At Lakes College in Workington, Dr Fiona Dixon and Chris Wilson are showing that the Great Teaching Toolkit (GTT) is not only applicable to Further Education – it’s helping to transform their culture of teaching and learning.

We spoke to Fiona and Chris about how they’re embedding the GTT, what impact it’s had on staff and students, and why they believe it’s a powerful tool for Further Education institutions.

Aligning the Great Teaching Toolkit with College strategy

Lakes College had already committed to a teaching and learning strategy informed by cognitive science. The content of the GTT – covering retrieval practice, metacognition, and cognitive load theory – fitted naturally. Fiona explained:

“It really complemented what we’d been trying to do. We didn’t have to create everything ourselves – the resources were already there. That saved a lot of time and we knew it was approved and evidence-based.”

Rather than using the GTT platform in isolation, they created a Padlet of resources, combining content from the Toolkit with additional materials and staff-contributed ideas. This hybrid approach worked better for their context than directing staff solely to the platform.

Bridging the gap

A unique challenge in Further Education is the number of staff joining directly from industry, often without any formal teaching background.

“For new teachers – especially those coming from industry that have never taught before – the GTT has been invaluable,” said Chris. “They don’t have that bank of resources to draw on, so the Toolkit gave them practical strategies they could use straight away.”

One of the biggest benefits they’ve seen is how the GTT has helped develop a shared professional language to ‘bridge the gap’. Staff are using that language to evaluate and develop their practice.

“It’s not just that people are using terms like ‘retrieval practice’,” Fiona said, “but they’re applying them thoughtfully – not just as a quiz, but as a learning strategy. That ability to articulate and reflect has really grown.”

Chris said, “It gave me a stepping stone to understand and apply that terminology,” he said. “It’s helped bridge the gap between different levels of experience.”

Where the culture change happens: talking about teaching

Fiona emphasised the importance of collaboration:

“Set up a space where people can talk about teaching – what’s worked, what hasn’t. It’s about them developing their own voice in terms of their teaching and learning.”

Fiona set up a Research in Practice Group to explore GTT content together. This created momentum and built confidence. “I think teachers can be very isolated in the classroom, and this has been a really good way of getting them to come together and work as collaborative professionals.”

The group created a space for staff to come together, share what they’d tried, and reflect openly on what was working and what wasn’t.

“It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being curious. That’s where the culture change happens. It’s also about discussions to learn, rather than discussions to be right. It’s not simply ‘this is what you need to do, go and do it’ – it’s given staff the confidence to speak about why they’re doing something. It’s helping teachers come out of their comfort zone – with support.”

Advice for other Further Education colleges

For colleges wondering whether the Great Teaching Toolkit is “for them,” Fiona and Chris are clear: it absolutely is.

“I’d start with new teachers,” Chris suggests. “They’ll have resources, case studies, and practical strategies to help them through that intense first year.”

Looking back, both Chris and Fiona emphasised the value of collaboration and shared ownership in making the Toolkit work for their context.

“The Great Teaching Toolkit’s helped us all to celebrate teaching and learning,” Chris said.

“That’s definitely been the key – getting people together,” added Fiona.

Chris stressed that the Toolkit isn’t just for schools but its success depends on thoughtful ownership:

“It is for everybody. Whoever takes ownership of those licences needs to know how to adapt it and use it for themselves – that’s pretty much what we did.”

Want to see how the Great Teaching Toolkit could work at your college? Ask us a question here or book a call for a chat and demo.