Professional Learning: How to Increase Teacher Retention

School districts from coast to coast are grappling with a challenging issue: keeping good teachers on board. It's a pricey problem too. Urban school districts are shelling out around $20,000 for each teacher they need to recruit and replace, while rural areas are spending about $10,000. When teachers pack up and leave, their valuable experience walks out the door with them. This leads to an unstable learning environment for students and puts the overall quality of education on shaky ground.

Burnout, few opportunities for career growth, and the weight of heavy workloads are driving teachers away. It's a big headache for schools. But there's a glimmer of hope. Offering professional learning opportunities to teachers has shown real promise in keeping them around. It gives them opportunities to grow, keeps their spirits up, and makes them feel like they’re truly valued.

In this article, we look at how making professional learning accessible can play a big part in keeping teachers where we need them: in the classroom.

The Current State of Teacher Turnover

According to a report from McKinsey & Company, almost one-third of US K-12 educators are thinking about leaving their positions. Despite their best efforts to increase teacher retention, school districts are finding it increasingly difficult to retain qualified teachers, with the turnover rate approaching 8% per year. These statistics are a cause for concern for everyone in the education sector, leading to two pressing questions: What's causing the high turnover rate among teachers? How can we reverse this trend?

Some teachers leave after experiencing burnout, while others cite increased workloads and lack of compensation as the primary factors influencing their decision to leave. Understanding their concerns is critical to stemming the flow of teachers leaving the profession. With this in mind, let’s turn our focus to the role of professional learning and how it can be a decisive factor in encouraging teachers to stay in their roles.

The Advantages of Accessible Professional Learning

When the topic of how to increase teacher retention comes up, the conversation almost inevitably turns to salaries. While few would argue with paying teachers more, a comprehensive strategy that includes professional development is needed to adequately address retention issues. In fact, professional learning and leadership opportunities outranked salaries as the best strategies for teacher retention, according to a survey of teachers of color.

Keep in mind that these opportunities must be targeted and appeal to teachers if they are going to succeed. Otherwise, your district's professional development program could backfire, leaving teachers dissatisfied and hurting your retention efforts. However, when well-executed, these programs can significantly enhance teacher engagement and job satisfaction and ultimately, strengthen retention rates within the district.

Let's look at the key advantages of accessible professional learning for teachers.

Self-Paced Learning

Self-paced learning enables teachers to learn on their own schedule, like exploring classroom management strategies during a quiet moment after school and absorbing information at their own pace, without feeling rushed.

Personalized Learning Paths

Personalized learning paths are tailored to meet the unique needs and interests of each educator, so they offer a customized approach to learning. For example, a math teacher can engage with a program designed to incorporate technology into math instruction. This type of targeted professional development ensures immediate relevance and applicability to their teaching practice.

Competency-Based Learning

Competency-based learning ensures that educators are fully proficient in new skills before they move forward. This could mean a science teacher confidently conducting a new lab experiment, having adequately demonstrated comprehension of the necessary safety protocols in their professional development course.

Activity-Based Learning

Activity-based learning effectively links theory to practice. For example, a language arts teacher might undertake a hands-on project to boost student engagement in literature discussions, applying innovative techniques that they’ve learned right in their classroom.

Implementing Accessible Professional Learning in Districts

For districts aiming to increase teacher retention and performance, implementing accessible professional learning is crucial. Modern learning hubs like MobileMind are essential tools in this endeavor. They offer innovative features like micro-learning, which breaks down complex information into digestible pieces, and gamification, which makes learning engaging and interactive.

These hubs can be customized to fit individual teacher needs, ensuring that every professional development opportunity is relevant and meaningful. Creating a collaborative environment is also essential for keeping teachers engaged. Within these hubs, teachers can share insights, resources, and best practices, fostering a supportive community that encourages continuous learning and growth. Regular feedback and continuous improvement are vital components. These hubs also incorporate mechanisms that allow for ongoing assessment and adaptation of learning materials, ensuring that they remain effective and aligned with teachers' evolving needs.

Moreover, integrating professional learning with daily teaching tasks is fundamental. When professional development is seamlessly connected to everyday responsibilities, it ensures practical application and reinforces knowledge retention. For districts, leveraging these modern hubs effectively can transform professional learning, making it a strategic tool for enhancing teacher engagement and retention.

The Long-Term Benefits of Investing in Professional Learning

Investing in professional learning offers long-term benefits for school districts. First, it boosts teacher morale and job satisfaction, creating a more positive and productive work environment. Secondly, it results in enhanced student outcomes, as consistent and skilled teaching directly impacts learning quality. Finally, districts experience financial savings due to lower recruitment and training costs, as higher teacher retention reduces the need for frequent hiring and onboarding of new staff.

Prioritizing professional learning is a strategic move that benefits teachers, students, and the district's overall well-being, making it an indispensable investment for the future of education.

MobileMind’s micro courses offer bite-sized learning opportunities that take minutes to complete without leaving the classroom and offer better time management. Schedule a call with MobileMind or request a demo to help ease teacher workflow and retain top talent with improved professional learning opportunities!