Tips to Facilitate Effective Teacher Professional Development

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Background:   

The evidence is clear: effective teacher professional development (TPD) needs to include ongoing and individualized support to teachers in order to impact teachers’ instruction, and subsequently student learning. However, what is less clear are the details of what effective coaching looks like in practice, especially in low-and-middle country settings.

To answer this question, the World Bank’s Coach program has developed the “Facilitating Effective 1-1 Support Technical Guidance Note” (and blog), which provides guidance on how pedagogical leaders can effectively carry out coaching sessions to support teacher learning and improvement. Through implementation tips, case studies, and contextual considerations for policymakers, the note demonstrates how 1-1 coaching can be adapted to a variety of educational contexts.

During the BBB, the key findings from the note will be presented by one of the Guidance Note’s authors, Tracy Wilichowski. Following the presentation, Benjamin Piper, Director of the Global Education Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will provide firsthand insights on some of the challenges in implementing this ongoing 1-1 teacher support at scale. Next, Kwame Akyeampong, Honorary Professor of Education at the University of Sussex, will speak to his research on teacher education in the global south and the political economy World Bank teams should consider when planning for and implementing the type of guidance provided in the note. Finally, Emily Gardner, World Bank Country Task Team Leader, will share insights on the opportunities and challenges in utilizing these findings as part of government dialogue and implementation of World Bank projects.

We encourage everyone to check out the Coach Tools and Resources currently out for public consultation. We also invite you to share your comments or questions with the team at coach@worldbank.org.

Chair: Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, Practice Manager, Eastern and Southern Africa, Education, World Bank

Presenter: Tracy Wilichowski, Analyst, Global Knowledge and Innovation, Education, World Bank

Discussants:

Kwame Akyeampong, Honorary Professor, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex

Emily Gardner, Senior Education Specialist, Africa West, Education, World Bank

Benjamin Piper, Director, Global Education Program, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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The Education GP BBB Series provides a space for World Bank education staff and visiting researchers and speakers to share recent findings, innovative on-the-ground experience, and implementation challenges and successes relevant to the work of the Bank in education.