Discover the key to impactful training for educators. This whitepaper cuts through the noise to compare online and face-to-face professional learning, offering a practical checklist to guide your decisions:
In an era of rapid technological advancement and evolving educational landscapes, schools face a critical decision in how they approach professional learning for their staff. This whitepaper examines the comparative merits of online and face-to-face (F2F) methodologies in delivering effective professional learning for educators.
This white paper focuses in on the training element of professional learning. A wider definition is acknowledged but beyond the scope of the paper.
As schools strive to enhance teaching quality and student outcomes, the choice between digital and traditional learning formats has become increasingly complex. The quality of training varies significantly, complicating comparisons between f online to face to face (F2F) delivery. With quality depending on so many factors, it becomes even more difficult to discern what on the face of it, should be a straightforward question.
Furthermore, the evaluation of training effectiveness must consider both the quality of input and the participants’ desire, ability and willingness for action and impact. This in itself will depend on numerous factors including, experience design, context, prior understanding, timing, priorities, dosage, implementation, and execution – many of which are beyond the scope of this white paper.
By focusing on the training delivery itself, the variables can be refined to produce a very useful and evidence-based checklist for anyone planning training.
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of both online and F2F professional learning models, exploring their effectiveness in various contexts within the school environment. By examining current research, case studies and opinions from experts within education, we will identify key insights to help educational leaders make informed decisions about professional learning strategies that best serve their staff and their students.
Our discussion will cover key questions, such as:
Osiris Educational approaches this analysis with an invested interest in this area with 28 years of experience as a training company specialising in the education sector. This has involved training more than half a million teachers and school leaders across 18,000 schools in more than 100 countries. In addition, more than 2000 training consultants (1) have been quality assured.
Osiris’ portfolio encompasses a wide range of training formats including in-house sessions, public courses, conferences, long term development programmes and even the World Education Summit (a live online conference with over 400 sessions available to access for a whole year). For the past 5 years, Osiris have been at the forefront of developing online provision across all these areas.
Much of the research into the advantages and disadvantages of both training types is either collected from outside the sector or based around analysis of linear models such as compliance training or early career development. These studies assume a blank slate, which is rarely the case for most teachers and leaders. They are forged in the face of lived experience. They know some things well, some things variably and have many hidden misconceptions.
Each teacher and leader’s professional journey is unique. It is shaped by early successes, parenting/care experiences, innate values, and responses to circumstances (including Initial Teacher Training (ITT), mentoring, coaching, judgement, and assessment).
The best training and trainers recognise this and tailor their approaches accordingly, navigating these factors to deliver high quality learning experiences.
In order to evaluate the impact of online vs F2F approaches, we must first consider the type of professional learning that is to be delivered. This white paper focuses in on the training element of professional learning. Training is the deliberate act and process of upskilling staff in professional knowledge and skill of application. This approach differs from coaching and mentoring in its directive focus and targeted outcomes.
For example, consider the task of improving staff feedback skills. A training programme might begin by introducing specific feedback models, look at their nuances and unpick the stages in the feedback process. It would then address common misconceptions and potential blockages. Building on this foundation, the programme would guide participants in building and practicing enhanced feedback models, evaluating the differences and effectiveness and ultimately establish improved ways of working.
In contrast coaching and mentoring start with the participants’ current performance and then attempts to build from that position. The word ‘attempts’ is used as the research is not particularly kind to this latter model. Studies suggest a low effectiveness rating of 0.15 for coaching and mentoring approaches (on the Hattie scale (2)).
Why Train Staff
In order to evaluate which delivery method to use for training, we must first consider why we are training staff in the first place. Here four key reasons why investing in staff is important:
Diagram A
2. Quality of Teaching: Teachers are highly skilled professionals who handle thousands of variables and interactions per day. ITT (Initial Teacher Training) only provides a foundation at the beginning of a teacher’s professional journey; it cannot sustain it. Without significant and lasting training, they will default to the way they were taught as students.
3. Transformation: School improvement is dependent on doing things differently. This involves enhancing systems, processes, and people. Quality training is essential for successful implementation and user adoption of new initiatives.
