Evidence and case studies

TPD@Scale programmes make design choices about ICTs in relation to peer and/or expert support, based on local knowledge of what will work best for teachers: some programmes are highly structured and expert-led, whilst others are more loosely organized and peer-facilitated. In the example of BLF Rwanda, there is both peer and expert interaction, face-to-face and remotely by phone.

Teachers’ digital identities will influence what is possible in terms of collaborative learning with peers and experts: in some programmes, teachers readily use social media to share examples of lesson plans or videos from their own lessons, whilst in other programmes social media messages are more about organisational queries; in some cases, teachers are reluctant to share their teaching ideas with other teachers on social media.

Social messaging platforms can support peer and expert collaboration where teachers are not co-located, even when there has not been any prior face-to-face contact. This is highly valuable for teachers working in crisis situations such as in refugee camps. ICTs for peer support and mentoring can help to address professional isolation, improve motivation, and increase teachers’ sense of professional identity.

Make notes in your Personal Blog on this reading. How relevant are these discussion points to your TPD context?

TPD@Scale programmes use ICTs to adapt to the needs of teachers, sub-groups of teachers, and even individual teachers. Adaptations for localisation can address geographical challenges, language diversity, teacher access to digital tools, and variable connectivity.  From a core model, adaptations aim to reach and include all teachers.

These adaptation can be made centrally. For example, in 1.2 you saw how TPD designers in Honduras make learning materials available to teachers working in different conditions. They do this through making the materials available in different digital formats.

In TESS-India, TPD resources were localised and translated into six versions, to be appropriate for the languagesm curricula, geographies, cultures and customs of different states.

Make notes in your Personal Blog on this reading. What do you take from it that you could apply to your own TPD context?

TCTP offers teachers lots of options for professional learning, online and offline, in longer and shorter courses, and teachers themselves contribute to the TPD content. Digital portfolios support assessment at scale, peer assessment and self-assessment.

Think about ICTs that teachers use personally or professionally in your context. How would you describe teachers’ ‘digital identities’, that is, how do teachers ‘see themselves’ as users of digital tools and technologies – are they confident, or wary?

Digital tools and technologies offer many opportunities, but they can also impose demands. What are the issues of connectivity and infrastructure in your context, for different groups of teachers?

Do teachers use ICTs in their personal lives, but not in schools? What do teachers in your context use ICTs for, as far as you know? How could these be harnessed for TPD?

TPD@Scale designers need to acknowledge and understand a range of issues beyond the high quality TPD ‘package’ itself. When the ZEST programme moved from hardcopy resources to Raspberry Pi devices, this promoted equity, by helping teachers without connectivity to participate in the training. This move was also efficient, reducing the need to print and distribute the TPD materials. ZEST designers were careful to align ZEST to the Zambian curriculum and national TPD strategies, in order to ensure sustainability.

Thinking about the inequalities, financial constraints and social norms in your TPD context, what kinds of adaptations could address some of these issues?

In the Philippines, the Department of Education uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to scale-up, and embed, a teacher professional development programme for Kindergarten to Grade 3 teachers on early language, literacy and numeracy: ELLN Digital – which combines

• guided independent study using offline courseware,
• classroom practice, and
• face-to-face collaborative learning in school-based Learning Action Cells.

ELLN Digital was tested with over 4-thousand teachers across the Philippines. Since 2019, it is being scaled to reach over 250-thousand teachers, in 38-thousand schools.

The programme is practice-based: teachers study and then apply their learning in classroom lessons. The digital course materials are offline, so lack of internet access is not a barrier to participation. Self-study modules remove the cost of face-to-face trainings.

The two-week Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle aims for rapid learning and improvement, starting with the PLAN for schools to follow the ELLN Digital programme.

Teachers DO the offline modules, and they quickly apply what they learn in their own classroom lessons. Next, teachers STUDY: they reflect on their learning and teaching in the Learning Action Cells, led by a facilitator. Teachers then ACT: they analyze problems, and take steps to improve their language, literacy and numeracy lessons. As teachers PLAN their next lessons, and DO classroom activities, the PDSA cycle continues.

At the same time, facilitators and school heads also Plan-Do-Study and Act. Every two weeks, they observe and support teachers in the classroom. They take steps to improve the professional learning experience, by identifying and prioritizing quickly actionable problems.

For instance, teachers might lack computer time to finish learning the self-study modules, or a facilitator might not be prepared to meet with teachers. Teachers might have challenges applying their learning with children in the classroom. Solutions are assessed over the next two-week Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle.

ELLN Digital is an example of adaptive TPD@Scale. Teachers access high quality training in self-study, digital offline formats. They immediately apply their learning in the classroom, then continue to learn collaboratively in Learning Action Cells. They reflect and analyse challenges, with other teachers and with a facilitator. Facilitators and school heads use teachers’ feedback to improve the course, as it is being studied and applied in the classroom. As the course gets better, so does teachers’ professional development.

In this way, teachers, facilitators and school heads are all continuously and rapidly adapting to improve the TPD course, how it is managed by the school, and teachers’ experience of the course.

Meanwhile, the Department for Education conducts its own Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. They PLAN and DO the roll-out and implementation of ELLN Digital. They STUDY and ACT on data and feedback from teachers, school heads and facilitators, in order to improve central assistance to local schools.

When all stakeholders are involved in the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, the ongoing adaptations at all levels, from the classroom to the Department of Education, generate evidence for further, system-wide learning and change.

As you can see in the Compendium examples, successful TPD@Scale programmes are an integral element of official education policy: they are designed and delivered through a ministry of education, or shift to being wholly owned by the ministry, or are driven primarily by the ministry from the start.

Successful TPD@Scale design is also holistic and facilitates interaction between teachers and educators from all levels, so that educators who are outside schools and classrooms are aware of the conditions of teachers.

Make notes in your Personal Blog: Think about your TPD context in terms of sustainability. Is it owned or driven by the ministry of education? Does it involve all ‘actors’ in the education system? Is TPD continually evaluated and improved?