Time poor teachers using social media to make lesson plans

Teachers are turning away from verified government websites, and scouring the internet and social media to create their own lesson plans.

Teachers are scouring ­social media for lesson plans because a lack of quality school resources forces them to “fend for themselves”, resulting in poorer education outcomes.

A report by the Grattan ­Institute, released on Monday, found 64 per cent of teachers nationwide pulled classroom ideas from YouTube, while just 31 per cent used verified state government websites.

Almost a third of teachers sourced their content from Facebook, and just one in five used professional teaching sites.

In what educators described as a “lesson lottery” that could negatively impact students’ marks, the survey of 2200 teachers and school staff found just 15 per cent of teachers had access to quality curriculum material from their schools.

The report said an overhaul to give all schools access to high-quality lesson plans could take at least five years, and called on stakeholders to boost support for schools.

Teachers were often left to plan lessons from scratch.

Ninety-eight per cent of teachers said not having enough time to develop quality materials was one of the biggest challenges to closing the resource gap, while 78 per cent flagged high staff turnover as a major obstacle.

The shortfall most affected staff and students in disadvantaged schools.

“Many Australian teachers are being left to fend for themselves, creating lessons from scratch and scouring the internet and social media for teaching materials,” the report said.

“This has contributed to unsustainable workloads and a high degree of variation in teaching and learning from one classroom to the next.

“Most teachers get insufficient guidance and support on curriculum planning, which adds to teacher workloads and undermines student learning.”

Grattan Institute education program director Jordana Hunter said teachers were often left to plan from scratch.

“Without a whole-school approach to curriculum planning, even the hardest-working teachers will struggle to give their students the best education,” she said.

But Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said teachers should not be forced to adopt compulsory resources, but rather be given access to a bank of effective, but optional, materials.

“The union would reject any attempts to impose teaching and learning plans or ­curriculum materials in classrooms,” she said.

“Teachers are highly qualified individuals who should be afforded the professional ­respect and autonomy to consider and respond to the unique learning needs of the students that sit in their classrooms.”

The Independent Education Union’s Deb James said: “Individual teachers just don’t get the support they need to do their work effectively and ­efficiently. Ultimately this ­undermines the quality of education delivered to students.

“Education systems, governments and curriculum authorities need to do a lot more to ensure equitable access to quality teaching resources.”

Education senior lecturer at Deakin University Emma Rowe said students suffered the most from the uneven distribution of resources.

A state government spokesman said Victoria led the ­nation in curriculum and mental health investment; $2.7m had been allocated to update the state curriculum.