#Edchat, as well as about 50 other educational twitterchats, Digital Personal Learning Networks, Online Discussion Groups, Twitter, LinkedIn and a number of other Web 2.0 social media applications are often attributed by educators for offering professional development, or PD. Social Media is also credited with helping the emergence of Edcamps and Teachmeets, as well as online conferences like #140edu Conference and the Reform Symposium Conference. These are all considered by many to be PD.
I recently came across a very informative, somewhat scholarly post from Education Week which was first published in August 2004 and updated, June 29, 2011, Professional Development. My take-away from the research referenced in the post was that it is difficult to connect the teacher’s professional development to an increase in their students’ success or at the very least improvement in student performance. Of course after teaching for many years, I ask myself, “Did the PD courses these teachers took have anything to do with what it was that they taught?
Many states require that teachers be provided or otherwise obtain PD. Often this comes in the form of workshops or even an expert or consultant coming into a school to work with staff in small groups. Other PD may be in the form of mini-classes offered by professional organizations or institutions of higher learning. Most schools have procedures to approve requests for PD since it is often a requirement for maintaining a license or obtaining a pay increase. Consequently, a wide array of subjects for educators may be deemed acceptable. Some schools even have committees to approve PD requests for credit.
This does leave open the possibility that a class approved for PD may not align with what a teacher teaches. A Phys Ed teacher may be getting his or her required PD in reading. That fulfills the requirement, but it may have little impact on their students since Physical Education requires little in the way of reading. An English teacher taking a cinematography or video course makes sense, unless the curriculum for what they teach does not allow the opportunity for cinematography or videography. There are many opportunities in the existing system for teachers to take approved PD courses that will not impact the performance of their students directly. It would seem even if the teacher takes a PD course directly related to what will be taught in his or her class, quantifying the results of the impact on learning would have its problems.
Now let us consider Social Media as a conduit for PD.I hear from educators almost daily how their Social Media involvement, Twitter/#Edchat is the best PD they have ever experienced. That is where I think I part ways. I do not see social media as the PD, but as a portal to the PD. It comes from educators engaging other educators in discussions and exchanging ideas that lead to the best sources in order to access the specific PD. It is this self-determined direction which is what involves learners in a deeper more meaningful understanding of a subject. This is regardless of extra pay or outside approval from the school district.
Now the question arises, is this PD resulting in an improvement in the students’ learning? I have often said, “To be better teachers, we must first be better learners”. It would seem to me educators who are seeking Professional Development to meet their specific needs as an educator, would certainly be a first step to better learning. The astonishment on the part of so many may not be in what they are learning, but rather how they are learning. They are being rejuvenated in many ways. This is having a very positive effect on individual educators. They are being energized by their learning. Many are being listened to by appreciative digital colleagues. It is bolstering many who have wavered under the constant attack on education and educators. Relevant discussions of content and pedagogy on an ongoing basis, 24/7, goes a long way in improving self-image, confidence, and understanding of one’s profession.
Social Media, in any of its many forms, enables educators to tap into a vast number of sources in the form of people and content. It enables educators to direct their learning to meet their needs. It enables educators to feel good about learning and continue down that path. Whenever a person can be picked up dusted off and respected for what they do, it must have a positive impact. If that happens to an educator, it must in some way impact their students in a positive way. I need not get caught up in the paralyzing analyzing, because I know it works that way for me. I can only hope it works that way for others.
An even more important point is that, if we view this as a positive form of learning for educators, why would it not apply to students as well? We are all learners. Social Media should be yet another tool in an arsenal of tools used by educators to enable kids to become better learners. They need to continue to learn long after their contact with teachers has ended. Most of my teachers are now gone, yet I continue learning. That is a lesson we all must keep in mind.
My Island View 
Hi Tom,
Great post. I’m using social media to facilitate my learning tech knowledge and applying this to medical projects. Social media for me adds another dimension to my teaching and learning that I hopefully relay to those I am working with. Here’s my recent post about twitter:
http://janemooney.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/twitter-is-just-about-talking-to-famous-people/
All the best,
Jane
Hi, Mr. Whitby – great ideas! Yes – PD is essential. The amazing thing about the Internet revolution is that it helps us learn in two ways – one is by using the technology itself. If you asked me what cables and cords were before 1995, I would have said “for electricity.” Now, I know there are USB cables, modems, wifi, (having had to work with Comcast on those MANY times). Also, figuring out whether I would go Mac or PC, which version of software to get, how to dowload, etc.
Thank goodness for Graphical User Interfaces (guis), because they are enineered with human-computer interaction in mind, and make using software easy. In this regard, many of the above steps entail less of a learning-curve. Every teacher who learns these types of skills will not only be growing professionally, but, unfortunately, just about barely keeping up with the kids (thank goodness for my son, who helps with my cabling and software issues every now and again).
The Internet also can be both a portal to PD and PD itself. Each tool has a unique function, and it may take a while to determine what that is. For example, Facebook is a place to socialize and find updates about friends. This morning, a discussion about whether it’s OK to “friend” students brought up some good questions (my response was, no, don’t friend a student on Facebook, but use a program specifically for classroom use for that purpose). A course offered on a moodle platform, with assessments and certifications can be considered PD, and places like University of Phoenix, or Curriki, offer classes.
Thank you for your ponderings, and I am so glad to have connected, “virtually!”
“Now the question arises, is this PD resulting in an improvement in the students’ learning? I have often said, “To be better teachers, we must first be better learners”. It would seem to me educators who are seeking Professional Development to meet their specific needs as an educator, would certainly be a first step to better learning.”
