The Council published Cosán, National Framework for Teachers’ Learning, in 2016, informed by research and an extensive consultation process.
Cosán acknowledges the many ways in which teachers have told us that they learn. It thus provides a clear and accessible framework for teachers’ ongoing professional learning to be recognised, in the context of their status as registered professionals. It also provides momentum for new conversations to happen about teaching and learning, between teachers, parents, students, and all stakeholders.
In that context, in October 2016, Council approved the following motion:
Council recognises the importance of ongoing CPD for all teachers as part of their life-long learning. Council believes that CPD should be both encouraged and incentivised and mandates the Cosán working group to produce proposals to bring to the Council as to how this can be done. In this regard, Council resolves that renewal of teachers' registration will not at this time be subject to engagement in CPD.
Subsequently, Cosán was the subject of a development process, where teachers led a conversation on what Cosán might look like in practice. That process involved workshops for schools, as well as national shared learning days and stakeholder events.
The need to encourage and support teachers in their engagement in professional learning was fundamental to that conversation. A key finding emerging from the process was that teachers’ learning, and their reflection on that learning, is a complex process. In order to support reflection on learning, a suite of resources has been made available. In addition, a national programme of Cosán workshops is now available to all schools, in collaboration with Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI).
In October, 2021, the Teaching Council and the Department of Education formally launched the Cosán Action Plan. That plan marks the transition of Cosán to a growth phase and sets out the role of key support services in supporting that transition.
