Page 205 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 205
overview of innovative online tr ainings for educators
education, new teacher support (induction) and continuing teacher devel-
opment (Sprague, 2006).
The induction process is often mentioned as an important but organ-
isationally and financially challenging characteristic of a quality educa-
tion system. Participating in face-to-face situations as an observer (men-
tor or trainee) is challenging since one cannot be present everywhere at
once and cannot pay attention to all students and situations simultaneous-
ly. The observations and participation in real-life situations are also very
time-consuming. Therefore, the solutions such as computer-supported set-
tings could be implemented because small segments of video clips can be
used where teachers observe their own performance or the performance of
other teachers and professionally develop through (self)reflection. In addi-
tion, a lot of teachers can observe the same situation and learn from it.
As the TALIS survey sums up, in seeking to meet teachers’ profession-
al development requirements, policymakers and practitioners need to con-
sider both how to support and encourage participation and how to ensure
that opportunities match teachers’ perceived needs. This must be balanced
with the cost in terms of both finance and teachers’ time (OECD, 2009).
Moreover, policy measures should be aimed at reviewing and adapting the
offer of in-service training opportunities to ensure they respond to teachers’
needs for professional development (balancing them with needs at school
and at the system level) and have a proven impact on teachers’ practice and,
consequently, on learner attainment. Providing attractive possibilities for
professional development helps teachers address skills deficits and update
their competencies throughout their career. This is especially relevant in
the current circumstances of limited budgetary possibilities and the bar-
riers to participate in continuing professional development as indicated by
TALIS such as ‘conflict with schedule’ (OECD, 2014). Similarly, policymak-
ers will want to look at the effectiveness of the different forms of continuing
professional development on offer and focus on those which combine the-
ory with practice and offer the possibility to collaborate and exchange with
peers. In the current budgetary conditions, countries should explore the
possibilities offered by Open Educational Resources as they have the poten-
tial to address some of the key obstacles identified by teachers, such as high
costs and conflict with work schedules (OECD, 2014).
The online trainings and other ICT-supported forms of professional
development thus offer many opportunities in terms of providing attrac-
tive possibilities for balancing between needs at the individual, school and
205
education, new teacher support (induction) and continuing teacher devel-
opment (Sprague, 2006).
The induction process is often mentioned as an important but organ-
isationally and financially challenging characteristic of a quality educa-
tion system. Participating in face-to-face situations as an observer (men-
tor or trainee) is challenging since one cannot be present everywhere at
once and cannot pay attention to all students and situations simultaneous-
ly. The observations and participation in real-life situations are also very
time-consuming. Therefore, the solutions such as computer-supported set-
tings could be implemented because small segments of video clips can be
used where teachers observe their own performance or the performance of
other teachers and professionally develop through (self)reflection. In addi-
tion, a lot of teachers can observe the same situation and learn from it.
As the TALIS survey sums up, in seeking to meet teachers’ profession-
al development requirements, policymakers and practitioners need to con-
sider both how to support and encourage participation and how to ensure
that opportunities match teachers’ perceived needs. This must be balanced
with the cost in terms of both finance and teachers’ time (OECD, 2009).
Moreover, policy measures should be aimed at reviewing and adapting the
offer of in-service training opportunities to ensure they respond to teachers’
needs for professional development (balancing them with needs at school
and at the system level) and have a proven impact on teachers’ practice and,
consequently, on learner attainment. Providing attractive possibilities for
professional development helps teachers address skills deficits and update
their competencies throughout their career. This is especially relevant in
the current circumstances of limited budgetary possibilities and the bar-
riers to participate in continuing professional development as indicated by
TALIS such as ‘conflict with schedule’ (OECD, 2014). Similarly, policymak-
ers will want to look at the effectiveness of the different forms of continuing
professional development on offer and focus on those which combine the-
ory with practice and offer the possibility to collaborate and exchange with
peers. In the current budgetary conditions, countries should explore the
possibilities offered by Open Educational Resources as they have the poten-
tial to address some of the key obstacles identified by teachers, such as high
costs and conflict with work schedules (OECD, 2014).
The online trainings and other ICT-supported forms of professional
development thus offer many opportunities in terms of providing attrac-
tive possibilities for balancing between needs at the individual, school and
205
