Training and Technology: Successful Use of Technology-Based Teacher Training Models

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Effective classroom instruction paves the way for young children to learn the basic skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. Governments are increasingly embarking on ambitious reforms to improve education systems in order to provide quality instruction for all students, reforms that necessarily include at their heart the effective identification, preparation, and support of their teachers.
One component of such critical reforms is the provision of high-quality in-service teacher training. While teacher preparation and ongoing professional development encompass much more than in-service teacher training, teacher training workshops are often the primary means through which teacher professional development occurs. Done well, teacher training workshops can be effective tools for iteratively introducing teachers to deeper and more complex instructional strategies. Done poorly, they can confuse and alienate teachers and squander resources.
One characteristic of teacher training that impacts its potential efficacy is the number of levels of trainers that exist between the developer and implementer of a program and the teacher. Ideally, the transfer of knowledge and skills is made directly from the program developer/implementer to the teacher. When large numbers of teachers are involved, however—such as in national-scale trainings—this is not possible. In these cases, most frequently a cascade model of training is employed. In a cascade model of training, training is done through levels of trainers that ultimately end with a large group of teacher trainers ultimately training teachers (Kennedy, 2005). For example, a small number of program development/implementation staff train a group of senior trainers, who then train teacher trainers, who then train teachers. This approach is appealing, particularly in LMI countries, because large numbers of teachers can be trained in a relatively short period of time (Leu, 2004). Despite its cost efficiencies, research has not reached consensus regarding the effectiveness (see, for example, Gathumbi et al. (2013); Suzuki, 2008; ) or ineffectiveness (see, for example, Dichaba & Mokhele, 2012) of the cascade model of teacher training in changing teacher behavior.
What is less fully investigated is the use of technology to support teacher training, especially in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that tend to have fewer information and communications technology (ICT) options. One notable advantage of using technology to train teachers is that it can be more cost-effective than in-person training, but technology also offers opportunities for collaboration among teachers who are geographically dispersed (McAleavy, Hall-Chen, Horrocks, & Riggall) and can allow one master trainer to reach more trainees than might be possible using a traditional cascade model. Virtual professional development programs can give participants greater ownership over their learning, for example by allowing them to choose the times in which they engage in learning, which can enhance motivation and learning (Polly & Hannafin, 2010). Tools such as video that can model effective pedagogical approaches can be particularly useful in given teachers the opportunity to reflect on their practice; videos can also capture complex information about teacher behaviors in more effective ways than verbal communication (Roth, 2007; Marsh & Mitchell, 2014).
Even in low-resource contexts, technology is able to play a useful role in building the capacity of teachers. Burns and Lawrie (2015), for example, write about the utility of ICT-based teacher training in offering multiple opportunities for teachers to practice new skills and to observe good practice, often at their own pace. As technology and phone/data access costs fall given the expansion of technology across the globe, capitalizing on these advantages is increasingly possible for teachers even in remote areas of low-income countries (Gaible and Burns, 2005).
This panel will present the latest learning from four cases each using some form of virtual training to improve teacher practice for early grade reading, in part as programmatic pivots to the COVID-19 pandemic but also in looking to the long term. These cases cover a diverse set of contexts from Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa, Liberia, Tanzania), Central America (Honduras) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia); each will present its teacher training model and then propose ways in which these models can continue to support teacher developing moving forward.
These questions are timely and relevant topic for the broad CIES audience, and particularly to several Special Interest Groups including the Global Literacy, Teacher Education and Teaching Profession SIGs. The session also relates directly to the 2021 conference theme. While the pandemic is an obvious disruptor that has forced and accelerated innovation now, education systems require solutions that can be systematized and sustained at scale, flexible enough to respond to new developments, and adapted to serve marginalized populations who need special attention.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Elizabeth (Bess) Long, RTI International

Individual Presentations

• Virtual Teacher PD: Learnings from a short-term solution to a long-term opportunity - Gail Shen, Nonprofit

• Use of virtual environments for teacher training: When crisis turns into opportunity - Vilma Xiomara Valerio, EDC

• Two Cases For Virtual CPD in Tanzania: Social Emotional Learning and IVR/SMS for Math and IE - Jovina Tibenda, RTI International; Elizabeth (Bess) Long, RTI International

• COVID-Pivot to Virtual Teacher Training in Liberia: A Success Story - Patience Suah, RTI International