Educators’ Preferences for Professional Learning Formats by Learning Objective

Abstract

Innovations in information technology have generated an array of options for the professional learning for educators. Face-to-face, remote, and hybrid formats for professional learning each have their advantages and disadvantages for advancing educators’ knowledge and skills in evidence-based practices to promote student achievement. The purpose of this study was to better understand teacher and educational leaders’ preferences for professional learning formats in relation to the intended learning objective. The results indicate that educators preferences for professional learning format varied by the intended learning objective of the session. Remote professional learning was preferred relative to face-to-face and hybrid formats for a session in which the primary objective was to share information uni-directionally from the presenter to the audience (53% versus 25% and 22% preferred hybrid). The respondents were equally split in their preference for either a face-to-face or remote format when the learning objective was to understand new concepts and learn how to apply the concepts to their setting. The results have important implications for designing professional learning.