How an LMS Supports Professional Development and Banishes Burnout

Are you familiar with the “people are like wells” analogy? When the well is full, you’re able to give of yourself, but if you keep giving and giving, eventually you won’t have anything left for you or anyone else. 

Now, if you’re a teacher reading this, there’s no doubt you could fill a gymnasium with the time and energy you give in an average school week. It’s easy to see how PD can be bumped and pushed aside for more urgent matters. The trouble is, though, if you don’t make it a priority, you stunt your own learning and growth, you deny yourself the opportunity to connect and build a community with peers, and you remove yourself from potential career advancement opportunities. Essentially, you are setting the stage for burnout. 

And burnout is responsible for the droves of K-12 teachers across North America who are leaving the profession. It is it also to blame for the 44% of new teachers who quit within their first five years on the job.

If you’re already thinking of all the reasons why you’re unable to add PD to your already packed schedule, maybe a quick reminder of just how terrible burnout can be is in order. 

The B Word

B is for burnout. Burnout is when the passion for teaching has been extinguished. The National Library of Medicine describes it as “a psychological syndrome that teachers experience in response to chronic job stress, and includes emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA).” 

The National Education Association says burnout is driving many teachers to put down their chalk for good. And according to a  Gallup poll, K-12 workers are the most burned-out group across the U.S., with 44% saying they feel the effects of burnout “always” or “very often.” 

So, burnout can have a  profound and lasting negative impact on your career, your students, your colleagues, your health and well-being, and your personal life. 

First, let’s look into how burnout can spread.

The Domino Effect

When a teacher succumbs to burnout and quits their teaching job, what happens to their workload? It doesn’t disappear. It gets downloaded to those who remain, exacerbating the effects of burnout.  

For the short term, perhaps, this additional workload is manageable, but hiring new staff takes time, money and luck. The cost of attracting, hiring and onboarding new teaching staff can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 per teacher, but with the teacher shortage, 43% of teaching job posts will remain unfilled. Faced with no imminent relief from the added workload, just like a row of standing dominoes, when burnout causes one to topple, the rest don’t stand a chance.

So how can PD help prevent a sequence of events like this from happening?

How PD Built Community and Banished Burnout

In a recent interview, Dr. Joy Karavedas, senior director of research and new program development at Orange Lutheran High School (OLu) in Orange, California, revealed how offering high-quality PD built community to help banish burnout.

OLu’s remote teaching staff were feeling dissatisfied and disconnected. As Karavedas explains, working exclusively online can be isolating, and “it’s easy to feel like you’re on an island.” They were craving opportunities to come together on both a professional and a social level. By offering ample opportunities to come together to learn or to support each other, Karavedas bolstered job satisfaction, created a sense of community and helped banish burnout. “When teachers receive high-level training as a group, it reinforces that they are not alone in experiencing these challenges.” 

You know it’s good for you, so what’s getting in your way? 

Barriers to Beat

Many people think the biggest barriers are time and access, but according to a  D2L-commissioned survey of nearly 1,000 K-12 educators in the U.S., most teachers would make the time if accessibility improved. 

The survey also points out that 80% of district administrators believe time is the obstacle to beat, while less than 50% of teachers said the same. This discrepancy highlights a greater willingness among teachers who wish to engage with flexible PD options than admins tend to believe. In addition, 

• 94% of respondents agreed that ongoing PD was important to their effectiveness as educators.   
• 91% expressed interest in PD targeted to their specific needs.   

What’s more? Fifty-five percent of teachers surveyed said they have an increased appetite for online, on-demand PD compared to pre-pandemic interest. All this to say, if PD options were offered with greater flexibility, you’d most likely take full advantage. 

The Key to K-12 PD Success

With a learning management system, you can finally invest in yourself and your career. By removing barriers and increasing access, you can finally begin to replenish your well. 

Working toward career goals, keeping up with mandatory training, and positioning yourself for career advancement and accolades can fit into your busy work life. We’d be happy to show you more.

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