Meaning – CPD spent on pedagogy and subject knowledge and subject specific pedagogy are equally important. Some research suggests that CPD spent on generic pedagogic strategies is insufficient, particularly in maths, and that it is important to consider several alternative pedagogies for specific pupils too. This means that any CPD spent on a generic skill, such as ‘assessment for learning’ should be contextualised both to particular subjects, and also to particular pupils’ needs.
What would that look like in practice?
In school X every input is split into both generic and subject specific. For example, a twilight session focussed on ‘questioning’ and, after some input as a whole school staff body, staff were split into departments and collaborated to contextualise this to their own subjects. Staff were finally expected to target some specific examples for specific pupils they expected to benefit.
In the Focus section you will find more resources, tools and blogs around balancing general pedagogy with subject-specific pedagogy and subject knowledge. You will also find resources from other schools.