Highlighted Session: Blended continuous professional development for educators: Case studies from the Global South

Group Submission Type: Highlighted Paper Session

Proposal

Across the world, COVID-19 induced school closures severely disrupted learning, disproportionally affecting those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. Amid intermittent school closures, many governments, including those of LMICs in the Global South, have shifted towards remote and online education. At the same time, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of educators shifted to remote and online delivery. Yet often, these educators were not well prepared for this. Educators found themselves lacking either the necessary digital infrastructure or the required skills to effectively participate in remote and online CPD. In addition, CPD providers struggled to adapt their offerings, engage and motivate participants to actively participate in and complete CPDs successfully. Furthermore, it remains unclear to what extent remote and online CPD was effective in improving knowledge, attitudes and practices of CPD participants.
Despite the challenges, many educators and policy makers have increased awareness about the potential of remote and online education to increase access and quality. Blended CPD, defined as a pedagogically sound combination of in-person and online modalities, may combine the best of both worlds. The authors and panel members see the continued relevance of blended CPD, and the need to test out new flexible solutions in partnership with governments. Over the course of the last year, with support of the LEGO Foundation, 8 development partners have defined and developed an approach to blended CPD for educators; in alphabetical order: Aga Khan Foundation, BRAC IED, Plan International, Pratham, Right to Play, STiR Education, VSO and VVOB – education for development. The approach has been pilot tested in in and through education systems in different partners countries, responding to pandemic-adaptive priorities identified by government partners.
Through a global exchange amongst the authors and their respective organizations and based on their experiences in shifting to blended delivery of CPDs, their capacity to provide responsive and engaging blended CPD experiences has been strengthened. A number of lessons have been distilled on how to best support educators and school systems in these blended approaches and will be presented and discussed in this panel. Some cross-cutting themes emerged from these experiences to take into consideration when developing blended CPDs: diversity, gender and inclusion; motivation and engagement; and cost-effectiveness, scalability and sustainability.
Diversity, gender and inclusion: CPD participants have a different background, come from different contexts and have different means and abilities. They may have different personalities, prior knowledge, needs, identities and challenges. A CPD trajectory should be accessible and support all participants by ensuring a safe, equitable and inclusive learning environment. This is true for any CPD initiative, also when it is delivered in a blended format, where often there are digital divides in terms of access to ICT and digital literacy. Recognising, fostering and developing sensitivity to such diversity is essential for the trajectory’s effectiveness. Studies have shown that such a sensitivity has a direct positive impact on all participants’ performance because an environment that appreciates diversity and supports the inclusion of all, is one in which participants work better.
Engagement and motivation: Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviours . When it comes to CPD, motivation is the driving force that helps participants to focus their attention on a learning outcome. Participants who are intrinsically motivated engage in CPD because they get personal satisfaction from doing it. Such participants are equipped “to orchestrate their own learning journey” . Participants who are extrinsically motivated do the CPD trajectory because of an external reward such as a bonus or a certificate. The motivation of CPD participants is a prerequisite for their active engagement in the learning experience.
Cost-effectiveness, scalability and sustainability: The availability of budgetary and other resources is usually limited. Therefore, it is important to evaluate if decisions related to the design, development, and implementation of the blended CPD are cost-effective and review if alternatives would lead to better results. Costs of a CPD intervention are usually calculated using the ingredients method, which requires identification of all resources that were required to produce the results. On the benefits side, outcomes of the CPD intervention need to be clearly defined, either in terms of educational outcomes (cost effectiveness analysis) or in monetary terms (cost benefit analysis). A cost-effective CPD trajectory has more potential for being scaled up and sustained. Scalability means the extent to which a CPD can be extended by reaching out to new geographies, target groups, content domains while maintaining quality and efficiency. Sustainability is the capacity of the CPD provider to carry on with the CPD trajectory after start-up.
Three case studies will be presented by the panel, to illustrate how these principles cut across the analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation of blended CPD trajectories for educators. A first case study of VSO describes how principles of Universal Design for Learning were applied in a blended CPD offering to Early Childhood Education and Care Educators in Bangladesh. In the second case study, VVOB describes how technology was used in a blended CPD trajectory for mentor teachers in basic education in Rwanda, to keep them motivated and engaged. The third case study of Aga Khan Foundation reflects on how the Aga Khan Foundation’s Learning Hub has been created as a cost-effective online CPD platform reaching 6,400+ users around the world.

Sub Unit

• Educational Improvement SIG

Chair

• Jef Peeraer, VVOB - education for development

Individual Presentations

• Empowering Early Childhood Education and Care Educators through Blended Professional Development in Bangladesh - Purna Kumar Shrestha, VSO

• Does the use of conversational bots enhance the outcomes of teachers’ continuous professional development in Rwanda? - Jef Peeraer, VVOB - education for development

Discussant

• Taskeen Adam, EdTech Hub