As a former classroom teacher for 10 years, adjunct professor, and curriculum designer for a graduate school of education, I have witnessed a growing disconnect between how teachers are trained and how they actually teach in our nation's increasingly innovative classrooms. In my current work with the nonprofit The Learning Accelerator (TLA), I have discovered multiple examples of how technology is changing not only how training is delivered, but also how professional learning is personalized to support and engage each educator.
Good Teaching Is Good Teaching
Through my own work and research at TLA, we've found the vast majority of practices that help educators succeed in the classroom translate to more innovative classrooms as well. Many education support groups, districts, and networks have identified the core competencies and skills required of the next generation of teachers. These professional characteristics are mapped out in such documents as the following:
- <LINK URL="http://bplawassets.learningaccelerator.org/images/companyResources/iNACOL-Blended-Learning-Teacher-Competency-Framework-1.pdf" LINKTARGET="_blank">iNaCOL Blended Learning Teacher Framework</LINK>
- <LINK URL="https://studentsatthecenterhub.org/resources/educatorcompetencies/" LINKTARGET="_blank">JFF/CCSSO Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Teaching</LINK>
- <LINK URL="https://sites.google.com/a/summitps.org/plp-pro/home" LINKTARGET="_blank">Summit Public Schools' "PLP pro" Teacher Competencies</LINK>
- <LINK URL="https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/strategies/example-thrive-public-schools-approach-to-blended-learning" LINKTARGET="_blank">Thrive Public Schools' Blended Learning Rubric</LINK>
To summarize across these frameworks and analyses, it can be helpful to think about skills that are widely acknowledged as essential for good teaching and learning, regardless of the model, as well as those that become vital in an innovative classroom.
Using Technology to Personalize Teacher Training-table
Essential Skills in Any Classroom | Vitals Skills in an Innovative Classroom |
|---|---|
| "Developing strong lessons and units Setting up effective routines and systems Managing the classroom Creating an engaging space to learn Knowing students' strengths and weaknesses Being organized and prepared Assessing students in multiple ways" | "Robust, dynamic planning (e.g. how to include multiple lessons, multiple approaches, and/or multiple supports) Analyzing and applying data analysis Setting up a strong classroom culture that allows students autonomy and ownership Developing deep content expertise Relationship-building and collaborative work with both students and colleagues Being comfortable with flexibility, productive failure, and quick pivots when needed Exhibiting confidence with trying the unknown (technology, new software, a new model)" |
Although some skills on these lists may be "easier" to develop in cutting-edge schools with plentiful tools and resources, an educator's job remains challenging and requires significant preparation and development regardless of the circumstances. Effective support and training are more vital than ever.
In addition, not all educators are at the same point in development of skills and knowledge; each teacher has different strengths and weaknesses and must receive personalized support to best ensure mastery of the competencies and successful implementation. If we are asking educators to push toward more student-centered, differentiated, and innovative personalized classrooms, we should be modeling these same practices in our teacher training.
How Can Technology Support Personalized Professional Development at Scale?
Trainers (coaches, providers, etc.) are increasingly paying attention not just to the "what" of preparation but also the "how"; they are focusing on integrating aspects of innovative student learning models into teacher learning. As Ellen Moir, formerly head of the New Teacher Center, wrote in a 2014 HuffPost blog post:
"We should support the teachers who are required to lead highly personalized classrooms with highly personalized learning environments. We should expose them to the tools and strategies we are expecting them to use with their students. If teachers are using blended strategies or specific platforms with students, we should use those same blended strategies and platforms in their training, development, and support in explicit, intentional ways."
Trainers using this approach are delivering and modeling learning that aligns both to specific individual needs and allows learners to own their learning and choose such elements as the content, path, pace, and place. By modeling personalized practices and giving each educator access to the content in a way that resonates with and engages them, trainers:
- Help teachers experience personalized and competency-based learning as learners, giving them not only an example of practice but also insight into challenges students might experience.
- Align and target training to competencies, with a focus on individual needs.
- Offer differentiated supports through different modalities.
- Assess learning in a data-driven way, shifting the focus from earning set credits or credentials based on seat time to demonstration of mastery.
Real-world examples of personalized training utilizing technology include the following:
- <LINK URL="https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/strategies/guide-personalized-pd-at-dallas-isd" LINKTARGET="_blank">Dallas ISD's PL Toolbox approach</LINK>: This district has developed clear and transparent competencies it considers vital to its teaching model and has developed a professional learning toolbox to identify, support, and scaffold teacher onboarding and support. Training is phased toward mastery levels, while technology is used to not only personalize pathways but give access to content for educators anytime, anywhere.
- <LINK URL="https://place.fi.ncsu.edu/course/view.php?id=15" LINKTARGET="_blank">Friday Institute's development of educator microcredentials</LINK>: This approach "unbundles" seat-time–based training into self-directed, job-embedded, competency-based learning modules. Educators submit specific demonstrations on concept mastery to earn credits that ultimately "stack" up into microcredentials on a given topic. These courses deploy technology to give educators flexibility with the content they pursue as well as how they demonstrate mastery meaningfully.
- <LINK URL="https://www.canvas.net/browse/relay" LINKTARGET="_blank">Relay GSE Blended Learning Modules</LINK>: These four open, asynchronous courses use technology and the flexibility of open content to allow teachers to work at their own pace, search for specific topics, and explore tons of actionable resources and videos to either start personalizing their approach and fine-tuning their practices in a tangible, practice-based manner.
These three (free) resources are just a few of the concrete examples of how technology can offer educators personalized, practice-based strategies to increase mastery and successful implementation of innovative teaching models. By providing more opportunities for teachers to shift their practice and receive support in a customized manner, we will enable a larger pipeline of educators to champion equitable, innovative education for all students.