Cambridge Symposium on Pedagogy and Teacher Education
Formulating an Agenda for the Future
24 / 25 March 2011
The Cambridge Symposium on Pedagogy and Teacher Education aims to explore future directions in
school pedagogy and teacher education in an international context. It takes place against a
background of the UK coalition government’s White Paper, The Importance of Teaching (DfE, 2010), which places under scrutiny yet again the future of teacher education. We hope the symposium will stimulate serious debate about schooling, pedagogy and teacher education, towards a vision in which the profession collectively – including those newly entering and those continuing their development – is open to innovation and adaptation that looks beyond immediate and often unexamined concerns, and that treats teachers and teacher educators as thoughtful professionals.
A number of international scholars have accepted our invitation to contribute to the symposium,
outlining their own vision for the development of pedagogy and the teacher education agenda into the future. The symposium will offer a forum for discussion and open exploration of views, to debate the future of teacher education and pedagogy, and to explore how government might best achieve its objective of establishing a world class education system in the UK.
Current keynote contributors include:
- Robin Alexander, Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge and Director, The Cambridge Primary Review
- Paul Cobb, Peabody Chair in Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University
- Pam Grossman, Nomellini Olivier Professor of Education, Stanford University.
- Andy Hobson, Associate Professor in the Centre for Research in Schools and Communities, University of Nottingham
- Jean Murray, Professor of Education, Cass School of Education, University of East London.
- Lily Orland-Barak, Head of Department of Learning, Curriculum and Teacher Education, University of Haifa
- Andrew Pollard, Director of ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme, 2002-09, and
- Research Fellow at the University of London Institute of Education.
- Phil Scott, Professor of Science Education, University of Leeds.
The symposium will also provide the opportunity to discuss the Faculty’s current highly regarded
‘Cambridge model’ of teacher education running from initial training through to continuing
professional development.
As well as key staff from the Faculty’s teacher education programmes and senior representatives from the Faculty’s partner schools, participants in the symposium will include those involved in policy development in teacher education and senior academics from other universities active in teacher education.
For further information on the symposium please contact Nikhil Gomes. (ndg24@cam.ac.uk)