Some examples of emerging practices in teacher professional learning and development

1. Teacher professional development
with a wow-factor
Seeing beyond tomorrow:
Innovative and emerging features
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Human Capital & Employment
SLIDES at: https://www.slideshare.net/vuorikari/

2. The European Commission’s
science
and knowledge service
Joint Research Centre (JRC)

3. Outline
A. Context and aim of the study within the EU
B. Some examples of models and practices
C. Take-home messages

4. Context
Teachers are busy folks. There are many professional and personal
demands for their time. How can PD fit in?
Our research question: What kind of PD practices have emerged as a
"workaround" to overcome/remove the known barriers and to meet the needs?
Needs for PD:
• 57% ICT skills for teaching
• 48% Teaching for diversity
• 41% Student counselling and behavioural issues
• 40% Teaching transversal, soft and future skills
Barriers:
• 51% conflicts with the work schedule
• 48% lack of incentives
• 48% lack of support from employer
• 44% of teachers consider PD activities expensive

5. © Cambridge University
Press

7. Features
• Shift from training an individual to
training a group of teachers (targeting
multiple actors in the school)
• PD takes place onsite in school
• Time set aside to collaborate,
team-teach, peer-observe
• Coaching support (by external or
internal one), peer mentoring
• Focus on learning how to collaborate with
colleagues of the school using existing
resources (curriculum, resources)
• Proven models that work elsewhere
(e.g. Lean-manufacturing, Sinus for math)
Workarounds
• Fitted into the work schedule (demands
time allocation by school head)
• Supported by employer
• No costs and no need to commute
• No prerequisits
1. School as a learning organisation

8. Example: Matematiklyftet (SE)

9. Example: Matematiklyftet (SE)
1.
2.

10. Features
• Moves teachers towards competence-
oriented approaches in education
• teachers co-create a condusive
environment for students to practice key
competences, soft skills and transfersal
themes (e.g. taking initiative, creativity)
• For teachers to learn how to enable
learner agency
• Students to become teachers to others,
to mentor fellow students, to plan
activities
• Blurres boundaries between teacher,
student, parent, local
Workarounds
• PD topics are those that teachers
say they need: future skills,
teaching for diversity, multi-
cultural setting
2. Empowering through competence-oriented
approach

11. Features
• Digital delivery still a novelty but can be
efficient in reaching large numbers in
short time
• New implementations emerge, e.g.
MOOCs open to everyone, video to
replace classroom visits and to model
good practices, micro-learning & nano
courses
• Variations in length and depth of the
content, but also in taking advantage of
self-paced vs. synchronous sessions
Workarounds
• Digital delivery helps avoid conflicts with
work schedule
• Digital delivery can open content to larger
audience (e.g. no prerequisites to attend)
• Micro-learning can help to make time for
PD within otherwise busy work schedule
3. Innovating online delivery of PD

12. Workarounds
• Hands-on sessions onsite in the classroom add a
component of active learning - help transfer
knowledge into practice and root PD in one's own
context
• Reflective sessions with experts and colleagues
allow teachers to solicit feedback
• Recognistion and support for teacher networks start
emerging by school heads and ed authorities –
making the best out of top-down and bottom-up
4. Re-inventing blended learning
Features
• Blended learning re-invented:
• Traditional online courses now mixed with
onsite in school practical hands-on
periods with authentic tasks
• A reflective session to review the
experience and what was learnt
• No more traditional "online only"
networks but ones that start blending
digital and physical activities in the
professional context – "the best of both
worlds"
• start to be supported/organised by
education authorities

13. Features Workarounds
• Active learning engages teachers directly
in trying out classroom and teaching
strategies allowing experiencing them
first-hand
• Authentic activities and artefacts allow for
deeply embedded and contextualised
professional learning
5. Engaging in first-hand experiences
Features
• Professional learning situated in the real-
world context, "learning by doing it first-
hand"
• moves PD away from traditional
settings
• Disruptive models of conducting PD
• Shadow a student-challenge;
• Pedagogical hackathons;
• Escape rooms;

14. Features
• Degree programmes in tertiary education
start reinventing themselves to better
answer to teachers' PD needs
• Programmes mix non-traditional topics
and include those that are not part of
traditional teaching degrees
• Programmes also mix more traditional
academic work with online and active
hands-on experiences
• Not all qualification programmes are
accredited through traditional methods
Workarounds
• Traditionally rigid degree
programmes add appealing topics
to their offerings by offering "non-
traditional" or "private degrees"
• Foundations start offering stipends
for their degree programmes to
help financing
6. Innovating qualification programmes

15. Features
• Social partners, e.g. philanthropy,
foundations
• As (accredited) providers of PD
• Creating content of PD
• Partnering-up
• Industry involved, but in "our own" terms
• For teachers by teachers:
teacher entrepreneurial activities
generating (social) value for the
community
Workarounds
• Social partners can offer privileged
PD topics and bring in new
perspectives
• Teacher micro-entrepreneurs
reinvent career paths within
teaching profession
7. Innovating partnerships and new actors

16. Outline
A. Context and aim of the study within the EU
B. Some examples of models and practices
C. Take-home messages

17. Yes, we are starting to see some
changes
• new models and novel features that can go
around, or even remove, the known
barriers emerge thanks to both process and
product innovation
• PD offers mix more than one type of activity
and mode of delivery, about a half uses digital
technologies in addition to other modes, giving
more structure to professional (peer) learning.
• Interesting 3rd party providers (e.g. not-for-
profit associations to philanthropy, corporate
responsibility programmes and small
entrepreneurs in the field of education, but also
volunteering individuals).
But…
• These new models and emerging features
are not necessarily very known yet by
traditional providers of teacher PD, they
are not streamlined in current offerings,
and not at scale yet.
• Many examples are offered outside of
"official" PD provision with no
accreditation or other support
mechanisms.
• The impact of these features on changing
teachers' classroom practices and
enhancing student learning outcomes
need more research.
So, are teachers' needs better addressed in terms
of PD offerings?

18. JRC Publications on the Science Hub
• Final analysis and policy-pointers to inspire
change for more excellent teaching and
learning in the future
https://europa.eu/!JQ76gk
• Teachnical report with 1-page descriptions of
all 30 examples with 6 case studies
https://europa.eu/!fm67Mn

19. Have you come
across PD with
a wow factor?
Contact, comments, questions: Riina.Vuorikari@ec.europa.eu