A few months ago, I came upon this article by Christina Quattrocchi at EdSurge. It spoke to so many of the themes we are seeing in professional development—the power of video, the challenges related to technology, the importance of individualizing professional development—that I just wanted to probe a bit deeper with Christina. As a reporter for EdSurge, Christina is talking to educators, ed tech companies, and leaders across the field about her passion: using technology to support teachers in improving their practice.
And timing is everything - today, EdSurge released a new guide on personalizing professional development technology. Check it out here.
What are some of the latest trends you are seeing in edtech related to professional development?
The field is still in its early days, and we are just starting to leverage technology to support professional development in meaningful ways.
Obviously video is a huge trend. Some people are using video for observations, but there can be a lack of capacity to be able to give teachers feedback. And technology can impact this.
Another trend I’m seeing is a lot of thinking around how to expand the impact of a great coach using technology. Often, we don’t have the capacity to give every teacher a coach, which is where on-demand, virtual coaching comes in. I’m not sure if teachers are ready for coaching like this, but it’s something that is coming.
I’m also seeing the industry look at ways to connect educators in communities of practice. There are social networking features (everything from Facebook-like platforms to bulletin boards), but I’m seeing them work best when they are incorporated into a teacher’s existing workflow. Platforms like Schoology and Edmodo are allowing teachers to network on what they’re already using with students.
And the most successful professional development platforms are those that teachers choose themselves. Teachers are not going to use an additional tool unless they choose it. Choice-based professional development is so much more effective.
In your article, you wrote about the shift from technology back to basics; can you explain what you mean?
There’s a lot of hesitancy to hop onto technology if there aren’t basic levels of trust, best practices, and support for teachers in the organization. If professional development isn’t healthy in a school to begin with, no amount of layering technology on top of it is going to change that. We have to start by establishing trust, listening to teachers’ needs, and then we can start introducing technology.
What barriers are teachers and coaches experiencing related to technology in professional development?
The biggest barrier we see is a lack of support and comfort with the technology itself. Most frequently, it’s trouble getting the login to work. If a teacher doesn’t have initial success in the first few seconds, it will be hard to get them back on. The New Teacher Center has said time and time again, “Be there to support the teacher in the first 30 seconds of exposure to the tool.”
The other barrier we are seeing is time. Teachers are strapped for time to do their basic work. With many of these new tools teachers are expected to learn at home when they are already up until midnight grading papers, planning, and putting their kids to bed. We have to give teachers the time to do professional development.
How can technology support coaches and teachers?
Technology is great because it gives people choice. As an example, DC Public Schools has a system that allows teachers to use different online resources to create personlized PD. They are using Bloomboard to track what teachers are doing, and they are doing a lot of in-person coaching to support these online resources.
What practices are working related to using video with teachers?
It comes down to giving teachers control over their video. Let them decide what they are going to film and what they want to look for in that video. Make sure they know that you are not looking for a “gotcha moment.” Let teacher own the video and use it as an empowering tool.
Christina Quattrocchi is a Staff Writer at EdSurge. She started her career in education as a 9th grade algebra teacher in the South Bronx and fell in love with the profession. She went on to teach in Shanghai, China. While quite different from the Bronx, she found a strong commonality in the lack of support and training she received as a young teacher. She has since devoted her career to supporting professional development, and she has focused on technology, as she believes it’s fast moving and can have a strong impact for the industry.
