ATD Blog
Here are the areas teachers transition to TD excel in, as well as areas where support can help them fully use their expertise.
Thu Jan 16 2025
Right now, the market is filled with classroom teachers who are looking to transition into other fields. Over the years, I’ve hired several of these transitioning teachers for talent development roles.
I’ll admit I was skeptical at first about hiring transitioning teachers for the instructional designer openings on my team—even though I myself left the classroom and transitioned into corporate instructional design 10 years ago. However, what I discovered was that these transitioning teachers possessed a wealth of professional and technical skills that enabled them to excel immediately—skills not always present in other first-year instructional designers.
I’ve now hired and worked with nearly a dozen transitioning teachers, and they’ve all stepped into the field with ease. Considering transitioning teachers for talent development openings on your team? Here are the areas I’ve seen them excel in, as well as areas where a small amount of support can help them fully use their existing expertise.
Building Engaging Learning One thing I can always count on my transitioning teachers for is enjoyable and interesting activities and engagement opportunities. If I’m nine hours into a 12-hour training session and just can’t think of another way to have learners discuss or engage with this material again, I know my former teachers will always have stimulating ideas for activities or discussions.
Creating Intentional Learning Experiences Learning professionals are keen to align the experiences and courses we create with the goals for the project. While transitioning teachers may need to develop some technology skills, they already possess a deep-rooted understanding of how to write and align learning with instructional objectives.
It’s not uncommon for most newer IDs to need assistance with curriculum design. But since transitioning teachers already possesses the necessary skills to excel in this area, they can often hit the ground running with this aspect of the job. In fact, transitioning teachers can often own instructor-led training design and development with minimal support because they have the curriculum fundamentals down so well.
Making Complex Topics Simple to Understand One of the most important parts of talent development work is making complicated information easy and approachable. Many new to the field need support in learning to do this effectively. But transitioning teachers excel at taking complex material and breaking it into digestible chunks, a skill refined over years of adapting curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners.
They not only know how to simplify dense content without diluting its value but also draw connections between abstract ideas and relatable, everyday experiences. Whether designing a training session on a new software system or explaining nuanced concepts like emotional intelligence, they naturally weave in metaphors, visuals, and real-world examples, helping learners engage more effectively and retain the material.
While transitioning teachers bring a wealth of strengths to their new roles, the shift into corporate talent development is not without its adjustments. By understanding these areas, we can better support transitioning teachers in fully leveraging their expertise while helping them navigate their new environment.
Navigating Corporate Relationships and Culture Although teachers are excellent team players and tend to have strong soft skills, their previous careers may have disempowered them or placed them in a “customer service” type relationship. As a result, sharing tips on how to build relationships with subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders from other departments and navigate the power dynamics in these situations can help transitioning teachers succeed. Your insights can help them know when to push, when to seek help, and when to accept a “no.”
Managing Subject Matter Expert Partnerships It takes a long time to learn the right amount of support that goes into the SME and talent development partnership. For instance, when you ask a SME to review content, you often need to explicitly give them directions, examples, and questions to guide their review to ensure you get the feedback you need. But transitioning teachers, accustomed to assuming both expert and designer roles, may not know the SME support approaches that seasoned learning professionals count on for project success. Sharing some of your templated emails or instructions with SMEs and walking your transitioning teachers through how you’ve developed those templates over time can take years off the “trial and error” process.
Balancing Business and Learning Goals Talent development roles involve numerous competing priorities. Transitioning teachers come with lots of prioritization experience that’s primarily focused on balancing competing learning goals, such as managing learners of varying ability levels within a single class. Now, they need to balance business challenges as well. For instance, what if they need to write a two-week training, but their SME is only available for three hours over the next two months? Teachers tend to be creative problem solvers. So, mastering this new balance is easy with a bit of support from seasoned co-workers or managers. Those expert insights can help them understand the sandbox they’re playing in, see what’s possible in your context, brainstorm ideas, and serve as a check point as they continue to problem solve.
Transitioning teachers have proven to be invaluable members of my team, bringing unique strengths that elevate the quality of our work. Their success depends on a thoughtful onboarding process and targeted support tailored to their distinct backgrounds—both of which are straightforward to implement.
By embracing classroom teacher strengths and proactively addressing areas where they may need guidance, talent development teams can unlock their full potential, fostering innovative and effective learning experiences. If you’re looking to grow your team, transitioning teachers are an outstanding choice, offering a fresh perspective and exceptional dedication.
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