IPDA Bulletin June 2016

In this mid-year bulletin, we bring you information about:

• Update from around the regions
• Promoting IPDA
• Our 2016 conference and a save the date for our 2017 conference
• IPDA journals
• Becoming an IPDA book reviewer
• An opportunity to apply for an IPDA Research Scholarship, IPDA Prize
• Updating your details on the IPDA platform

We are pleased to announce that IPDA has now reached the 200 membership as an organisation which is the largest in our history. We want to make sure that we support our members in aspects of professional learning so we would be interested to hear from you. Remember IPDA is your organisation so if you have any ideas please do not hesitate to get in contact.

The international committee look forward to seeing you at one of our events.

Update from around the regions

IPDA India

IPDA India now has 31 members and is looking to increasing membership through linking with various institutions.  A national conference held at Partap Cpllege of Education in Ludhiana on 6 February was attended by over 150 delegates, on the theme ‘Teacher Education through Partnership and Collaborative Learning Communities’.

A further conference was being held in October 2016 at which Coleen had been invited to give a keynote address.

For further information contact Dr Balwant Singh at bsinghpc@gmail.com 

IPDA Scotland

An IPDA seminar entitled ‘Extending the leadership continuum – an exploration into teacher leadership’ was held at the University of Glasgow on 22 February 2016 led by Dr Margery McMahon, Dr Coleen Jackson and Dr Liz White.  It was organised collaboratively with the Professional Learning and Leadership Group at the University and the Scottish College of Educational Leadership.  20 delegates attended this successful event which proved to be a useful platform to promote the IPDA 2016 conference.  For more information on IPDA Scotland contact Margery.McMahon@glasgow.ac.uk

IPDA Cymru

The IPDA Cymru Committee held a meeting on 17 March which 11 committee members attended and an action plan discussed for increasing membership and organising events in Wales.  For further information on IPDA Cymru contact junnine.thomas-walters@uwtsd.ac.uk

IPDA Ireland

IPDA are working to re-establish IPDA Ireland, if you know anyone who might be interested in supporting this initiative please contact Dr Coleen Jackson treasurer@ipda.org.uk

IPDA England

IPDA England has set up a blog on CPD matters in England. There are several posts already published that you can read at this link. For further information please contact pete.boyd@cumbria.ac.uk

Doctoral writing events

A doctoral writing workshop led by Dr Ewan Ingleby and Professor Alex Kendall was held at Teeside University on 7 March.  Slides were presented on the new IPDA journal and writing a methodology. The event was attended by thirty postgraduate students and the informal feedback was very good.  A similar workshop was held on 10 May at Newcastle University, which again was received positively.

A further workshop will take place at Durham, the date of which is to be confirmed. Contact E.Ingleby@tees.ac.uk or Alex.Kendall@bcu.ac.uk for further details about writing events. 

Promoting IPDA

 IPDA has developed various promotional flyers and postcards outlining how to become a member and information about our next conference. Should you require any literature for an event you might attend and where you can promote IPDA please contact Dr Coleen Jackson treasurer@ipda.org.uk

Our 2016 conference

The IPDA 2016 Conference will be held at Stirling Court Hotel, which is part of Stirling University, on 25-26 November. Come and engage with leading researchers and practitioners to explore the theme of Learning Across the Professions at the IPDA annual international conference 2016. The conference format is highly interactive and offers extensive opportunities for delegates and speakers to discuss content, share ideas and work towards solving problems.

This year we have three stimulating keynote speakers who between them offer wide and challenging perspectives on the conference theme. Professor Jan Vermunt will talk about the psychological perspectives on professional learning and development in different disciplines. Jan’s research covers a range of vocational education, including medical and teaching in higher education. Dr Alison Fuller will talk about apprenticeships as a model of learning across the professions. Alison’s research also includes a focus on the healthcare sector as well as the broader scope of vocational education and training in general. Professor Hilary Tompsett will challenge thinking through her presentation: Continuing Professional Development why bother? Learning (or not) across professions. Hilary’s research is focused on social work and the health and care professions.

Delegates are invited to present their research for discussion and address not only the main theme but also sub themes:

• Approaches to researching professional practice
• Professional learning through practice
• Impact of professional learning on practice

Save the date for our 2017 conference: 23-25 November 2017

Our 2017 Conference will be held at The Vale in Glamorgan. Our intention is to develop our learning about professional learning across the professions and we are in the process of lining up some eminent speakers. The Vale boasts a golf course and spa in addition to excellent conference facilities. It also has excellent transport links for plane, train and road travel.

IPDA Research Scholarship, IPDA and PDiE Prizes

The IPDA annual prize is back and the application form can be found on our website. The prize is for postgraduate students researching and writing about professional learning. The successful winner is invited to our conference to receive their prize of £100, certificate and one-year’s membership of IPDA. If you have a student whose work warrants professional recognition by a leading international organisation why not ask them to submit an application.

The Professional Development in Education Best Paper Award acknowledges and celebrates well-written papers that make a significant contribution to the field of PLD. For consideration for the award, the paper must have a strong focus on issues associated with professional learning and/or development. The prize will be £100. In the event that there are multiple authors, the cash prize will be divided equally among all authors. Additionally, the winning author(s) will be invited to submit their paper to the journal for review and consideration for publication. For more information on entry conditions and judging criteria please see PDiE prize details on the IPDA website.

Both awards will be presented at the IPDA International Conference, Stirling, November 2016

IPDA journal and publications

The IPDA journal Professional Development in Education (PDiE) continues to be highly regarded in the professional arena. Edition 42.3 is ready for publication and 42.4 is in preparation. If you are experiencing problems in receiving the journal please contact Netta Pickett, IPDA administrator admin@ipda.org.uk.

Two Special Issues as Books (SPIBS) have been published and are available from Taylor and Francis in hardback. Remember IPDA members are eligible for discount.

We are indebted to Routledge and Taylor Francis for supporting the development of a new IPDA publication focused on practitioners. Professor Alex Kendall is leading this exciting initiative.

Becoming an IPDA book reviewer and blog author

All members are warmly invited to contribute blogs or book reviews to the IPDA website to increase visits, interest and debate. These will be posted and tweeted, with others encouraged to comment and contribute to discussion. Please send any contributions directly to Phil Taylor (phil.taylor@bcu.ac.uk), following these simple guidelines:

Blogs can be on any topic of likely interest to IPDA members and visitors; there is no set format for blogs, but posts of up to around 1,000 words are suggested.

Book reviews can be of any you have recently read and found interesting. If you have seen a book you would like to read and review, and need help accessing an inspection copy, please just ask (phil.taylor@bcu.ac.uk). Reviews should: be around 650 words length; include book details (author(s), date, title, location, publisher, number of pages, price); follow the DARE rubric – describe, analyse, respond, evaluate; provide a list of keywords so that themes can be searched for and selected; include your reviewer name, role and contact details.

Updating your details on the IPDA platform

We will soon be launching a member login on our website that will take you to areas no one else will see. One of the things we are keen to promote is the networking between members for projects, research, presentations and so on. It would be really helpful if you could complete your details at this link so that we can set up your login.

The next bulletin will be published at the end of the year.

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Image: Emma Pemberton Photography.