What does it actually take to design professional development that further education staff find useful, credible, and worth their time? In this episode, Lauran Kerr-Heraly is joined by Dr Martin Rigby, who draws on over fifteen years at Runshaw College and a background in academic research to explain how his team built a flexible, evidence informed CPD model that staff actually choose to engage with, and why that matters for teaching and learning across a community college or further education setting. You will come away from this conversation with practical ideas you can take back to your own college, whether you are a tutor, lecturer, or leader. Martin and Lauran talk through how to move beyond whole staff sheep dip training days, how advanced practitioners can act as critical friends rather than evaluators, and how to keep the focus on two simple questions: is learning happening, and how do you know? There is also a genuinely entertaining example of innovative teaching involving a digitally immersive Dragon's Den experience that your students will not forget. This is an honest, grounded conversation about what good college education quality looks like from the inside. What We Cover in This Episode 0:49 How Dr Martin Rigby ended up in further education: from academic researcher and lecturer across three countries to writing to Runshaw College and proposing they start a geology course, and what has kept him there for fifteen years. 5:05 Why further education occupies a uniquely important position: the argument that FE is where tutors and lecturers still have the most influence over a young person's direction, and how that differs from both secondary school and university. 8:00 Building an evidence based CPD menu at Runshaw College: how Martin's team reviewed around two hundred research publications, grouped them into themes, consulted staff, and created a flexible programme of Monday and Wednesday sessions that faculty members can dip in and out of across thirty five weeks of the year. 13:10 Redesigning whole college staff development days: why Runshaw moved away from large hall training toward a hybrid model with guest speakers followed by small classroom based sessions led by advanced practitioners, and how reflection time and informal follow up observations make the learning stick. 20:36 Keeping CPD focused and simple: the reductionist approach to identifying what is not working in teaching and learning, how advanced practitioners contextualise sessions for different curriculum areas, and the immersive Lizard's Lair project as an example of innovative teaching that gave students an entirely new way to pitch their work. Links, Resources and Offers Runshaw College Free resources and newsletter Speaking engagements, coaching and executive function support here About Your Host Dr. Lauran Kerr-Heraly is an award-winning educator and author who has dedicated her career to transforming lives through education. As a speaker and coach, she helps educators, leaders, and students build skills for creativity and success drawing on experience in American community colleges, British and international schools in England, and her current role as Quality and Innovation Lead in an English college. She shares a nerdy and adventurous life full of books, board games, and travels with her spouse, daughter, and dog. Instagram LinkedIn Website About the Guest Dr Martin Rigby is Deputy Principal at Runshaw College, responsible for quality, curriculum, and continuing professional development, and he brings to that role a background as an academic researcher and lecturer at institutions including the University of Manchester, the University of Bayreuth in Germany, and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He has been at Runshaw for over fifteen years, moving through roles as teacher, Advanced Practitioner, and Curriculum Manager for Science before stepping into college leadership. You can find him at the link below. LinkedIn
