NAPD – Learning and Teaching Workshops 2020-2021
Given difficulties around Covid-19, NAPD has decided that it won’t be possible to offer Learning & Teaching face-to-face workshops by Mike Hughes and Graham Powell in this academic year.
From conversations to date with Principals, Deputies and teachers it would seem that there are two schools of thought:
- Teachers will want professional engagement with their colleagues and with external L&T facilitators to energise and stimulate them in the challenging times at hand.
- Thanks, but no thanks – we have enough on our plates as is.
If you’re in the latter camp, you can leave us now and hopefully re-join us in September 2021. Otherwise carry on …
Mike and Graham too have differing views. Mike is happy (and excited) to offer his programmes online via Zoom, while Graham won’t begin any new programmes this year but is happy to continue working to support existing schools on a private basis.
Mike Hughes
Newcomers
The programme heretofore comprised 3 x four-hour workshops over the academic year (November, January and March) for up to 4 teachers from a school.
The proposal for the coming year is to replace each of the 3 existing workshops with two shorter sessions, one 2-hour and one 1-hour. The programme therefore will comprise 6 Zoom sessions.
On any given day the same session will be conducted three times and a school’s group of teachers can choose the time slot which suits them best.
- Time Slot 1: Morning
- Time Slot 2: Late afternoon immediately after class (typically 4pm onwards)
- Time Slot 3: Evening (typically 7pm onwards)
Face-to-face Magenta workshops are based around a series of activities and include a significant element of discussion. The aim for the coming year is to replicate this as far as possible in a remote setting. Participants will gain maximum benefit from the programme when working in a group and it is highly recommended that teachers access these sessions in their school groups, working collaboratively (while socially distancing) within the same room at the same time.
If this is not possible (e.g. evening sessions or where teachers who are self-isolating) participants should be able to communicate with their colleagues during the session via FaceTime or similar.
The programme will commence with a 2–hour session on Wednesday 4 November and a 1-hour session on Tuesday 24 November.
Further sessions will take place in January and March 2021, on dates TBA.
As has been our practice, we will require the same teachers attend all 6 sessions so that session 2 can build on session 1 etc.
A per-school fee for the programme in the region of €400 is envisaged.
Returners
We propose to offer the 2019-20 cohort one 2-hour session on Wednesday 25 November, with a choice of late afternoon (4pm onwards) or evening (7pm onwards).
A per-participant fee for the session in the region of €50 is envisaged.
Graham Powell
New NAPD Programme – Graham will not undertake any new NAPD programmes in this academic year.
Tailored work for individual schools …Graham is available to offer online training sessions with groups of teachers/leaders to help them develop their practices around Leading Learning.
2019-2020 Cohort
Newcomers (Cork and Portlaoise) and Returners (Portlaoise) had their programmes terminated in March before the final workshop could take place. Graham will conduct these workshops in person as soon as circumstances allow.
| What to do now?
Please email Barry O’Callaghan (leading4learning@napd.ie) no later than Friday 2 October if … 1. If your school is interested in either of the Mike Hughes’s proposed programmes (Newcomers, Returners). To gauge the viability of programmes we’d like an expressions of interest, not a final commitment. 2. If you have a preference for the timing of Mike’s programmes – mornings, late afternoons or evenings. Will any of these times definitely not work for you? 3. If you’d like to make contact with Graham. I’ll send you his email and you can explore options with him. |