In the workplace, CPD (Continuous Professional Development) is just as essential as the skills we bring when we start out in a role.  

As teachers and trainers, it is very easy to count the years in terms of semesters or courses, in a wonderful cycle of lesson planning, reviews and student faces coming and going; inward thinking, inward acting.

Continuous Professional Development, is something we all have to make an effort to think about and, more importantly, act upon.

The key to any effective CPD plan is the will and the opportunity to look up and look outward.

New ideas come from new inputs and seeking these out may mean time and effort, but to be able to be good teachers, we have to also be good learners!  

Keeping up with new learning and teaching strategies in education is how we grow as professionals. It also leads through example, by sharing with our students an excitement for knowledge.

At NIKOLOPOULEIO, we use the framework and method of the Action Learning set, created by Reg Revans, as one of our key professional development tools.

What is an Action Learning Set?

In very simple terms, an ALS (Action Learning set) is a group of 6-8 people who meet regularly to help each other to learn from their joint, shared experience.  

Action learning is based upon the concept of learning by reflection (or reviewing).

It’s a form of experiential learning- the process of ‘making meaning from direct experience’.

Hosted by an ALS facilitator, the sessions are structured to enable each individual in the group to achieve their own real-life learning objective, with colleagues who support and challenge each other to make progress on their goals.

The whole group then gets to share the learning from that journey.

The Benefits and Ground Rules of ALS

Helping professionals fulfill their potential and achieve their dream

* Ensure proactivity and a problem-solving mind-set in the workplace

* Help develop new skills and approaches

* Increase personal responsibility, and share experience among colleagues

* Encourage a positive, constructive approach to life

* Learn how to communicate with different personalities and styles in the peer group

Our ground rules for Action Learning Sets include:

* Respect others and their viewpoint

* Take responsibility for our own actions

* Focus on discussing and finding solutions

* Research new ideas in education to bring to the group

* Share our learning and new knowledge

At NIKOLOPOULEIO, we use the  Action Learning set method to ensure that our teaching is as effective as possible.

It ensures we are constantly researching new ideas and trends in education, so that our students in turn become global, lifelong learners, with a constructive, positive approach to life.