Structuring Effective Group Training : Technical Guidance Note (English)

This technical guidance note highlights operationally relevant guidance for how to effectively structure teacher professional development (TPD) delivery through group trainings. The note covers five operationally relevant questions: content focus, frequency, facilitation, group size, and materials. It draws from empirical evidence, case studies, and literature on implementation science to identify approaches that are operationally feasible, especially for low-capacity-country contexts. These recommendations can be used by policymakers, practitioners, and operational teams to design in-service TPD programs. The note is informed by an evidence review that included (1) 20 experimental or quasi-experimental studies comprising 8 from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (Appendix A) and 12 from high-income countries (HICs) that have demonstrated positive impacts of group trainings on teaching practices and/ or student outcomes and (2) additional TPD studies from LMICs (Appendix B). Whenever possible, the note highlights examples from LMICs. The studies were identified (1) by using existing reviews of TPD programs for LMICs and for HICs; and (2) by reviewing projects available through the Coach Repository of In-Service Teacher Professional Development Programs.