How was the Lunch? – In Search of Perfect Professional Development

HOW WAS THE LUNCH?

- In Search of Perfect Professional Development

Teacher quality is a vastly complex issue to analyse, and judgements about the effectiveness of teachers is hard to measure. Some evaluation models may focus on an examination of student outcomes through assessment data, whereas others may assess teachers’ classroom practices. Whichever method is employed, it is clear to principals, parents and educators that some teachers are able to distinguish themselves through dynamic and evolving practice, where others remain stagnant in their pedagogical approach. One way in which teachers set themselves apart from other teachers is by focusing on becoming expert teachers rather than experienced teachers. This concept is achieved by accessing appropriate professional development opportunities. According to Huber (2011, p. 842), professional development opportunities take the form of one of the following: feedback (self-assessment strategies); courses (internal and external); selfstudy, collegial experience (learning communities); or concrete experiences (simulation or practice). Indeed, most literature suggests that professional learning opportunities in schools provide one of four major functions within a school: enhancing teacher capacity; combating ineffective teaching; enabling change; or creating new policy (Blandford 2000, p. 11). High quality professional development in schools is central to a successful classroom, in that it enables teachers to have a positive impact on not only the students through their learning outcomes, but also on their own self-concept and sense of proficiency as educators. It is unsurprising that research on the impact of professional development in schools suggests that improvements in education almost never take place in the absence of professional development (Gusky 2000). Therefore, the effective implementation of quality professional development is essential to any school’s development. Yet while there is common agreement about the importance of professional development and the core fundamentals which underpin it, such as performativity, reliability and accountability (Day & Sachs 2005), there is much debate within educational literature on how best to effectively implement it across schools. As educators, we hold a shared belief in the value of learning, one that extends past the school yard gates. In order to establish a culture that places value on such a mindset, a love of learning must be contagious throughout a school; however, this is not always the case. In past teaching contexts, teachers upon returning from professional development, would not be asked ‘What did you learn?’ or ‘What will you implement as a result of what you learnt?’. They would simply be asked: ‘How was the lunch?’ In other words, professional development was perceived widely by educators as a chance for a free meal – not an opportunity to reflect on and develop their practice. SUNATA 33

I think it is fair to say that all teachers have sat through professional development days or courses and left uninspired. From the icebreaker activities and gallery walks to the arms in the air trick to get an audience’s attention, we have all sat there and rolled our eyes when we have been made to move from a table of colleagues to sit with strangers to discuss aspects of pedagogy that we already know. We have all experienced the obligatory post-it notes and butchers paper as methods of reflection, and we have all smirked at the video of the utopian education system somewhere in another country, aware that the vast cultural divide renders such a viewing entirely redundant. Teachers have persevered with professional development presenters who often assume teachers have limited knowledge of the skills seemingly only they have mastered, and those who adopt a patronising tone when explaining an array of extreme examples of poor practice through a series of text heavy PowerPoint slides. Yet, there are also moments in every teacher’s professional journey when they find themselves invigorated by the practical, relevant, and sometimes unexpected moments of clarity that arise during true, innovative professional development opportunities. Schools invest hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on professional development, yet a large percentage of professional development opportunities have very little impact on the everyday practices of teachers (Bowe & Gore 2017). It is often seen as inconvenient, lacking purpose and ineffective by those involved. This is because there are common mistakes made in and around Australian schools with regards to how professional development budgets are utilised. Most professional development in schools is based on working on a teacher’s development rather than working with teachers on their development (Smith 2017). By creating such a top down approach, teachers lose interest in what it crucial to impacting student learning. Thus, for any form of professional learning to take place, teachers must be volunteers, not convicts to the professional learning opportunities offered (Wiliam 2016). The issue of time is also a factor in any debate on effective professional development within a school. Professional development often functions as an obligatory addition to a teacher’s workload that further diminishes time that could be spent planning and marking. Unfortunately, if a school fails to

