A recent survey of nearly 1,000 educators from all 50 states shows that teachers WANT more online, on-demand opportunities for professional learning that cater toward their individual needs, yet they still largely aren’t being provided learning opportunities that are relevant to them1. At a time when many schools are looking for creative solutions to a teacher shortage problem, these survey results suggest that providing ample opportunities for educators to engage in lifelong learning may lead to greater teacher job satisfaction, and in turn, might help retain teachers. Not to mention a better prepared teaching staff. Win, win!
The survey was conducted by Interactive Educational Systems Design (IESD) on behalf of D2L during the fall of 2021. In total, 127 district administrators and 850 teachers responded to the survey across all 50 states. While it’s a pretty low sample size when taking into consideration the total number of teachers in the US, I still think the findings and recommendations are worth consideration from school leaders and instructional coaches when considering how to support and retain teachers.
Choice PD is more than just a few options during the one to three district inservice days throughout a school year; there needs to be ongoing learning opportunities. We know that high quality professional learning takes place over a sustained duration of time2,3,4, with one study finding an average of 49 hours and a minimum of 14 hours required for PD to lead to improved student outcomes5. The D2L survey found that 94% of K12 educators find ongoing professional learning opportunities important, yet only 36% are offered ongoing PD.
One finding from the survey that I found particularly interesting was that the more educators agreed their school encourages and supports the use of technology, the more likely they were to be satisfied with their professional learning opportunities. More than likely, this is tied to the fact that they probably receive ongoing learning opportunities to use the technology if their school and the leaders find it important.
Another point I found interesting was that 82% of administrators thought time would be a barrier for participation in online learning, yet only 48% of teachers say time is actually a barrier. Moreover, teachers’ top problems with online professional learning is that it is not engaging (56%) and it is irrelevant to their individual needs (54%).
How can instructional coaches take these findings, alongside knowledge of your own school and teachers, into consideration to offer and provide more ongoing, on-demand, engaging professional learning opportunities on a variety of topics that are relevant for teachers? Coaches are a key piece in supporting teachers and making them feel valued, which ultimately helps schools retain teachers. How might we share these results when talking with our own school administrators to encourage them to support our efforts? How might we work within systems with rigid union teacher contracts that do not allow for many PD opportunities outside of inservice days? These are big questions to tackle, but every step toward progress is helpful.
A few years ago, my team created Edge•U Badges, which is an online, on-demand micro-credentialing program that offers educators professional learning on edtech tools and instructional strategies that utilize technology. It offers teachers choice, allows them to tailer professional learning to their needs, and it directly impacts instruction in the classroom. It addresses a number of the professional learning needs and recommendations discussed in the D2L survey. I offer it up as a possible solution to the instructional coaching community because it solved a number of challenges around professional learning and technology training that our own team of coaches faced. There’s a brief overview video below, and if you’re interested in more information, you can learn more and request a demo here.
Tech To You Later!
-Katie, Ed.D.
References
- Schneiderman, M. (2022). How the Pandemic Has (Re)Shaped K–12 Teacher Professional Learning. Ontario, Canada: D2L. https://www.d2l.com/resources/assets/ways-to-support-teachers-professional-development/?asset=7015W0000009bpSQAQ
- Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/effective-teacher-professional-development-report
- Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915-945.
- Roth, K. J., Garnier, H. E., Chen, C., Lemmens, M., Schwille, K., & Wickler, N. I. Z. (2011). Video based lesson analysis: Effective science PD for teacher and student learning. Journal on Research in Science Teaching, 48(2),117–148.
- Yoon, K. S., Duncan, T., Lee, S. W., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007-No. 033). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest.