Dive Brief:
- Dianne Pappafotopoulos, the instructional technology specialist in the Dover Sherborn Public Schools in Massachusetts, has noticed four common mistakes in tech-based professional development and identified key strategies for success.
- Pappafotopoulos writes for eSchool News that many districts mistakenly assume curriculum training specialists can do the work naturally, they squeeze PD into non-teaching hours, they rely on PD through a learning management system or online program, and they force technology through the curriculum.
- Some of the things districts need, Pappafotopoulos writes, are standalone tech-based PD plans, personalized options for teachers, professional development expectations in accountability systems and PD embedded in the school day.
Dive Insight:
Quality of professional development is a constant struggle for districts everywhere. There are high expectations for teachers to get continuous training, and new initiatives require targeted professional development — but teachers routinely report they do not get the PD they need. Personalized professional development plans can help that. Each teacher, in that model, would get some say over what they learn when it would be most useful in their classrooms.
High-quality professional development is a critical component of any successful ed tech initiative. Schools may have the best intentions and the highest expectations for promising new device initiatives, but if teachers don’t know how to integrate new technology into their lessons, students will never get the full benefit of it.