Teacher development through the Masters in Teaching and Learning: a lost opportunity

Abstract

This paper examines the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) from the aspect of the MTL in action. It is written by university lecturers who are responsible for its delivery and examines the idea of teacher development through a work-based master’s course. We provide three case studies of the views of MTL participants and their coaches, presented as vignettes. These explore the themes of teacher agency and risk-taking, developments in practice and the role of the coach. We found that the MTL provides a framework in which teachers may feel more confident in enacting agency, trialling new ideas and taking risks, and that they have developed the way in which they reflect on their practice. This has involved a deeper critique of their teaching and learning strategies. Lastly, examination of the coaching model around which the MTL was developed has identified contrasting, yet effective, situations in practice. All three scenarios highlight that the teachers perceive engagement with theoretical perspectives to be greatly beneficial.

Keywords:

• Masters in Teaching and Learning
• teacher development
• teacher agency
• risk-taking
• developments in practice
• coaching

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the MTL participants and coaches who took part in this study.