Teacher productivity, does it need to be "hacked"?

Written by Steven Kolber, Teacher, Department of Education & Training VIC

Steven will present at the Diverse Learners Symposium on Friday 17 June 2022 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

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 45% of teachers leave the profession in the first five years and 80% of current teachers are considering leaving (Falecki & Mann 2020). 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.

Steven will present at the Diverse Learners Symposium on Friday 17 June 2022 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

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. 

Falecki, D & Mann, E 2020, ‘Practical applications for building teacher wellbeing in education’, in CF Mansfield (ed), Cultivating Teacher Resilience, Springer, Singapore, pp. 175-191 

Heffernan, A., & Pierpoint, A. (2020). Autonomy, accountability, and principals’ work: An Australian study. Australian Secondary Principals’ Association. 

Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2008). Teacher professional learning and development (Vol. 18). International Academy of Education.