Building a teacher learning culture

As Dylan Wiliam (2016) described, ‘the major contribution to improving teacher quality must come from improving the quality of teachers already working in our schools’. This is opposed to the view that we can improve academic outcomes simply through recruitment and by removing less-effective teachers. One of the main ways in which we have sought to nurture a culture of professional learning, aimed at improving the quality of education we provide, has been the creation of ‘Think Tanks’. Think Tanks have been a fundamental part of our professional learning strategy for close to a decade and involve elective residential training that takes place twice each academic year. The agenda for Think Tank is determined by the staff who choose to attend, with a clear focus on collaboration to improve teaching and learning. This has led to a distinctive culture around reading, research and continuous professional growth. What happens at Think Tank? Typically, the Friday evening of Think Ta