Tips for Supporting Teacher Development

Teachers Don’t Need More Training — They Need Better Conditions to Use the Training They Already Have. Let me say something that may sound strange coming from someone who designs training for hundreds of schools: Teachers are not undertrained. They are under-supported. I have worked with thousands of teachers — brilliant, committed, thoughtful educators — who attend workshops, complete certifications, learn new strategies… and still struggle to implement them. Not because they lack skill. Because they lack conditions. Here’s what I mean: 1️⃣ Teachers don’t need more theory — they need time. A teacher can’t “implement active learning” if they don’t have planning time, clear routines, or breathing space to experiment. Time is the oxygen of teacher growth. 2️⃣ Teachers don’t need another workshop — they need feedback that feels safe. Fear-based observations destroy confidence. Supportive coaching builds it. Teachers grow where feedback is a conversation, not a judgment. 3️⃣ Teachers don’t need new frameworks — they need working systems. Even the best strategies fail when: • timetables are chaotic • resources arrive late • DLPs don’t match assessments • middle leadership is inconsistent • class sizes are unmanageable A broken system will crush even the most highly trained teacher. 4️⃣ Teachers don’t need motivation sessions — they need emotional bandwidth. You cannot pour into students when you’re empty yourself. Well-being is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for professional excellence. 5️⃣ Teachers don’t need more expectations — they need permission to try, fail, and grow. Innovation requires psychological safety. Creativity needs trust. The teacher who feels trusted will outperform the teacher who feels watched. The truth? The problem in education is not a skill deficit. It’s a systems deficit. When teachers are given: • time • clarity • resources • coaching • emotional safety • supportive middle leadership …they naturally implement everything they’ve learned — beautifully. Teachers don’t need more training. They need the right environment to thrive. And leadership is responsible for building that environment. #EducationReform #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #SchoolLeadership #InstructionalCoaching #PsychologicalSafety #TeacherWellbeing #CafeLearning #SystemChange #LeadershipMatters

It continues to amaze me, after 38 years of being involved with teacher training, that the commonest feedback I get in my workshops is: Sir, we were allowed to speak – that is what we loved!   What does this tell us about what happens in training in general? Why is it so difficult to have interactive sessions where dialogue is the basis for exchange of ideas, learning and its application? This is more so considering that every teacher runs a class that is different from the others.   So, if someone provides ‘inputs’ to teachers in a one-way manner, then obviously this is not only contradictory to what is required, but also very unlikely to work. In a situation where teachers feel unable to respond, the likelihood of their absorbing and being able to convert into action is naturally far less.   So if you are a young trainer, my advice would be to design sessions in such a way that your participants speak more than you. Avoid rushing in with PPTs which reduce you to being a presenter and teachers to being viewers. Teachers are not an audience. They are those you are communicating with. If you do not hear from them, the communication loop is not completed and therefore the chances of training being successful are deeply limited.   There is no reason whatsoever for us to be under pressure to insist on pushing certain ideas into teachers. Much of what we want to communicate exists in some form or the other, might have been covered in earlier interactions or trainings. And might not be implemented for a variety of reasons. Without knowing all of this, to rush in and to share what you want teachers to do is nothing short of dangerous. It's a waste of time, but equally it generates in participants a feeling that the trainer does not know and is not worth paying attention to.   ‘But I am under pressure from my higher ups to cover certain topics,’ you might say. Covering certain topics is not equal to burying teachers under instruction. It is better to do much less. To ask teachers to formulate their own processes for implementing suggested practices, provide them opportunities to practice them within the workshop or such interaction, to find out the difficulties they are likely to face, to help them plan what they would like to do, then observe them in their classroom and offer support. This is the way to win both hearts as well as the battle against low quality of teaching in our schools.

How do you develop successful teacher professional development for emerging technologies like GenAI? In order to create opportunities for staff to develop their understanding, we need to approach GenAI with "three dimensions of expertise" in mind. I wrote about these dimensions earlier this year: Domain, situated, and technological expertise. Developing all three areas is key to supporting staff with their understanding of GenAI, and it does not matter whether they personally choose to "use or refuse" the technology. To develop a school-wide approach to this kind of professional development, I recommend three stages: Stage 1: Explore. Find out what your staff actually know. Not just their qualifications - their real expertise. You'll be surprised what you discover. That maths teacher who's been teaching humanities for 10 years due to staff shortages? Still loves maths. The quiet Arts teacher who never speaks up in meetings? Runs a tech blog on weekends. Stage 2: Design. Map everyone's strengths and create groups based on what they want to learn. Don't try to turn everyone into an AI expert. Focus on getting the right mix of skills across your school. Stage 3: Lead. Let the people with expertise lead. Give them time and resources to help others. Check in regularly - at least once a year - to see how things are progressing. The example in the slides below - "Mary" - is a composite of many teachers I've worked with over the years. Mary started as an English teacher cornered into teaching out of field. Despite feeling out of her depth, she focused on her disciplinary knowledge and expertise until she gained a leadership position. COVID forced Mary into a level of technological expertise, which she then leveraged when ChatGPT hit a few years later to become the leader of an AI Taskforce responsible for piloting the technology and informing guidelines. Professional development is not a one-off event: it's a process, and we need to acknowledge the many and varied levels of expertise in our schools rather than trying for a one-size-fits-none approach to AI.

