Well-designed workplace training for teachers – a way to improve teaching and learning

It is obvious that a lack of training in the workplace might negatively affect various aspects of any business. When talking about school as a workplace, it always raises concerns about how to provide the best training for those who are responsible for the knowledge of the next generation.

It has been acknowledged that a well-designed training has a significant impact on the quality of teaching and it can have an effect on how well students learn and what their results are. However, most schools do not have appropriate training programs for teachers. What is more, it has been noted that some schools are more likely to invest more in maintaining and upgrading their buildings than in training their staff. The methods of training that are used in some schools don’t seem to be very effective. For instance, the training that is provided for teachers, mostly consists of a large stack of uninspiring PowerPoint slides presented after a whole day of teaching. Another alternative for training – ‘Inset’ days that involve closing a school for training, but this method of training not very popular with parents.

“There are far too many schools where teachers simply aren’t getting the right support (The Telegraph, 2016).’’

 “There are, unbelievably, schools who have decided to cut their training budget to zero – hard to think of a more short-sighted approach (The Telegraph, 2016).’’

Why teachers need a well-designed continuous training and support?

– Adapting to the technology changes. While it’s clear that technology can be very beneficial in terms of developing a number of skills and preparing students for their future jobs, most teachers aren’t trained well enough in how to integrate technology effectively into their classroom. Technology itself can’t benefit students the way that well trained teachers can. Therefore, teachers should receive training and support on how to get the most out of technology in terms of providing students with the best learning experience. Receiving enough training and support about different types of technology and about different learning platforms can help teachers make teaching more engaging and fun for students.

–  Inspiration and motivation. Training can help teachers feel inspired and motivated to deliver best quality teaching. Although teaching is considered as a very intrinsically rewarding job, it can become demotivating like any other job. Teachers need different types of training available whenever they feel like they are not fulfilling the expectations of students or when they want to improve the way they have been teaching for years. Continuous training allows teachers to stay up to date with new trends in education and teaching. I’m certain everyone agrees that motivated teachers are the best at keeping students motivated!

– Developing knowledge and skills. Whatever the subject, there are always new things to learn. Teachers should be encouraged to engage in developing their knowledge and skills. However, without a well-designed training, teachers might not be able to find resources themselves. Therefore, a well-designed training is what every teacher needs.

Although it’s clear that it’s very important to provide well-designed training for teachers, most schools face challenges regarding this. For instance, lack of resources is a major issue when talking about teacher training. Resources can be related to money which means that the school does not have money to invest in training. This means that when there is a need to provide training regarding different topics, it can require investing a lot of money to meet different needs of teachers. Other challenges that schools face can also be related to finding right people to train the teachers.

Online based training is the solution that could benefit most schools. We can see that more and more schools are using different available e-learning systems to provide learning for students. This is great! However, e-learning is also a perfect way to engage teachers in their training. There are many amazing opportunities that could help improve training in schools, for instance, Totara LMS. Read more about different online learning platforms here. 

Why choose online based training?  Online training is convenient,  immediate, cost-effective, easy and fun. It provides participants with easy and convenient access. They can undertake training at their own pace and whenever they have free time.

“Organisations outside education are investing in specialist human resources and training departments, yet we barely give any training to staff appointed as heads of teacher development (The Telegraph, 2016.)’’

“To compound the issue, England has the most unregulated system of training in the world, with no quality assurance systems for training companies (The Telegraph, 2016).’’

To conclude on this topic, it can be said that when schools are investing in the development of good training programs for teachers, they are also investing in the quality of teaching as well as in the learning of students.