smaller scale. In terms of the Midland school, the cohort was prepared by the
University for a particular school approach and university academics partnered with
the school in order to provide mentoring for teachers and students of teaching to
support the project at the school‘at scale’. As a consequence, students of teaching
seamlessly transitioned into‘University studies’at the school at the end of their
teaching day with a focus on interrogating and extending their learning from daily
practice. Crucially, the scale of the partnership facilitated an investment in the
outcomes thatflowed from the experience for all partners at a quantitatively dif-
ferent level to anything experienced (or even envisaged as possible) before.
- Viewing students of teaching as assets
In many ways, extending the third insight above, the Midland school partnership
targeted the enhancement of school student learning as much as it did the learning
of the students of teaching. As a consequence, students of teaching were viewed as
valuable assets to be supported by their teacher mentors because they were helping
to‘deliver’on school objectives in ways that was not possible in their absence. The
large cohort of students of teaching created: very favourable student–teacher class
ratios; enhanced prospects for genuine differentiated teaching; opportunities to
implement specific teaching procedures; and, efficiencies for assessment and
evaluation not possible without the increased teaching capacity. The professional
experience through the midland school-university partnership allowed for a
strategic alignment with a pedagogic need that was important to the school and
made student–teacher’s feel valued.
- There is value in embedded research in professional experience
The professional experience at Midland School was supported by (in part) a
research agenda of the school (interest in the impact of a targeted numeracy pro-
gramme by its teachers) whilst also creating valuable data about the nature of the
professional experience approach. With research as an explicit aspect of profes-
sional experience, researching teaching and learning becomes more realizable
through practice. In so doing, teachers, schools and students of teaching begin to
recognize the research-rich environments in which they work and how important
inquiry is to the ongoing development and valuing of teachers’ professional
knowledge of practice.
- Learning from experience
Forming meaningful partnerships in teacher education requires moving beyond
universities and schools negotiating a ‘professional experience placement’ for
students of teaching. Facilitating learning by school-based educators, academics
and students of teaching creates possibilities for professional learning, curriculum
development and a renewed focus on teacher education practices. Under such
conditions, opportunities for theory and practice to inform one another reinforces
the value of reciprocal partnerships and the importance of data as an evidence base.
722 A. Clemans et al.