The Traveling Teacher Blog! EdTech Professional Learning – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The positive impact that professional development (PD) can have on teachers is well documented as PD is ‘arguably the single most important thing that teachers and school leaders can focus on to make a difference in children’s learning.’ (Rauch and Coe, 2019, p.3).  Teachers can be improved, and they can be improved via effective professional learning.  In a report on PD, researchers confirm that effective professional learning has the following positive impact on students:

• Increase in student grades
• Student lifetime earnings can be increased by $6000

(Collin and Smith, 2024, p. 6).

Over the past 16 years, I have had the opportunity to participate in a variety of different PD activities offered both in the school communities that I have served and also with external course providers.  The use of technology in schools has changed a great deal over the last 16 years in school and as a result, so have approaches to PD courses.  PD courses are now available face-to-face, hybrid or 100% online.  I prefer in-person PD courses as the opportunity to learn from the good practice of others is of most value to me.  

I have also had the privilege of working in schools in the UK, Dubai, Thailand and Italy.  As a result, the PD offered has differed according to the priorities of the part of the world I was based in.  Dubai, for example, is a futuristic Emirate and world leading with technological advancements.  A stand out EdTech PD course that I undertook in Dubai was delivered by Lighthouse Arabia which is an organization that focuses on helping individuals with their mental health.  More information about Lighthouse Arabia can be found here: https://www.lighthousearabia.com/   The course I undertook focused on creating a 24 hour online counseling service to provide first level guidance to the school community that I served.  This course was most impactful as the learning was not only relevant but the workshop was practical and interactive in nature allowing participants to experience what students and parents/carers would, meaning that resources could be tailored to the needs of our school community.  

The least impactful PD is when the content is not relevant.  Last academic year, I attended a PD event which focused on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets in schools.  This PD was problematic for a few different reasons.  Firstly, the course delivery was 100% online making it challenging for me to learn about the ways in which VR headsets could be used in a school setting without seeing a practical demonstration.  My age demographic means that I am classified as a millennial and I wondered if this impacts my views on online learning.  However, I don’t seem to be alone with my thoughts as research findings on learning during lockdown reveal that a majority of U.S. teens prefer in-person over virtual or hybrid learning:

(Anderson et al., 2022, p.1).  Coupled with this, funding required to use software promoted throughout this PD course would mean that my school group would have to significantly alter their budget allocation for school technology.  Unfortunately, in the current financial climate, this is not possible making this course inaccessible and therefore irrelevant to the school community. 

In summary, teachers need meaningful PD to help their students succeed.  Researchers Sam Sims and Harry Fletcher-Wood (2021) contend that ‘The more mechanisms professional development includes and effectively implements, the larger its likely impact on student attainment.’ (Sims and Fletcher-Wood, 2021, p.10)  confirming that well-designed PD benefits the most important stakeholders in schools: our students.  

Bibliography 

Anderson, Monica, Faverio, Michelle and McClain, Colleen. (2022). How Teens Navigate Schools During COVID 19. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/06/02/how-teens-navigate-school-during-covid-19/

Collin, Joe and Smith, Ellen. (2024). Effective Professional Development Guidance Report. Retrieved from: https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/production/eef-guidance-reports/effective-professional-development/EEF-Effective-Professional-Development-Guidance-Report.pdf

Rauch, CJ and Coe, Rob. (2019). Evaluating and Measuring Teaching Quality, Teacher CPD: International Trends, Opportunities and Challenges, Chartered College of Teaching. Retrieved from: https://my.chartered.college/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Chartered-College-International- Teacher-CPD-report.pdf

Sims, Sam and Fletcher-Wood, Harry. (2021). Identifying the Characteristics of Effective Teacher Professional Development: A Critical Review, School Effectiveness and Improvement, vol. 32. (pp. 10).