I’ve been attending ICT focused Conferences for more than 10 years and
this topic has been of interest to all attendees. My discussions with many schools from all
types of demographics and budgets has highlighted a few methods to deliver
Professional Development to staff.
Method 1 – On site training delivered by an ICT specialist
during teacher down time (Lunch time or after school). This is almost certainly the cheapest form of
PD for the school to produce. The ICT
specialist can either be from within staff or arranged through a vendor. This type of session is normally voluntary
and the value is greatest for staff already implementing technology.
Method 2 – On site training with teacher relief provided for
staff or PD is conducted during Professional Development days. The cost of this is increased as the staff costs
for the relief teachers need to be covered by the school or it is competing for
access against the myriad of requirements on any staff PD day. This type of training is normally mandatory
for staff.
Method 3 – Just in time support. In this circumstance a teacher will have
support in their classroom for using the technology. This could either be in the form of a
technical support person assisting the teacher and showing them how to deal
with issues or with a curriculum ‘expert’ assisting with the implementation and
transferring skills to the teacher. This
is probably the most effective way for teachers to be supported in the adoption
of technology as it is entirely at a practical level. It does require staff to be available as
needed by teachers. In this scenario
there’s a need for the teacher to reach out so the communication path of other
types of PD is reversed.
Method 4 – Off site PD.
This type of PD is readily available and includes those run by vendors,
peak bodies and in some cases, schools.
Most times there’s a cost for this type of PD and the need for
relief.
All of these methods have issues which limit their
effectiveness.
Method 1 – (Free on site) Often training which is ‘free’ is deemed to have
no value and therefore little importance is placed on attending this type of
session. As this is dependent upon staff
committing to use their time to come to the training the pressure to attend is
less than the need to deal with other issues so the PD is easily pushed aside
by any urgent matter. I have seen PD
sessions like this timetabled for entire terms in order to enable planning for
teachers, often only two or three sessions out of more than 30 have anyone
attend. At other times when they’re
directly supporting a new technology, such as when we rolled out Interactive
Projectors, they’re very popular, well attended and give great value.
Method 2 – (Paid on site) There’s a limit to how often this type of
training is used. Either the cost or
just the number of PD days limits the number of opportunities to utilise this
type of training. Of course it would be
good practice to have this included in a technology project plan when deploying
classroom technology. In my experience
schools are very sensitive about the cost of IT projects, this means that
normally the implementation stage of these projects is curtailed to reduce
costs. In turn the loss of the
implementation stage reduces the amount committed to training. Most vendors of IT equipment into schools
will have allowance for training as part of their plan. When the school reduces the training it will slow the adoption of technology, which almost always leads to slower adoption of new technologies.
Method 3 – (Just in time) There are two main factors limiting the adoption
of this type of PD/support.
The first limitation is around communication. To properly use this method it must be sold
to teachers so they know what’s available.
Staff should know they can call up and have someone come and look after
them whenever they need. Often this is
not the expectation with teaching staff.
The other communications issue is; teachers need to let the support
person know when and where they will need them and also what they’re needed
for.
The second limitation is the resourcing problem. How do you have a staff member on-call with
suitable skills? If the school has
acknowledged the need for staff support with technology implementation this
will be provided, however if the expectation is staff will just adopt
technology, this will not be the case.
Method 4 – (Off site) The appeal in the off-site PD is to those who are
already interested in adopting technology. It’s self-selecting, doesn’t get the vast
majority of teachers involved and the goal of complete adoption of technology
will never be realised if this is the only type of PD available.
Each of these methods has shown to be less than ideal, but
when combined in the right balance can lead teachers to have confidence in the
implementation of technology in their classroom:
·
When those keen adopters of technology are given
the opportunity for off-site training, they bring those skills back to provide
on-site PD to others, just as importantly they then become advocates for the technology.
·
When teachers are well supported for both the
technical and curriculum aspects of technology in their classroom, when the school is willing to persevere to
improve the confidence and skills of their staff in the use of technology, there will be
continuous improvement in the classroom use of technology.
The efforts to provide staff with the skills to embed technology into the classroom will not reduce any time soon. The changes in teaching practice being driven by technology are likely to continue for the foreseeable future and so will the need to build skills.
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