Telling the PD Travel Story Part 3

Chapter 4 - Transfer  

The next chapter of the story presents us with one of the persistent problems of PD, overcoming the knowing-doing gap. The degree to which individuals effectively apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained in training to the job has been termed the ‘transfer of training’ (Wexley and Latham, 1981). Sadly, research into the transfer of training has suggested that the majority of training does not transfer into demonstrable improvements in work performance (Grossman and Salas, 2011) and that a lot of the time the transfer is ‘left to chance’ (Caffarella, 2002).   

The transfer of training is yet another topic that sadly is too complex for this post to do justice, but a key takeaway for me from the reading is the identification of key factors that influence the transfer process:  

Learner characteristics  

It has been suggested that a variety of learner attributes play a powerful role in the transfer process (Burke and Hutchins, 2007). Readiness for training, including elements such as prior knowledge, skill, and aptitude, has been shown to be a strong predictor of transfer outcomes. Perceptions of ability contribute to self-efficacy, which in turn affects confidence to learn. Motivation emerges as another significant contributor to the transfer process, as it directs levels of intensity, direction, and persistence (Blume et al., 2010). The final characteristic is personality and studies have shown links with levels of openness to experience, conscientiousness, and extraversion (Ruiter and Van der Klink (2003). Grohman et al (2014).  

Key questions for learners:  

1. Do you have the required knowledge and skills to access the training?  

2. How confident are you that you can successfully access and transfer the training?  

3. What is your motivation for completing the training?  

4. How will you sustain motivation so that training is applied and maintained?  

5. Are you clear about the use and impact of the training?  

Professional Development Design  

Training that is purposefully designed and expertly delivered has a dramatic impact on the success of training transfer. Studies have shown content relevance to be important to the transfer process, with successful training accurately replicating behaviours, challenges, and scenarios. The effective use of learning principles such as direct instruction, modelling, practice, and feedback have particular importance in successful training delivery (Grossman and Salas, 2011). The use of error management activities and modelling during training supports transfer by enabling individuals to anticipate what can go wrong and providing them with problem-solving strategies. Finally, trainer characteristics such as professional expertise and authenticity have also been shown to impact directly on levels of learning and retention (Burke and Hutchins, 2007).  

Key questions for CPD designers:  

1. Who should be involved in the training design?  

2. Have we included all the required content and ensured its relevance?  

3. Do the planned activities accurately replicate job requirements and scenarios?  

4. How are we leveraging learning principles during training design?  

5. How are we preparing individuals to deal with expected challenges?  

Work environment  

An often-underestimated element of training transfer is the individual’s work environment. The transfer culture of an organisation has an impact through normative messages around expectations, recognition, and remediation of training outputs (Grossman and Salas, 2011). Support from both managers and peers has also been shown to influence the process, through encouragement, goal setting, and feedback. Organisations also need to provide individuals with opportunities to practice and perform. These opportunities should be sufficiently resourced (time, equipment, people) and occur with minimal delay after training completion. The final factor in successful transfer is post-training follow-up, where outcomes are reflected on, and transfer is evaluated. The ongoing use of job aids such as manuals, scripts, and checklists, as well as coaching, has also been shown to support transfer.  

Key questions for school leaders:  

1. Does our culture expect and support the transfer of training?  

2. How will we track, measure, and evaluate training transfer?  

3. How will we support individuals after they have completed training?  

4. Are there opportunities for individuals to practice and perform what they have learned?  

5. What additional resources can be provided to support application and maintenance?  

Chapter 5 - Embedding  

In this next chapter, we address the challenge of sustained development. Lots of teachers and leaders are starting to embrace the distinction between performance and learning in the classroom and the need to take a much longer-term view of change as a signal of success. It feels like a small step to then apply this to PD and ensure that knowledge and skills are not just gained in the moment but are maintained and embedded into everyday practice. As PD leaders and more generally school leaders we should of course celebrate the initial improvements in performance, but we must also not see that as the end of this chapter.  

The EEF guidance report on effective professional development highlights four key mechanisms that support the embedding of new practices:  

Provide prompts and cues – One of the challenges of sustained change is the very natural process of forgetting and so PD leaders have a role in providing teachers with regular nudges about the what, when, and how of techniques. This can be achieved through spaced practice, interleaved PD content, visual displays, or verbally during coaching or mentoring.  

Prompt action planning – As we saw at the beginning of the post, there are lots of benefits associated with the process of anticipatory reflection and looking into the future. PD leaders can support the embedding process by requiring teachers during workshops, coaching, or meetings to plan how they will use a specific technique. This mental rehearsal will allow them to anticipate any issues and ease the application once they are performing for real.  

Encourage self-monitoring – Reflecting on our actions and their impact is a key element of self-regulation and has been shown to support habit formation (Sims et al 2021). PD leaders can support this act by providing teachers with opportunities to monitor and record their own performance. This can be achieved through journal writing, peer discussion, or through coaching and mentoring.  

Prompt context-specific repetition – One of the challenges of training transfer and embedding is the difference that typically exists between the learning and performance environments. Teachers who can practice in context-specific conditions are more likely to maintain fidelity when they use techniques in ‘the real world.’ PD leaders can support this by situating PD activities in real world settings and by adding context-specific parameters around any scenarios or problem-solving activities.   

Reflective Questions 

In the last chapter we will look at a framework for assessing impact and how we could use the PD travel story practically in our leadership 

• 
  How much of your PD transfers to the classroom? 

• Where is PD transfer successful / unsuccessful and why? 

• How embedded is past PD? What has stuck? 

• What prompts and cues do you give teachers about past PD? 

• Do staff plan their PD needs and actions? 

• Do staff monitor their PD progress?