What Are The Best Ways To Get Teachers To Try New Things In An Online Environment?

So we know, there are many different parts to creating an online learning program especially when it comes to teacher professional development. Once the initial (PD) program is developed and tweaked, it must be tested on not only teachers but students. Also, implementing an online learning program is not easy, teachers have different needs and have obstacles to overcome that facilitators need to consider.

Professional Development Skills for Modern Teachers by Teachhub.com

So what typically happens when schools make the changed from a brick-and-mortar (PD) towards an online (PD) platform? Yes, choices! Imagine if teachers are able to make an individual selection based on their needs, receiving professional development growth points, and mentoring throughout the school year based on their selection. Yes, this is currently happening. Educational Innovation 360 provides monthly professional development based on teacher needs, goals, and vision for their classroom. We no longer have to wait for specialized (PD) if our team has access so does the school.

We know that there are best practices when it comes to (PD) so here are a few that schools can reference but keep in mind that times are changing and with technology, we can make our current vision a reality.

 The five models are:

 1.     Work with Teachers as a learner ie. (student)

This is great to use with new teachers or teachers who are looking to practice a skill and observe the lesson through the lens of a student. With an online platform, it’s all about perspective! Teachers will be familiar with the issues of online learning and by walking through these issues, teachers will be able to counter them and find solutions.

 2.     Learn and Co-teach in an online environment

One online teacher will partner with a more practiced and experienced online teacher to receive guidance throughout the day as they teach their lessons together online. Studies have shown that when a new teacher is guided by an experienced teacher, both the teacher and training and the students benefit (Whisinnand & Tom, 2021).

3.     Collaborate with teachers who also teach the same content area and connecting with students who will take the class or course

Another way to support online teachers is to collaborate with the people who are creating the online program. Teacher creators can show them how the online program is supposed to work, so they'll be excited to know that someone else has tried it and has worked thought the pitfalls. Also, why not work with students they provide great feedback on modules, lessons, and assignments. Many times students will see areas of growth prior to taking the actual lesson.  

4.     Facilitated leadership through activities

New online teachers are led in leadership building and experience building activities, which are coordinated by online school administrators and experienced online teachers. This is great to build relationships with your teaching staff and a great way for you to show your teaching skills.  

5.     Fail fast and fix it learning: Iterative Learning

Once a new teacher is trained, they will teach their class and find what works and what may have been a fail. A great way to do this is to implement a cycle in which they teach the lesson, note what is going right and what’s going wrong, tweak their lesson based on their findings, and teach the lesson again (Frass & Linda).

 These are some great ways to get started; I encourage you to dive in and select one that will work for your team and try it. At Ei360 we work with 1-5 and use them to differentiate instruction as well with our teachers. If you are ready to try one of these things at your school site give us a call.

References

Frass, Linda. “An Overview of How Four Institutions Prepare Faculty to Teach Online.” https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/instructional_design/docs/overview_how_four_institutions_prepare_faculty_teach_online.pdf

Whisinnand, Tom. “How Co-Teaching Helped Our New Teachers Support Students, In-Person and Online - EdSurge News.” EdSurge, EdSurge, 11 Mar. 2021,www.edsurge.com/news/2021-03-11-how-co-teaching-helped-our-new-teachers-support-students-in-person-and-online.