Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: A World View

The current issue of ASCD’s Educational Leadership (click picture link)  includes a report of a recent international survey of  70,000 middle school teachers and principals in 23 countries conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD is a forum for 30 of the world’s democracies to get together and compare experiences, identify common problems and collaboratively seek answers to those problems. The results of this Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) revealed several areas of common concern with regard to conditions shaping teaching and learning, leadership preparation, and professional development worldwide.

Of particular interest to me was chapter 3 of the report, “The Professional Development of Teachers”. The major findings included the following:

• On average, teachers participated in professional development just under one day per month. Over ½ of the teachers surveyed wanted more PD than they had received

The reasons for this PD “supply & demand”  gap are illustrated in the graph below.

• A significant proportion of teachers do not feel that professional development, as it exists, does not meet their needs.

When asked to identify the types of PD that had the most impact on student achievement,  teachers identified several high impact PD practices, however there were striking differences in participation in these activities.

While “Individual and Collaborative Research” is ranked as the highest impact activity, participation is low. Generally, the trend is for those high-impact activities that require higher commitments of time and effort garner less participation than activities reported as lower impact.

What are the implications for professional learning in southwest Missouri? The OECD report notes “Effective professional development is on-going, includes training, practice and feedback, and provides adequate time and follow-up support. Successful programmes [sic] involve teachers in learning activities that are similar to ones they will use with their students, and encourage the development of teachers’ learning communities.  There is growing interest in developing schools as learning organisations [sic], and in ways for teachers to share their expertise and experience more systematically.”

One of the most significant SWRPDC changes over the last few years is the switch to the academy model of professional learning. This model, including Teachers, RtI , and Instructional Leadership Academies, provides ongoing learning and support throughout the year and includes an element of collaborative action research where participants go back to their schools, modify practice according to new learnings, and come back together to share successes and not-so-successes. In addition, this year’s Literacy Network program has shifted the focus to on-site professional learning focused on the school improvement needs of individual districts. The demand for Professional Learning Communities support is on the increase as is the systemic behavior model, Positive Behavior Support (PBS).

The problem we face is not the knowledge of  what types of programming will impact the students of Missouri, but rather the organizational capacity to meet the needs of the schools in our region within the context of diminishing budgets and increased accountability. I welcome your ideas and suggestions.