Left to Right  Derek Thompson, GTCS Council Convener, Amy Buchan and Ken Muir, GTCS Chief Executive and Registrar 

Amy Buchan, University of Strathclyde graduate and teacher at Callander Primary School, is the 2016 winner of the George D Gray Award presented annually by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).  Amy was announced as the winner at a meeting of the full Council of GTCS in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 14 December 2016. 

Now in its sixteenth year, the George D Gray Award seeks to find the most distinguished  BEd dissertation in Scotland.  The award is judged by an experienced panel of educationalists comprising: Professor Rowena Arshad, Convener of the Award Panel; Professor Teresa Moran of Dundee University; Professor Judith George of the Open University; and Kenneth Muir, Chief Executive of GTCS. 

Amy Buchan graduated with a BEd (Hons) First Class from the University of Strathclyde in June 2016.  Her dissertation entitled Implementing Cognitively Guided Instruction in the Scottish early years classroom: Exploring changes to knowledge and beliefs as a pre-service teacher working within a small-scale learning community investigates changes to Amy’s own knowledge and beliefs, as a pre-service teacher, through implementing Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) as an alternative mathematics pedagogy in the primary classroom.  The results from Amy’s study suggest that professional development in CGI can have a significant impact on pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and beliefs. 

Presenting the award, GTCS Chief Executive, Kenneth Muir, said: 

“The judges found Amy’s thesis to be an excellent example of the kind of high-quality, pragmatic research and enquiry that is being produced across the teaching profession in Scotland. 

“The panel was impressed by the tremendous enthusiasm and commitment that Amy demonstrated in presenting her dissertation at the meeting before the award panel, during which she displayed an impressive depth of knowledge of the background to her studies and produced a clear and perceptive analysis of her findings. 

Amy, who is currently undertaking her Teacher Induction Scheme year at Callander Primary School in Stirling, said:  

“I selected this topic for my professional project in order to develop my knowledge of CGI as an approach focused on promoting children’s mathematical understanding. Delivering a series of lessons using the CGI frameworks allowed me to question my existing beliefs about effective teaching and learning in mathematics. Investigating these shifts through observation of the children’s strategies in the context of the classroom has allowed me to appreciate the value of teacher learning situated in practice. This is something I will continue to utilise as I enter the teaching profession. 

It is an honour to have been selected for the George D Gray Award. It came as a complete surprise and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities it has provided.” 

The George D Gray CBE MA Award is presented by GTCS under the terms of a trust fund which was set up by Dr Ethel Gray, the widow of George D Gray, as a memorial to her husband.  Widely regarded as being responsible for securing government support for establishing the GTCS, George Gray was also its first Registrar.