing discussions about the research agendas of the department.