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provide teachers with adequate learning and practice time to trial new concepts, then learning will fail in becoming part of the fabric of a school (Gladwell 2012). So, what is the answer? Coordinating a professional development budget is hard; having to stay up to date with the latest trends and research, while remaining attuned to the context of the school, is a challenge. But there are markers of quality professional learning which should be followed. First, professional development opportunities must be selfdirected and personalised (AITSL 2014). If there is more autonomy for teachers to self-select professional development activities that are useful to them and will enrich their competencies, it will reaffirm their professional expertise. It will also highlight areas they need to strengthen and will ultimately lead to an automatic investment from teachers. Sufficient time must be also be given to investing in professional practice, and self-directed opportunities are a good way of allowing learning to take place without the constant fear of running out of time. Second, all professional development offered to teachers must be long lasting. Schools typically place too much emphasis on single day professional development, usually on the last day of a term or year. The problem with single-day courses or conferences is that they limit the ability of educators to reflect on the learning and follow up with new strategies or questions. By adopting more onsite, sustainable and ongoing professional development, the overall school culture for learning will be enhanced (Burns 2013). It is also essential that all professional development models are built around a collaborative and collective approach. Such an approach has a positive effect on lifting not only the practice of one teacher, but several teachers within a school. Further, it professionally empowers teachers and moves education from an isolated profession to one built upon a shared collective. Furthermore, all professional development must remain sensitive to the context of an organisation (Fluckiger, Lovett & Dempster 2014). It should be designed in a way which is targeted at specific career stages and positions and, where possible, be subject specific. By adopting a contextually sensitive approach it will allow teachers to better meet the needs of the students they teach. It also ensures that educational practice and pedagogy remains in line with the school’s mission, strategic plan and values. Finally, all professional development must be informed by quality evidence-based research. There is a tendency to follow the latest trend in education and employ quick fix strategies in order to achieve improvements, often culminating in the offering of a mousepad or notebook with the holy pedagogical mantra printed onto it for good measure. However, in order to meet today’s educational demands and deepen teacher pedagogical skills, high quality research must be utilised and embedded into all professional development offered within a school. Using a weight of informed research will also assist teachers in staying up to date, current and informed of pedagogical practices and strategies to promote learning. This use of research may take many forms, whether it is teacher’s own professional reading at a self-directed pace or through senior leadership strategies and programs and fed down to teachers. Professional learning must be an essential part of strengthening the teaching profession. When done effectively it can support teachers to improve student learning, grow professionally, and ultimately improve schools.

References

AITSL 2014, Global trends in professional learning and performance & development, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, viewed 11 January 2020, https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/ default-document-library/horizon_scan_report.pdf Blandford, S 2000, Managing professional development in schools, Routledge, London. Bowe, J & Gore, J 2017, ‘Reassembling teacher professional development: the case for Quality Teaching Rounds’, Teachers and Teaching, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 352-366. Burns, M 2013, ‘The Future of Professional Learning’, Learning & Leading with Technology, vol. 40, no. 8, pp. 14-18. Day, C & Sachs, J 2005, International Handbook on the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers, Open University Press, England. Fluckiger, B, Lovett, S & Dempster, N 2014, ‘Judging the quality of school leadership learning programmes: an international search’, Professional Development in Education, vol. 40. no. 4, pp. 561-575. Fluckiger, B, Lovett, S & Dempster, N 2014, ‘Judging the quality of school leadership learning programmes: an international search’, Professional Development in Education, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 561-575. Gladwell, M 2002, The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference, Little, Brown and Company, New York. Guskey, T 2000, Evaluating professional development, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA. Huber, S 2011, ‘The impact of professional development: a theoretical model for empirical research, evaluation, planning and conducting training and development programmes’, Professional Development in Education, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 837-853. Smith, K 2017, Teachers as Self-directed Learners Active Positioning through Professional Learning (1st ed.), Springer, Singapore. Wiliam, D 2006, ‘Formative Assessment: Getting the Focus Right’ Educational Assessment, vol. 11, no. 3-4, pp. 283-289.

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