5 ways Texas can improve training for teachers - The Dallas Morning News

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Texas teachers need better training that more accurately reflects classroom needs and prepares them for times of crisis, advocates told state lawmakers on Wednesday.

The Texas Senate Education Committee held a hearing to discuss best practices for recruiting and training teachers throughout the state. Here are five ways Texas can better prepare teachers, according to testimonies.

There’s a difference between simply teaching online and doing so in a way that incorporates best practices and optimizes learning, said Diann Huber, president of iteachU.S., an online educator preparation program.

“Teaching that has emerged during the 2020 pandemic is really not distanced learning, but rather, crisis teaching,” Huber said.

In March, thousands of teachers were suddenly asked to teach remotely when the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to quickly shut down campus operations and move classes to virtual settings.

Teachers should receive substantial guidance on how to effectively provide online learning, as well as plenty of discussion and feedback on their teaching methods along the way, Huber said. That will lead to better outcomes for students who receive online instruction, she said.

“None of the innovations I have talked about today should be limited to a time of crisis,” Huber said. “These past few months have been a great opportunity for innovation in educator preparation and can be effective components in any program.”

Teachers should also continually be trained to teach effectively in a variety of different school settings, according to Stacy Edmonson, dean of the college of education at Sam Houston State University.

That could be done through simulated teaching experiences in virtual reality platforms or with videos that demonstrate examples of teaching methods related to specific settings, such as for specific grade levels or content areas, she said.

Even outside of a pandemic, teachers need ongoing support -- particularly those new to the classroom, some witnesses at the hearing said.

That’s why Texas needs policies that focus on teacher recruitment, preparation, professional growth and retention, said Kelvey Oeser, deputy commissioner of education support at TEA.

“Teachers experience a steep learning curve during their first five years on the job,” Oeser said. “Given that new teachers make up more than 35% of the teaching force, that means there’s a large percentage of students who will be served by teachers while they’re on this learning curve.”

This is especially true for low-income students and students of color, Oeser said. In order to boost the performance of new teachers, the state should make sure that they get more classroom experience prior to actually becoming teachers through high-quality residence programs as well as continued coaching, she said.

The training requirements layered on top of each other over the years has placed too much demand on teachers' time, said Tim Miller, the superintendent in residence for Raise Your Hand Texas, an Austin-based education nonprofit.

“The growing list of required trainings can be excessive and frequently repetitive,” Miller said.

Instead, state law should give teachers more flexibility to choose those tailored to their specific needs, allowing them to develop individually as educators and to better apply effective practices in the classroom, he said. Otherwise, training feels less meaningful and might become a “compliance exercise” because of limited time, Miller said.

As it stands, teacher training requirements are scattered throughout multiple state codes and Texas Education Agency rules, said Holly Eaton, the director of professional development and advocacy for the Texas Classroom Teachers' Association.

That makes it difficult to track how frequently training should occur, as the frequency might vary depending on the topic, Eaton said.

A state clearinghouse could track all training requirements and include research-based best practices recommended by subject matter experts and frequency recommendations by industry experts, Eaton said.

Similarly, the state should establish one framework for recording and reporting which trainings teachers have completed, said Monty Exter, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators.

Streamlining this process could make these records more accessible and cut down on “extraneous paperwork requirements” that currently exist in different statutes, he said. Improved record keeping could also ensure that teachers don’t have to repeat trainings if they move to different districts, he added.

“We’re hopeful that this is going to create a slim but meaningful training that really creates more freedom for teachers to be able to direct their professional development and improving their craft, as well as for districts to be able to implement what they feel is locally appropriate for their particular staff,” Exter said.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Communities Foundation of Texas, The Meadows Foundation, The Dallas Foundation, Southern Methodist University, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation, The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, and the Solutions Journalism Network. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.

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