4. Impact on Learners: Better teachers produce better teaching are therefore more likely to provide a better learning experience for their learners. Dylan Wiliam’s research estimated that the difference for learners’ progress between a poor teacher and a great one to be as much as 400%. A struggling teacher could result in learner progress stagnating or even being put back, whereas a great teacher could facilitate gains in learner progress in excess of 2 years progress for one year’s input.
By prioritising staff training, educational institutions can create a positive cycle of improvement, leading to better teaching practices, increased job satisfaction, and most importantly, enhanced student learning outcomes. Now, the big question is does the delivery model make a difference to the effectiveness of the training for the teacher and therefore the impact on the learner?
Definitions
Online training is the use of digital platforms as the interface between trainers and participants. This can include:
It is worth noting we have yet to see a genuinely artificial intelligence (AI) driven training experience in the education sector, probably due to cost of development.
Face to Face (F2F) training is a live, in-person event where trainers and participants interact directly in a physical space. This is normally pre-arranged so that everyone can be in the same room (for example a school hall or hotel conference room) at the same time.
2. Design and Planning: This is essential for both online and F2F training to deliver high quality training experiences and key to overcoming the unique challenges presented in each:
3. Context: A common challenge when implementing new training methods is the belief that ‘it wouldn’t work in my school / classroom’. To overcome this mentality, both F2F or online learning must be adaptable, tailored to the individual and offer multiple options: F2F learning: customisation is more easily achieve on the spot, allowing for real-time adjustments based on immediate feedback and classroom dynamics. Online learning: flexibility is easier through online materials and links, enabling tailored experiences that cater towards various learning environments and needs.
4. Interaction / passivity: Overcoming passivity and fostering interaction creates learning moments. Even compliance trainers need this feedback to iterate the learning arena. Interaction Design is the study of this field, and much can be learned through product development. Numerous techniques can be used to help the training process om ice-breaker activities to group tuning through to experience building activities and shared evaluation.
In education idea generation and focusing on one improvement at a time has proven particularly effective in engaging learners.
5. Cost: Producing effective learning (particularly at higher levels) is never cheap. For online training, the costs tend to be borne more upfront, while F2F training expenses are influenced by the ratio of learners to instructors and on-the-day delivery.
In both cases, the more bespoke the training requirement the more expensive the training. Conducting field research and gathering references from past users can at least help with the cost-effectiveness of choices. This will most-often mean planning well ahead of time as our best trainers are booked up years in advance.
6. Effectiveness: Both F2F and Online training are going to require time for reflection, evaluation, analysis, and consideration of long-term impact. The best training is SMART, data-driven, and responsive, engaging both rational and emotional aspects. Online training tends to be better at the former, F2F the latter. Gusky’s five levels model for evaluating CPD (4) and Daniel Muijs (5) updated interpretation of that model provide detailed guidance in this area.
Motivation
The best trainers can deliver emotional and uplifting content in a way online has never been able to reproduce in all but the finest computer games. They tap into the group, deliver complex messages in a way that encourages and celebrates ongoing achievements. The uplift is palpable and can last weeks.
Social Interaction
By drawing on the collective energy and spirit in the room F2F training can create highs and connections that bind people together. They can explore their own journeys with one another. Using emotional and sensory cues only available in the flesh realisations can been garnered, plans drawn, and zeitgeist and ethos captured.
Problem solving/Discussions
Clever online tools and algorithms can effectively capture much of the narrative around key concepts and iterative scaling. However, they struggle to capture confidence and emotional aspects. Even if they the same tools are used, Face-to-Face training excels at building emotional connections through experience and action. It is no co-incidence that so many world religions also rely on F2F experience to strengthen their teachings, build community bonds, and gain their fortitude.
Feedback Loops
The ability to adapt on-the-fly distinguish the greatest trainers from their peers. These experience trainers can go off-piste, adjust their approach, re-run and then travel and soar higher. But they only do this when the audience are with them.
They skilfully nuance and temper their delivery to the audience through sensory reading and feedback loops. This draws attention to key messages and builds around local anecdotes highly personalised to the audience. This dynamic interaction ensure that the audience feels connected and involved in the experience.
Building Relational Trust
Openness to learning and relational trust are probably the two most important foundations for effective learning development (8). Done well, F2F training can build both of these elements through emotional triggers and adaptation to response. Online training largely misses these essentially human processes.
