A new annual event for the education sector

We are delighted to announce that next April will see the delivery of the inaugural David Monis-Weston lecture.  

This annual lecture will see the Teacher Development Trust invite the most exciting and challenging thinkers and practitioners in the world of professional development for teachers and school leaders to share their ideas, push the boundaries of our understanding of the latest evidence, and challenge us all to raise our ambitions for the future.

The lecture is named for the founder and first CEO of the Teacher Development Trust – and now Emeritus Director – David Monis-Weston, in recognition not just for all he has done for our charity but, more importantly, to advance the cause of effective professional development for the education system. We are thrilled that, in addition to allowing us to name the lecture in his honour, David has agreed to deliver the inaugural lecture next spring.

Sharing Approaches for a Long-Term Impact

As a charity, the Teacher Development Trust is committed to using the latest evidence to drive our work and our thinking.  But we are also committed to having the humility to challenge our understanding and to change our approaches when the evidence demands we should. 

We want to help the education system resist the false comfort of overly simplistic interpretations and solutions and embrace the necessary complexity involved in improving our teachers’ and school leaders’ understanding and capability.

This can be a fearfully difficult thing to do. Time in school is in short supply, and the pressure to make quick progress can feel impossible to ignore. Speed can feel like its own reward, but we need to ensure we also consider promoting professional development approaches that offer sustained improvement, strengthen professional judgement and agency and have the biggest long-term impact on children’s life chances.

The David Monis-Weston Lecture will invite speakers to provoke us and inspire us, and to help us focus on the right ideas and interventions to support the professionalism of teaching in the long-term.

Attendance will be by invite only, but the lecture will be recorded and shared with everybody.