Dive Brief:
- Tom Dacord, director of professional learning organization EdTechTeacher, writes for eSchool News that clear learning goals for teacher professional development are critical to making changes in the classroom.
- Dacord says the real challenge is helping teachers understand how and why technology can and should be used in the classroom, not learning how to use the technology itself, which means schools need to do more than bring in technology company representatives to do trainings on their products.
- When teachers can see how technology can be used to address one of their own existing learning goals, they are more likely to adopt the technology as part of a broader strategy, rather than become frustrated at the prospect of taking on an additional responsibility in the classroom.
Dive Insight:
Professional development in the teaching field has long been criticized as inadequate. Teachers do not find it meaningful and it doesn’t help them improve their practice. Many schools have become more creative in recent years with a number of them personalizing professional learning and giving teachers more say in their PD plans.
A shift in focus for teacher evaluations could expand that work even more. The Every Student Succeeds Act removes the requirement for teacher evaluations, but schools that keep them can create a new cycle of professional growth. In virtually every other field, evaluations are a tool for improvement rather than a simple, punitive exercise. Schools are increasingly claiming the same process for teachers.