Potential for Collective Efficacy
Hattie’s number 1, effect size 1.43.((9) underscores the importance of clear intent, expectations, and steps in professional development. This is also highlighted by Bandura’s great unearthing of what it ultimately means to be a skilled professional. Working together with crystal clear clarity around intent, expectations, and steps, with consensus. And with impact is something everyone strives for. When this happens, F2F training knocks the socks off anything we can yet do online. Unfortunately, it is rare, and trainers capable of inculcation, just as rare. But it is always good to strive for and end on the ultimate reward.
Learner Control
Many learners want to feel in control of their learning experience. Online training offers flexibility around the when, where, and how to engage. Some learners prefer little and often, others prefer regular sessions and some one large chunk, which online training can accommodate. In face-to-face training, one size has to fit all.
Mistake Friendly Environment
Related to control, or at least a sense of it, many learners do not like to make mistakes in front of others. Griffiths 6) in his research on independent learning discovered that the intrinsic motivator of competency is particularly significant for female learners. This insight parallels observations from other industries, such as the casino sector, where individual experiences (e.g. slot machines) has been prioritised.
The nub here is that the very point of uncertainty that is the crux of new learning remains hidden for many when exposed to an audience. Online training provides an environment, away from perceived social judgement of competence, where people feel far more confident in getting things wrong and therein, more open to the opportunity that offers to learning.
Associated Costs
Hidden costs often make online training cheaper. Face to face training has to factor in associated costs such as include transport, nourishment, venue, and ratios. While statutory training days may appear relatively cheap, they rarely factor in the opportunity cost of having an entire staff away from core business for the day.
To avoid this a total cost model should always be used, that incorporates opportunity cost.
Repetition
A good proportion of your staff may grasp new concepts straight away. More likely some will already have the professional knowledge, for some the training will come just at the right time and for others the scale will be nearer bewilderment. Online training allows learners to revisit nuances, interleave new learning with old and repeat key and essential elements in a way face to face struggles to replicate.
Time
Research indicates online training requires 40% to 60% less staff time than F2F training, whilst achieving similar results. (7) This is achieved through a tighter focus, pre-assessment and tailored activities and resources.
Flexibility
Inevitably in the fast-paced environment of school priorities can shift rapidly and urgent matters arise. Online training has a built-in readiness to adapt and meet these challenges. An absent colleague can simply log in and repeat a session at their convenience. In contrast, catching up with F2F training is almost impossible and a video recording of a live session is often a limp substitute.
Wider Expertise
Too often training relies on the efforts of a gifted amateur, but online training can provide access to a panel of experts. That expertise represents first-hand research, implementation at scale, a nuanced understanding of challenges and solutions and strategic insights into all stages in the adoption through to evaluating impact. That makes for a tremendous difference in starting point for any professional learning journey. See World Education Summit Case Study.
Potential for Preparation
By their nature F2F courses all have to start at the lowest common denominator. Pre-reading may or not have taken place. With online training you can test professional knowledge and fill in gaps before the main event. And the trainer can have access to this insight. This leaves far more time to spend on the crucial practical implementation and driving for impact elements.
Importantly this pre-testing acts as a primer to future learning. See TeacherLand Case Study
Data Harvesting
At Osiris Educational, we have long understood the value of gathering and feeding back data on impact of training from the outset. Online delivery allows easy integration of such processes and drives further iterations. F2F training still seems to largely be set around post-experience happy sheets. These tend to log instant contentment rather than allow you to conduct a detailed evaluation.
See Visible Learning Case Study where knowledge uplift is tested.
Interaction around Wider Content
Content creation on the web is ubiquitous, yet quality control largely missing. By expertly curating available examples, overviews and research the training experience can become much more dynamic and purposeful.
Some F2F trainers use too many anecdotes and quotes to bring home points that can be very hit and miss. Content curation allows on point exemplars and multiple pathways covering ages and content.
Scale
Once designed and tested, online courses offer scalability and accompanying cost-effectiveness that is unreplicable in F2F training. This provides a significant advantage for onboarding new staff, playing catch-up and where geographical location is difficult to overcome. A stadium of teachers may look fantastic, but with more people, trainers inevitably go into content delivery mode, meaning scale can actually compromise the user experience.
