Why technology workshops for teachers are necessary, and what makes them stick

Technology workshops are necessary, but one session is only a start. What the evidence says about coaching, follow-up, and one-off training.

By Ernie DelgadoOctober 30, 20156 min read

Updated November 5, 2026 with current data and sources. Originally published October 30, 2015.

Illustration for: Why technology workshops for teachers are necessary, and what makes them stick

Key takeaways

Workshops are necessary because they build baseline skills, but a stand-alone session leaves the hard part undone.
About 43% of U.S. public school teachers said workshops improved their teaching or their students' learning to a moderate or large extent, compared with about 67% for collaborative learning (RAND, via GAO, 2026).
Pairing beats choosing: a meta-analysis of 60 causal studies found coaching paired with group training was associated with effects 0.31 SD larger on instruction than coaching without it (Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, 2018).
Do not oversell any format. GAO found that two of three meta-analyses reviewing coaching found no association with test score effects, and none of four found one for duration.
For Title II-A dollars, federal law says professional development must be sustained, not stand-alone, one-day, or short-term workshops.

Technology workshops for teachers are necessary because no one can teach well with a tool they were never taught to use. But a workshop is only the start, so leaders should buy the workshop and the follow-up as one thing.

So often when I talk with teachers, they express frustration about a lack of support in their professional development. The focus lands on the tools handed to students and teachers, and not on the pedagogy for using them. I wrote that in 2015 about iPads and 1:1 rollouts. The tool has changed. The complaint has not.

Why are technology workshops still necessary?

Teachers are the biggest influence in the classroom, and the technologies used are irrelevant if the teacher is not equipped to use them. Many educators are apprehensive about new technology, whether from doubt about its educational impact or from fear of the time it will take. A good workshop answers both by giving them a hands-on experience with real content.

The research supports the workshop more than its critics admit. In a meta-analysis of 60 causal studies, Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan found that pairing coaching with group training was associated with larger effects than coaching without it. They suggest teachers may benefit from building baseline skills before working with a coach. A workshop is how you build the baseline.

What does the evidence say about one-off workshops?

Teachers are lukewarm about them. In a RAND survey for 2022-23 reported by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, about 43% of K-12 public school teachers said workshops improved their teaching or their students' learning to a moderate or large extent. About 44% said the same of coaching, and about 67% of collaborative learning.

Federal law takes a position too. GAO notes that under the ESEA, professional development must be sustained, meaning not stand-alone, one-day, or short-term workshops, along with being intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused. Education officials told GAO those terms have not been further defined in regulations or guidance, so read them as a direction.

Teacher training on generative AI in the classroom

Source: EdWeek Research Center, via Education Week (May 2026).

That chart is about AI, but the pattern is the point: ongoing support is the smallest group.

Never buy a technology workshop without buying what happens the Monday after it.Ernie Delgado, BeyondK12

Does coaching make technology training stick?

It is the best-supported follow-up we have, with real limits. Kraft and colleagues found pooled effects of 0.49 standard deviations on instruction and 0.18 on achievement. GAO's plain-language comparison: an effect on test scores roughly equivalent to improvements over a teacher's first 5 to 10 years of experience.

What coaching and group training added

Source: Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, Review of Educational Research (2018).

Here are the limits a leader should know before signing a contract.

The evidence is not about technology. Much of it comes from literacy coaching for prekindergarten and elementary teachers in the United States.
Scale shrinks the effect. Effects from larger programs were only a fraction of those from smaller trials.
Other reviews disagree. GAO found that two of three meta-analyses reviewing coaching found no association with test score effects, while the third found a generally positive one.
More hours are not automatically better. Kraft found no evidence that coaching must be high dosage to work, and none of four meta-analyses GAO reviewed found an association between duration and test score effects.

The design still matters. Kraft's working definition of coaching is one-on-one, at least every couple of weeks, over an extended period, in the teacher's own classroom, and focused on deliberate practice of specific skills. A newer review of 104 randomized trials by Sims and colleagues found qualified support for building professional development from components aimed at teachers' insights, goals, techniques, and practice. Follow-up is where the practice happens.

