Learning together: Collective professional development for teachers

Education moves at a fast pace, and your faculty needs continuous development to keep up with the latest teaching methods, curriculum changes, and technological breakthroughs. Teacher training also plays an important role in the quality of classes and overall educational success. 

However, it’s not just students who benefit from this extra training. Teachers are more likely to stay at their jobs when they receive regular guidance and feedback. When your staff feel more supported and capable in the classroom, their satisfaction levels soar.

The main obstacle is that the majority of teachers already struggle to complete all their tasks. How can they fit extra training sessions or courses into their packed timetables?

Peer-to-peer coaching is one way to offer professional development for teachers without adding to their already heavy workloads. Instead of finding time to take courses, they can fit training sessions with colleagues into their schedules. Let’s explore how schools can introduce peer-to-peer coaching for their teachers in more detail.

What is peer-to-peer coaching?

Peer-to-peer learning involves colleagues learning from one another in the workplace through mentorship, training, and collaboration. In schools, that means teachers sharing the techniques they’ve learnt or what they’ve found works best from experience. They might observe each other’s classes, arrange discussions, or plan lessons together.

Schools that introduce peer-to-peer coaching can see the following benefits:

• Better quality classes
• Fresh ideas and approaches
• Higher satisfaction among teachers
• Greater staff retention levels
• Stronger team dynamics
• Fewer barriers to implementing new technology

British Council leadership consultant, Kathleen O’Hare, says, “If you want to run a successful school in the 21st century, then coaching is the way to do it.” It helps you establish a support network among teachers that can extend beyond the walls of your school to the local community.

How to introduce peer-to-peer learning at your school

For the best chances of success, you must take several steps to implement a peer-to-peer coaching programme. 

Establish objectives

Start by defining your goals for the peer-to-peer coaching. Perhaps you want teachers to develop a specific technique they can then use in the classroom. Or you might want senior staff to pass their leadership skills onto the newest generation of teachers. For more on fostering a leadership culture in your school, read our latest leadership article.

Involve teachers in this process as the objectives should align with their needs. If your goals are relevant to staff, they’ll be more likely to actively engage with the programme.

Design the framework

Decide how you’ll pair up teachers. You could do it randomly but you may find they can’t make the most of the opportunity. If you have two teachers with similar backgrounds and experience, they may struggle to show each other anything meaningful. Ideally, the pairs should bring different insights, expertise, and skills to their sessions.

You could consider pairing based on different:

• Seniority levels (veteran staff with newly qualified teachers)
• Teaching styles
• Subject areas
• Strengths and weaknesses

Then consider how to schedule the peer-to-peer coaching sessions. How regularly should teachers meet? What should each meeting consist of? How long should these sessions run? That way you can ensure there’s sufficient time for the programme for everyone to reap the benefits.

Allocate tools and resources

Ask teachers what they need to carry out the peer-to-peer coaching. Even if they just meet once a week, they’ll still require a quiet space and a free hour in their timetable. 

Some pairs may request more extensive support. That’s especially true if one teacher is showing the other how to implement new tools and technology in their classroom. They’ll likely need access to the equipment or even funds for tools. For example, they may need to pay to use a specific app.

Arrange check-ins

Once started, regularly check in with participants about their coaching sessions. Quick weekly chats should be enough to gauge the success of the programme and pick up on any issues.

Keep a line of communication open in case teachers need to reach out. You could just ask them to email or message you if they encounter a problem. For example, a teacher might find their partner is being too critical and feel too uncomfortable to approach them directly.

Review the programme

At the end of the programme, collect feedback from all the participants. You could hold a meeting or ask them to complete a questionnaire. These insights can tell you how teachers found the coaching sessions and whether they were successful.

In some cases, you may be able to directly measure the success of each teacher’s professional development. You can observe them using a new technique or test them on their new skills. 

Use this information to see where to make improvements and where to keep aspects of the programme the same.

Celebrate successes

Be sure to praise teachers for both participating in the peer-to-peer coaching and any progress they make. Research shows your staff are twenty times more likely to feel engaged at work if you recognise their achievements. That means they’ll be more inclined to volunteer for the programme in future.

Publicly acknowledging your teachers can not only boost their morale but also draw attention to the new programme. You can demonstrate the value of peer-to-peer coaching and encourage other members of staff to participate.

Closing thoughts

Introducing peer-to-peer coaching to your teachers calls for careful planning and coordination. However, the benefits make your initial investment worthwhile. You can create sustainable professional development programmes by integrating the coaching into the day-to-day running of your school.

The British Council has many resources that teachers can share and discuss during coaching sessions. Explore the Online Support for Schools platform for Partner Schools. If you’re not already a member, contact your local British Council centre for more information or fill in our Contact form.