Teacher productivity, does it need to be ‘hacked’?
As teachers and educators, we know all too well the immense pressure placed upon our time. With the language of school term being a chance to ‘come up for air’ and to push aside the overwhelm, if only for a moment. As we end our brief hiatus from the hustle and bustle of classrooms again, it seems timely to consider:
Why doesn’t our profession share the skills and techniques that excellent teachers use to streamline their processes, to squeeze more time out of what we’re given in each work day?
The world is full of ‘life hacks’ and productivity talk, but in education it seems this trend has been almost completely missed.
A book like James Clear’s Atomic Habits (2018), has been read widely within the teaching profession, but, to my knowledge, there exists no alternative solution for teachers.
This seems most important as we know the rise of ‘administrivia’ (Dinham, 1994), tasks that are not central to the process of teaching students or assessments is increasing apace. So much so, in fact, that these things are pushing against the actual teaching itself, which seems to be ever-pinched by those who seek to improve teaching, by drawing focus, and teacher and leaders’ time, away from it (Heffernan & Pierpoint, 2020).
Indeed, professional learning requires both trust and challenge (Timperley, et al., 2008), but too often we are provided with offerings that focus on content, rather than those things that can most dramatically improve our professional work. Contrast this against the ongoing challenge of the manner in which professional learning continues to become increasingly siloed, held to specific teaching areas, rather than being spread in a more democratic manner.
In short, the maths teachers learn from other maths teachers, and physics with physics and so on. But the one thing that all teachers face is the same burden of administrivia, the pile of emails, the proformas to be filled out, the development plans that require evidence, and so on, ad infinitum.
It makes you wonder? Could there be utility in professional learning on how teachers manage their emails? How they speed-mark their assignments? How they get students to clarify what they require from communications? How to get staff to share their ideas on a proposal in a timely manner. And so many more things.
There is a real possibility for looking at the habits, tools and skills that teachers bring to their work. Those things that make the job easier rather than harder. It could even be possible that learning of this nature could aim to counteract some of the challenges that face teacher retention. Run this against the idea that there are high attrition rates within the first five years of a teacher’s career (Kim & Loadman, 1994; Goddard & Goddard, 2006; Manuel, 2003; Struyven & Vanthournout, 2014). It becomes clear that there is a real possibility for new teachers especially to benefit from these ‘hacks’, improvements and processes.
Consider what tricks and skills you have developed over your career and how they might benefit others? Each of these tips and tricks might also serve to help others to stay in the profession and survive, as well as their students.
References
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin.
Dinham, S. (1994). Enhancing the Quality of Teacher Satisfaction.
Goddard, R., & Goddard, M. (2006). Beginning teacher burnout in Queensland schools: Associations with serious intentions to leave. The Australian Educational Researcher, 33(2), 61-75.
Heffernan, A., & Pierpoint, A. (2020). Autonomy, accountability, and principals’ work: An Australian study. Australian Secondary Principals’ Association.
Manuel, J. (2003). 'Such are the Ambitions of Youth': exploring issues of retention and attrition of early career teachers in New South Wales. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 31 (2), 139-151.
Struyven, K. & Vanthournout, G. (2014). Teachers' exit decisions: An investigation into the reasons why newly qualified teachers fail to enter the teaching profession or why those who do enter do not continue teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 37-45.
Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2008). Teacher professional learning and development (Vol. 18). International Academy of Education.
The Reflective Practitioner
What skills or techniques have you developed to limit and minimise your workload?
What strategies do you use when working on a task to improve your focus?
What is one thing, physical or digital, that you can share with a colleague or new teacher, that might help them to be more productive?
Use it Now
Run a session on teacher marking skills for staff, or ask colleagues wherever they share ideas at your school
Work firstly with a student teacher, or graduate teacher colleague, ask them how they go about a specific task that is time consuming, how can you assist them?
What self-help books, or methods for improving your own goal setting and task management can you use to develop this skillset within yourself?
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