One of my biggest learnings from leading summer professional development for teachers? If you want a culture of feedback, you have to intentionally do so. The first step is to have short and sweet surveys (daily for summer PD, weekly thereafter). Most leaders do this. But to ensure the survey truly builds a culture of feedback and continuous improvement, I've learned three things: ✅ Ask focused questions. Simply, we get the data that we ask for. Ask both about the content and the general format of PD. For content, a few questions can be: What is one practice you are excited to try?; What is one thing you remain unclear on? What is one thing you know you will need further support on? For format, a simple Keep-Start-Stop can be super helpful. ✅ Review the data with your leadership team- This will allow you to process the feedback, add any additional color based on observations, and design a game plan. This can include differentiating groups, shifting a summer PD schedule or changing up future case studies and role plays to better address where the team is at. During the year, it will help you focus your observations. ✅ Respond to the feedback-It's not enough to make changes to the day based on the feedback. If you are giving people surveys, you must discuss the trends you saw and address these so that folks know they are being heard. Articulate how you are shifting things or if you can't, address where concerns or confusions will be addressed. When folks hear how their feedback is being heard they are more likely to be honest in the future. For concerns or feedback that only 1 or 2 folks have? Follow up individually. The time invested early on will pay dividends later. I know these tips don't only apply to school leaders, though Summer PD is definitely top of my mind. What are your tips and 1% solutions in building a culture of feedback and continuous improvement?

If we want our students to succeed, we have to develop our teachers to be more than just classroom managers. I visit schools all the time. Most of them have focused classrooms. Few of them have rigorous classrooms. Kids are happy. Teachers have great relationships with them. But rapid learning happening? Not so much. The reason? Most teacher development stops at classroom management. If you're a teacher who has strong -- or even just stable -- classroom culture, chances are you're likely left alone so your coach can focus their attention elsewhere where there are bigger fires to put out. Not sure where to start when coaching your teachers on rigor? Here's where to start: 1. Understand the most important conceptual understandings of the unit -- unit plan to identify the big ideas of the unit and identify the critical lessons that'll help students understand those ideas. 2. Focus on the most productive struggle -- identify where the most rigorous portion of each lesson is, the part of the lesson most aligned to the grade-level bar students need to reach. 3. Create exemplars and criteria for success -- write and grapple over what truly excellent work will look like for students and what criteria you should see in student work. 4. Plan for independent practice -- make sure there's a plan in every classroom for meaningful independent practice that involves focused work time for students with a clear bar for excellence. 5. Plan to address misconceptions -- determine where students are likely to get confused and what you'll do to unscramble that confusion. Classroom management is not the goal. Learning is. If we’re serious about achievement, we need to get just as serious about coaching for rigor.

Let's talk about supporting our education heroes....Teachers! I'm pictured below with my longtime friend and career educator, Stephanie. She's been an educator for over 25 years. Teaching is not just a profession for many, including Stephanie; it's a calling. Our #educators play a vital role in shaping the future, but they face unique challenges that can lead to #burnout. Let's shine a light on this issue and work together to support our #education heroes. A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of co-facilitating sessions for school staff and school administrators across North Carolina alongside Mike Perko, Morgan Daniels, Wendy White, Lawrence Henderson and Sallie Lee that were designed to help schools develop a strategy to help prevent #teacherburnout in their schools. We were afforded the opportunity to do this important work thanks to the leadership of Ellen Essick and Susanne Schmal at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Here are some crucial steps schools can take: 1️⃣ Recognize the Signs: Understand the signs of #teacher burnout, such as chronic exhaustion, emotional detachment, and a sense of hopelessness. These are signals that a dedicated #educator may be struggling. 2️⃣ Offer Support: Create a #culture of support within our #schools and educational institutions. Encourage open dialogue and provide resources for #mentalhealth and #wellbeing. 3️⃣ Work-Life Harmony: Advocate for work-life harmony. Teachers often work long hours, including evenings and weekends. Encourage regular breaks and time for #selfcare. 4️⃣ Professional Development: Invest in professional development programs that equip teachers with tools and strategies to manage #stress and prevent burnout. 5️⃣ Reducing Administrative Burden: Streamline #administrative tasks to allow educators to focus on what they do best—teaching. 6️⃣ Peer Support: Foster #peersupport networks where teachers can share experiences, strategies, and emotional support with their colleagues. 7️⃣ Recognition: Recognize and celebrate the dedication and hard work of our educators. A simple "thank you" can go a long way. 8️⃣ Policy Advocacy: Advocate for policies that address the systemic issues contributing to teacher burnout, including class sizes, resource allocation, and standardized testing pressures. Education is the foundation of a prosperous society, and teachers are the architects of that foundation. Let's unite to ensure that our educators receive the support and appreciation they deserve, so they can continue shaping the minds and hearts of the next generation. If you're an educator, school administrator or know someone who is, comment below with how you support our educational heroes. If you don't know where to start, let's chat! #mentalwellness #workplacementalhealth #workplacestress #mentalhealthawareness #wellbeingatwork #workplacewellness #employeementalhealth #employeewellness #employeewellbeing #employeeretention #teacherretention #DEI #leadership