What should a technology workshop teach?

Pedagogy, with the tool inside it. The Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge framework, or TPACK, from Mishra and Koehler (2006) still gives trainers the best map I know. It asks trainers to treat technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge together. The piece that has been missing from the puzzle is the pedagogy.

Stakeholders want to know whether a device makes a difference in the classroom. The better questions are how teachers can use it to influence learning, and what subject matter instruction it improves. In 2023, Mishra, Melissa Warr, and Rezwana Islam applied TPACK to generative AI, and argued that school systems, not only individual teachers, must supply the context teachers need. That is a job for leaders.

Workshops should also be leveled and differentiated. After all, don't we expect our teachers to do that for their students? Shouldn't we do the same for our educators?

Decision	Workshop alone	Workshop that sticks
Focus	Features of the tool	A subject, a teaching strategy, and the tool together
Grouping	Whole staff, one level	Leveled groups based on a skills survey
Format	Presentation	Immersive, with teachers building something they will use
The next month	Nothing scheduled	Coaching visits or peer observation on the calendar
Team time	None	Collaborative time to adapt and share lessons
Evidence	An exit survey	Classroom use reviewed at the end of the semester

How should a leader plan technology training that lasts?

Start with the teaching goal. Name the subject and the strategy before you name the tool. If you cannot, delay the workshop.
Level the groups. Survey skills first, so your strongest users are not bored and your newest users are not lost.
Book the follow-up first. Put coaching visits, peer observation, and team time on the calendar before you confirm the workshop date.
Use the people you have. Kraft's definition allows coaches who are administrators, master teachers, or classroom teachers. Start small, since effects shrank as programs grew.
Check the funding language. School districts spent an estimated 57% of their Title II-A funds on professional development for teachers, principals, and other school leaders, according to GAO. Our funding guide covers how schools pay for this work.
Review at the semester. Look in classrooms, ask teachers what changed, and adjust. Keep what helped and drop what did not.

Where to start this week

Look at the next training on your calendar and find what is scheduled for the month after it. If the answer is nothing, add one coaching visit or one peer observation for each participant before the workshop happens.

Our professional development is built for this kind of plan: hours can be two campus days for everyone, or a series of grade-level sessions and coaching visits. If AI is the topic, start with the free AI Readiness Assessment. It takes five minutes and scores your school across Policy, People, Curriculum, Guardrails, and Funding.

Questions school leaders ask

Are one-day technology workshops a waste of money?

Not if they are the first step. Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan found coaching paired with group training was associated with larger effects than coaching alone, which suggests teachers benefit from building baseline skills first. A workshop with nothing after it is the problem.

Does instructional coaching work?

The evidence is promising but mixed. A meta-analysis of 60 causal studies found pooled effects of 0.49 SD on instruction and 0.18 SD on achievement, with much of the evidence from literacy coaching for prekindergarten and elementary teachers. GAO reports that two of three meta-analyses reviewing coaching found no association with test score effects.

How long should technology training last?

There is no proven number of hours. GAO found that none of four meta-analyses reviewing duration found an association with test score effects, and Kraft and colleagues found no evidence that coaching must be high dosage to work. Plan for repeated practice in the classroom, not for a target number of hours.

Can Title II-A pay for technology workshops?

It can pay for professional development that meets the law's requirements. GAO notes that under the ESEA, professional development must be sustained, meaning not stand-alone, one-day, or short-term workshops, along with intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused. Ask your program office how a specific plan fits.

What is TPACK?

TPACK stands for Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. It is a framework from Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler for what teachers need to know to teach well with technology. In 2023 Mishra, Melissa Warr, and Rezwana Islam applied it to generative AI.

Sources

Ernie DelgadoFounder and CEO of BeyondK12. 35 years in education technology, founder of Beyond Technology Education in 2001, host of the BeyondK12 podcast.About BeyondK12

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