Consistency
If you have a vital step change that requires skilled implementation to achieve impact, consistency of message becomes vital. But knowing everyone has heard the same message only goes part way. You need to know they have heard, understood and are willing and able to act upon key initiatives. Testing built into online programmes trumps F2F feedback systems and ensures any issues around consistency to impact can be addressed as they arise.
Iterations
F2F training can build collaboration and associations. A great trainer can return over and again to build a message over time. Online builds cycles which build in iterations. By constantly combing and re-developing the programme over time, efficiency and effectiveness are uplifted.
For more on Iterative Learning Cycles see resources.
As online has become more developed and sophisticated so training has migrated. In the early 2020s education, with the closure of schools (at least partially), this trend has accelerated.
As the trend has continued, the audience expectations have also grown, and the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and online courses of 5 years ago now look dated and appear ineffective. Simply capturing what had previously been done through F2F training on the likes of Zoom by and large did not work.
By unpicking the differences and interleaving factors this white paper sets a blueprint for meeting and surpassing these new expectations and enhancing training.
When the need is for galvanising the collective and inspiring a new vision, there is still a strong role for F2F training. The uplift is palpable.
When the need is more technical (such as improving the quality of teaching), online training offers a much more cost-effective solution. The use of data in the training process provides a measurable way forward that ensure all benefit. By applying experience design, iterations, and pre-testing the gains can be considerable. AI may enhance those further. It becomes apparent that where the focus of the training is delivering and securing new knowledge and understanding to inform practice that online offers more scope.
Where focus is more emotional, based around experience and demanding of deliberation and consensus around action then F2F holds the sway.
In most cases, educational training content will require a combination of both and that is where the detail matters. Hybrids and combinations where technical knowhow are secured online and commitment and action planning elicited, F2F training offers highest probability of successful outcomes.
Diagram A: https://www.elucidat.com/blog/online-learning-vs-face-to-face-learning/
Visible Learning
John Hattie’s flagship programme moved online after 6 highly successful years. The content and processes remained the same. Instead of training taking place in one day slots it was spread over 8-week windows. Evaluation tools remained the same. Initial and post capability study, mind frames analysis and knowledge uplift alongside detailed evaluation of impact.
No significant difference in impact on any of the measures could be found. Some school groups preferred the flexibility of online whilst others the communion of the F2F experience. Associated costs were absent from the online experience.
Osiris Teaching Intervention (OTI)
In 2020 as a result of the COVID pandemic the Osiris Teaching Intervention (OTI) moved online. This fast paced, high impact programme focuses on teacher quality. It utilises practical input training, video analysis and a structured instructional coaching model.
By focusing on the active ingredients and paying keen attention to the benefits of online training the adjustments to the programme ensured remarkably similar results. 95% of teachers still went up a level in their teaching performance.
TeacherLand
TeacherLand is the first Non-linear teacher development tool. Its inviting title reflects a highly tailored approach to teacher development.
By harnessing the advantages online offers whilst replicating the best elements of F2F it is able to produce extraordinary flexibility to develop, problem solve and morph around existing strengths of teachers. Every teacher’s journey through TeacherLand will be unique to them.
World Education Summit
The World Education Summit was born out of COVID. It was the chance to bring together the biggest names in global education for one event a year. Because it is delivered online, the World Education Summit enables hundreds of the world’s leading experts in education to come together at the same time providing educators attending with unrivalled access to a wealth of expertise that would be nearly impossible to co-ordinate and afford if delivered face-to-face. The content is also available for a full year afterwards, allowing the flexibility that online training provides, so that attendees can watch, replay, and implement at their convenience.
Since launching in 2021 we have been monitoring how groups use the content
Some attend live and pick their way through where they want to focus. Some build a programme using the content to last the year. Others engage in sophisticated networking around content. And others use the sessions as expert witnesses ahead of their training times. This ensures evidence-based input of the highest order. Imagine a staff training session on assessment beginning with inputs from John Hattie, Dylan Wiliam, Lynn Sharat and Shirley Clarke. Suddenly all is possible.
Experience the freedom to tailor professional development to your staff's unique needs. Our hybrid programmes let you choose the perfect delivery method: fully face-to-face, online, or a seamless blend of both. Discover the possibilities today—book a meeting with our Programmes Manager or explore our innovative programmes for more details!
