Masters in Teaching & Learning

Bob Burstow
Masters in Teaching & Learning MTL
King’s College Department of Education and Professional Studies is particularly attractive for potential students because the strength of research within the department (Third nationally in the most recent RAE) feeds directly in to the teaching on the courses on offer. Students have the opportunity to engage with leading edge researchers in a way that would be impossible elsewhere. Kings staff bring this aspect of the departments work to the development and delivery of the MTL in the London region.



I spent over 30 years working in state secondary schools, leaving a post as Deputy head of a school facing challenging circumstances to become a senior lecturer at King's College London. I bring aspects of this experience to all my work with beginning and more experienced teachers. With this recent school based background I was naturally very concerned that the new MTL should be relevant to the day-to-day practice of the teachers who will be doing the degree and felt able to make sure that this was the case.



My research focus concerns the effectiveness of continuing professional development in the past and how lessons learned from earlier programmes may inform present and future practice. The new MTL has allowed me to put this interest to immediate and practical use.



The expectation (from government) is that teaching will become a Masters profession (‘Being the Best for our Children’, DCSF, 2008). This degree is one way for individual teachers to achieve that aim. In addition, the reflection and enquiry that participants will be engaged on, in this course, would be expected to make them better candidates for promotion within their profession.