Should Twitter Replace Professional Development?
There is buzz online about Twitter replacing professional development. As a tweeter, I get it. Weekly twitter chats are dynamic for connecting with colleagues across the globe, and new ideas and inspiration fill my Twitter feed every day. (If you are new to Twitter as a resource for educators, please read Edudemic’s fabulous blog).
Professional Development Pitfalls
The limitations of Twitter, however, are much like the limitations of the sit-and-get workshops of traditional professional development. They both emphasize the gathering of ideas, but fail to support us in taking action.
If we are talking about replacing irrelevant sit-and-get workshops with Twitter, then it is a promising trade—but neither of these is going to lead to the shifts in instruction that impact students. Like the professional learning binders that accumulate on teachers’ shelves, favorite tweets fall to the background as we teach. We keep gathering new ideas, but how many change what we do in our schools?
Joyce and Showers’ (1995) research confirms what many of us know from experience: one-shot training rarely leads to changes in teaching. Consider their findings:
| Impact on Teacher Learning in Terms of Percentage of Participants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Components of Training | Understand New Knowledge and Skills | Apply Learning to the Classroom |
|
Presentation of theory |
85% |
5-10% |
|
Modeling |
85% |
5-10% |
|
Practice and low-risk feedback |
85% |
10-15% |
| Coaching feedback and peer visits | 85% |
80-90% |
Adapted from Joyce and Showers (1995).
If we were to update this study with research on the impact of Twitter, what data would you expect? Imagine if all teachers in your district did the following:
- Read tweets from other educators
- Opened links from tweets to read blogs and watch videos
- Engaged in education-focused twitter chats
- Used hashtag to research specific topics or connect with specific communities
As a result of these experiences, what percent would understand new knowledge and skills? What percent would apply learning to the classroom?
Deep Inquiry Matters
What’s missing from Twitter AND traditional professional development is continuous, collaborative problem solving with sustained focus on an issue that matters. According to research (Wei, Darling-Hammond, et. al., 2009), effective professional learning that shifts how teachers teach and students learn is:
- intensive: has a sustained focus (30-50 hours) in one area
- ongoing: with opportunities to plan, test, reflect and refine approaches
- connected to practice: relevant to the specific work we do every day with students
Powerful professional learning designs engage educators in continuous collaboration to prioritize a challenge, design a solution, and test and refine it together. Hands-on approaches like coaching, lesson study, and observation inquiry move professional learning from ideas to action.
Replace these with Twitter, and we will suffer as a profession.
Best of Both Worlds
The good news is this is not an either/or question. Twitter and professional learning aren’t competing in a brawl, trying to be last one standing. They are like collaborators whose diverse strengths in synthesis are more powerful than either individual’s strength alone.
Rather than advocating for Twitter to replace professional learning, let’s get specific together about how we can use this dynamic networking space to enhance professional learning.
In this three-part blog series, I’ll delve more deeply into the topic of how to use Twitter to enhance professional learning. Stay tuned for my next two posts:
Join the conversation by commenting below, or Tweeting me your thoughts @TonyaWardSinger. I welcome questions and challenges. Let’s engage in dialogue that helps us all expand our thinking and deepen our impact as teachers and learning leaders.
How do you use Twitter for your own professional learning?
What is most exciting, or most frightening, about the idea of schools using Twitter for professional learning?
Related Blogs
5 Effective Ways Teachers Can Use Twitter for Professional Development via @medkh9
Professional Development Takes Off on Twitter by @Zalaznick via @DA_Magazine
Twitter for Professional Learning, Any Takers? via @Edweek
Twitter Vs. Paid Professional Development by @MrKempNZ
Using Twitter for Professional Development by @SarahWCaron via @Education_World
Sources
Joyce, B., and B. Showers (1995). Student Achievement Through Staff Development: Fundamentals of School Renewal. 2nd ed. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Lewis, C., R. Perry, and A. Murata (2006). “How should research contribute to instructional improvement? The case of lesson study.” Educational Researcher 35(3): 3.
Singer, T. W. (2015). Opening Doors to Equity: A Practical Guide to Observation-Based Professional Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Darling-Hammond, L., R. C. Wei, A. Andree, N. Richardson, and S. Orphanos (2009). Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad. Dallas, TX.: National Staff Development Council. http://learningforward.org/docs/pdf/nsdcstudy2009.pdf
I am a keynote speaker, author and educational leader helping educators teach and lead for equitable schools. My books include EL Excellence Every Day, Breaking Down the Wall & Opening Doors to Equity. I'm a descendant of colonizers and enslavers deeply committed to transforming my family legacy for healing.
Shaeley Santiago
May 22, 2015, 3:15 pm
One major difference I see with using Twitter for professional development is that it is self-directed. In other words, I can search about topics I am specifically interested in or struggling with. I can pose a question about a specific issue, and people will respond with their experiences, links to resources, and ideas of how to address the situation. The self-directed nature of Twitter is part of what makes it powerful.
I also see it as a unifying factor, especially for teachers who are in specialty fields like ESL. Within my district, there are fewer than 10 of us. However, on Twitter, I regularly chat with a wide range of ESL teachers and others interested in the topic. I can connect with experts in the field that I wouldn’t be able to interact with except in the rare event of a conference or training. And, Twitter is free, available 24/7. That’s the power of the Professional Learning Network (PLN).
Tonya Singer
May 23, 2015, 9:03 am
Thank you, Shaeley, for sharing three powerful aspects of Twitter for professional learning: self-direction, unity, and free PD. I agree that the self-directed nature of Twitter is a major draw. A self-directed learner is an ENGAGED learner.
The networking among educators with similar visions and goals is also powerful, especially in specialty fields. Whether we are ELL teachers, champions of social justice, tech innovators or a combination of many specialty areas, it is powerful to connect and collaborate with others working towards similar goals. I’m honored to have you in my PLN, and especially appreciate your comments.