I find the above statement interesting. I believe that you’re asking the right question. Only the stakeholders involved can correlate PD and increased student learning. I agree that educators that seek PD on Twitter are making steps in the right direction. Instead of a “one size fits all” local PD, educators are taking the initiative to personalize their own PD opportunities. I wrote a post on the benefits of PD and Twitter on my blog. Overall, this is a thought provoking and relevant post.
Thanks for a thought provoking post.
I think you make a false distinction between PD that helps teachers to be better learners and PD that leads to better outcomes for students. Surely PD is for the teacher’s benefit, and anything that equips them to be better lifelong learners will inevitably have a benefit to their institution, colleagues and students as well as themselves. Very few teachers spend their whole professional lives working in one school, or in one subject area. PD which broadens the mind, which opens up teachers’ awareness of current thinking and practice in subject areas and schools other than their own, can only be a good thing. It leads to better understanding, cooperation and collaboration. But ultimately, PD is for the teacher, to assist them in their own professional development. In my experience, #edchat and similar online conversations and conferences achieve this, and as such should definitely be regarded as PD.
Tom, great post. PD gets a “bum rap” many times because of how it’s presented. With rare exceptions, everyone gets the same regardless of what they teach. That’s probably because it’s easy to set up and ‘check’ that everyone is there for it.
The time I spend on twitter or other SM is ever so much more valuable and targeted because it gives me something I can really use. PD? Yes, but hard to document or track.
Enjoyed your thoughts! Thanks.
[…] Does Social Media Offer PD Or Something More? « My Island View–Now the question arises, is this PD resulting in an improvement in the students’ learning? […]
Tom, thanks for this post on a subject that is near and dear to my heart.
“I do not see social media as the PD, but as a portal to the PD.” Totally agree!
“Now the question arises, is this PD resulting in an improvement in the students’ learning?” I absolutely feel that social media as PD results in student learning, but I can not prove that, and I have not seen very few studies that try to prove this correlation one way or the other. Most of the studies I have seen take place within a school/district. They are not informal, differentiated, and/or self-directed learning situations (anyone looking for a dissertation topic?). Unfortunately, until there are studies proving that social media PD increases student learning, many districts, schools, etc., will not consider this as a valid avenue. Is there anything we can do to change this opinion?
“Social Media, in any of its many forms, enables educators to tap into a vast number of sources in the form of people and content. It enables educators to direct their learning to meet their needs.” Again, I agree. It is so important for a teacher to be able to direct their learning. How many times have we had to sit in traditional PD sessions ‘learning’ about a topic that either does not have anything to do with what we teach or an area in which we are already adept or experienced? Discussing, debating, collaborating, sharing ideas and resources with educators from all over the world is the essence of professional development via social media and takes learning to places and levels that were unimaginable even 10 years ago.
Teachers know what they need to learn. Trust them to go out and find their own solutions. I’m not saying that social media is right for all teachers, but I know it is right for many teachers. Those teachers should be allowed/encouraged to explore the social media landscape for PD purposes in order to enhance their practice which in turn will increase student learning.
Can I refer readers to the meta-analysis by John Hattie in his book ‘Visible Learning’ Chapter 7. He notes how few studies look at the effect that PD has on student achievement. The following trends are noted for the available meta-analysis. Professional training is more likely to change teacher learning, but these learnings have less effect on teachers ‘actual behaviour’, less effect still on teachers reactions to PD and finally even less influences on student learning (about 1/3 of a standard deviation/ d= 0.37). The suggestion is therefore that its the teacher who is most likely to be changed by the PD. The use of social media would suggest that the teacher is taking charge of their own learning and as we know the research literature more than supports the case of ‘taking charge’ of your own learning’ (student or teacher). However, is it not the case that as a ‘learner’ the teacher is reminded of learning through the eyes of a student. The problem with SM as a portal to PD is that the Admin will find it difficult to audit, and that such audits are important for institutions to justify themselves.
Nice post. I reposted it at http://bit.ly/jmSge8 along with my other Net Nuggets related to this topic.
In most schools there are a small number of teachers who do the same thing. If a school has two 4th grade teachers, there is only so much collaboration and learning they can do together. By participating in a Twitter chat for 4th grade teachers around the world, they can gain and share much more. It is clear that social media can open the door to a much richer version of professional development. Teachers using it effectively can then show students how they engage in this process and guide them to do the same thing.
Interesting Tom! There needs to be a spark, a passion, a high standard in ones mind that leads one to want to be the best they can be or at least figure some things out so they have an easier time at it. With that, there is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge to gain from social media and a wide variety of digital and conventional sources that I agree will translate to the students. Keep up the good fight Tom!
Tom,
I enjoy all of your posts.
This article does a cost benefit analysis on mentoring. Ths is close to professional development. http://www.newteachercenter.org/pdfs/Spectrum_Villar-Strong.pdf The article makes the point that there is clearer connection to improving teacher attrition because of mentoring. It is a little sketchy on the holy grail, which most administrators consider student achievement.
I agree with you. Social media is a means to an end. Most of the greatest gains from my personal development has come through the process more than the products of professional development.
Your the best.
Pat
[…] Does Social Media Offer PD Or Something More? #Edchat, as well as about 50 other educational twitterchats, Digital Personal Learning Networks, Online Discussion Groups, Twitter, LinkedIn and a number of other Web 2.0 social media applications … Source: tomwhitby.wordpress.com […]
[…] Whitby, in his excellent Blog of 6 August 2011 asks searching questions about Professional Development and whether it […]