Evidence of school quality improvements through a blended learning approach

• In Event: Blended Learning for Professional Development of School Leaders and Teachers: a cost-effective approach to improving learning outcomes

Proposal

The challenge with Sustainable Development Goal 4, which focuses on "quality" education, is that many affordable non-state school leaders LMICs lack a clear, context-specific framework for defining what quality means in their settings. Even when definitions of quality do exist, they often fail to align with a school's local context, available resources, or current stage of development. This gap makes it difficult for school leaders to grasp the various dimensions of education quality and, more critically, to identify actionable steps for making meaningful, incremental improvements.

To address this, one organization offers a 3-year quality improvement program featuring a digital self-assessment tool. This tool enables school leaders to objectively evaluate their school's current quality level, track improvements year-over-year, and assess the impacts of its blended learning approach to professional development in real time, with minimal analysis costs. Recent findings show that 83% of partner schools across six countries improved in one or more quality domains after two years of training, with the average school improving in more than 10 domains by the start of the third year.

The school self-assessment tool is organized across 18 domains of school quality, divided into three areas: School Culture, School Management, and Teaching & Learning. Each domain includes clear criteria under four levels of quality, with Level 4 representing ‘excellence.’ School leaders use the tool to select the level that best describes their school's current quality, then identify 2-5 areas for improvement each year. The tool is complemented by a digital Resource Library offering practical action steps for each domain, addressing the challenge of presenting ‘unachievable’ definitions of quality.
The quality improvement findings may also be attributed to the program’s blended learning approach to teacher mentor professional development. Teacher mentors were identified by leaders to attend training sessions aimed at further improving teacher practices, and equipping mentors to facilitate similar sessions with colleagues and conduct classroom observation and feedback sessions.

The program’s blended learning approach to teacher mentor professional development has also contributed to the observed improvements. Teacher mentors, identified by school leaders, attend training sessions designed to enhance teaching practices and equip them to lead similar sessions with colleagues, including classroom observation and feedback.

Mentors are provided with low-cost tablets loaded with a learning management system (LMS) designed for low-connectivity settings. The LMS features digital self-access materials, interactive quizzes, and in-person training on instructional best practices. Digital facilitator guides help mentors deliver training to peers, with the ability to update content and collect feedback, eliminating challenges related to hard copy materials.

This session will highlight the impact of integrating digitized elements into the program, comparing outcomes between the earlier non-digitized model and the current blended learning model. The presenter will share key insights into the challenges and opportunities of digitizing professional development, offering lessons that could benefit other education service providers.

Author

• Natalie Davirro, Opportunity International