Reimagining teacher professional development in the new normal: Alternative modalities and technology use

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

COVID-19 led to a significant and new reliance on technology for engaging schools and teachers at scale. It has become a defining characteristic of the means by which teachers are trained or coached, or educational decisions are made. However, the transition from traditional face-to-face engagement to interventions hinging on technology can be remarkably complex and highly context dependent. This is especially the case when programs attempt to leverage the power of high technology while leapfrogging more basic tech. A commitment by all actors to the fundamental ethical importance of equity of access and quality of learning for educators implies yet more factors to reconcile. Among them, equitable access, completion rates, technology skills and the potential burden of new roles and responsibilities.
This panel will elaborate on large-scale programs across five countries on three continents that, while sharing many common challenges, have developed distinct and highly contextualized responses. Panelists will describe how the programs engaged stakeholders in proactive adaptation processes to revise program aims, content, training and mentoring structures, technology types and uses, and integration into former systems as well as the development of new ones.
In the first country, the ministry of education has invested in a complete overhaul of its blended learning platform, as well as technology at schools, including those without internet access. The ministry and its partners are creating a national approach to blended learning for in-service teacher continuous professional development. The goal is a harmonized systematic approach that all content developers can use to reach in-service teachers. Behind the vision there are many difficult decisions, such as: which parts of blended learning should be in-person or online; how much time can teachers devote to this modality of learning and what is their motivation; what new roles will education staff play and be accountable for; how will classroom application be evaluated, how will eLearning be monitored, and how will supporting technologies and databases be set up to manage learning at scale? This presentation will explore the reasoning and results of the choices made to date, lessons learned and advancements in the system.
In the Zambia, a project team has provided training for over 15,000 grade 1-3 teachers, and provided coaching and instructional leadership training for over 10,000 educators. The pandemic catalyzed a shift to more remote and technology-based systems for professional development, but certain parts of the program worked well while others struggled, including coaching. This presentation will share some of the modifications made to teacher coaching programming, with a look at lessons learned and what is yet to come. Modifications to the coaching support program include the utilization of a performance tracking system to select high need schools for customized school classroom support, and the use of methods familiar to Zambian teachers and administrators to create an innovative model for hybrid coaching and peer-to-peer mentoring support. We will discuss the ongoing need for simple, context appropriate tools and solutions to address complex instructional impediments through more equitable support for all teachers and learners in the Zambia context.
The third presentation describes a blended teacher training program for madrassa school teachers that began in India and has since expanded to Indonesia and Brazil. In India, the program was initiated in year 2020, to support the significant portion of teachers who teach at madrassa schools who have neither formal training in student-centered learning, nor personal experience as students in communicative and student-centered language classes. The participants study content online, using mobile-friendly platform. They also participate in regular peer mentoring activities, to provide personalized support and a community of practice. These peer mentoring hubs originally met in-person, but had to become fully online in response to COVID 19. Nearly all aspects of the peer mentoring activities needed to be adjusted, including the modality of learning, type of online communities established, the structure of activities, level of scripting of content, and incentives. In this success story, graduation rates have averaged above 80%.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Emily V Miksic, FHI 360

Individual Presentations

• Designing a national blended learning approach for teachers - a steep climb: Decisions and lessons learned - Chantal Uwiragiye; Diane Uwasenga Sengati, REB/MINEDUC; Leon Mugenzi, REB

• Can a little go a long way? Reaching teachers through multiple modalities in Zambia - Maureen M. Simunchembu, Education Development Center (EDC); Corrie Blankenbeckler, Education Development Center (EDC)

• Experimentation and solutions - online and self-paced study in India, Indonesia and Brazil - Lois Marie Scott-Conley, World Learning

Discussant

• Laura Conrad, DDI Center for Education, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)