Design professional learning based on needs assessments and frameworks for working with adults to support their cultural, social-emotional and learning needs. My last blog post centered around impactful professional development and how to evaluate the effectiveness of professional development. For … Continue reading
Three ways to differentiate your PD with tech and how they relate to adult learning theories. Just like students, teachers crave learning that is personalized, relevant, and fun. While best practices have shifted to include items like differentiation and personalized learning for students, school leaders are still in the process of revamping professional development (PD) for teachers that follow suit. Long lectures and “sit-and-get” PDs are a thing of the past! Technology offers new and engaging ways to deliver content and allow teachers a voice in their own continuing education. After taking the time to create your school’s vibrant and energizing culture of being life-long learners, check out some of the following ideas on how to shake up your PD with technology. Flipped PD Traditional PD gives teachers a bunch of information, but rarely the time needed to play, design, and reflect on how to put it to work in their own classroom. Therefore, educators developed the idea of flipped PD. Kristin Daniels (2014) explains that their model of Flipped PD puts the experts where they are needed most – next to the teachers during the design process and implementation. The process begins as teachers complete a needs assessment or when they sit down with a coach to explore options for projects and set personal goals (Daniels, 2014). Before the next meeting, the coach or admin can provide customized digital resources for the teacher to review, including articles, inspiration, or tutorial videos (Daniels, 2014). Then at the next session, coaches can provide support and guidance as needed. If a coach is not available, teachers can team-up together with others who have similar interests. If the school does have coaches on staff, they are a powerful tool because they can come alongside teachers to co-design, model, troubleshoot, reflect, and empower teachers on their learning journey. An ISTE article, “Technology, Coaching, and Community” (2011), states: “Effective professional learning is intensive, ongoing, focused on the classroom, and occurs during the teacher’s workday” (p. 2). This job-embedded Flipped PD model makes learning relevant, gives teachers agency in their own learning, and continues to provide support for staff throughout implementation. Flipped PD connects with Malcolm Knowles’s beliefs on adult learning. Knowles believes that adults are driven by internal motives and are more willing to learn when the learning has immediate value (Navy Fleet and Family Readiness, 2018). So by allowing teachers to choose their own topics to explore for flipped PD and giving them job-embedded support while implementing, will ensure they are interested and it is relevant to their classroom. Knowles also argued that adults are independent learners and want to be in control of their own learning (Gutierrez, 2018). A flipped PD model allows teachers to complete their learning on their own time, compared to a traditional PD structure where teachers file into a room and listen to a presenter. Flipped PD also gives teachers a lot of say in how they learn, and in creating their own pathway to mastery. Probably most important, Flipped PD gives teachers hands-on experience with the support of a coach or collaborating with peers. Knowles believed that adults learn best when allowed to connect learning with real-world experiences (Navy Fleet and Family Readiness, 2018). Micro-credentials In her blog post “OMG Becky. PD is Getting So Much Better!!” Jennifer Gonzalez (2018) talks about micro-credentials as a new form of tech-driven PD. Teachers select a topic and work at their own pace to complete a learning pathway or series of challenges to receive badges or micro-credentials. Similar to learning via Twitter chats or EdCamps, micro-credentials are another untraditional form of PD that teachers are embarking on. It’s a great way for teachers to pursue personalized learning that is interesting and valuable to them. Thank you technology for the wealth of information at our fingertips! Here are some examples of micro-credential courses online: ISTE’s Learning Pathways Microsoft’s Learning Pathways Self-Directed Learning is another well-known adult learning theory developed by Tough in 1971. In self-directed learning, adults design and structure their own learning (SH!FT, 2019). Microcredentials are a great way to empower teachers to pursue their own continuing education that interests them and fits into their busy schedules. And perhaps, after they earn a digital badge they would opt to continue learning by joining a Twitter chat or by asking someone to mentor them while they try it out in their own classroom. However, the one downside is that self-directed learning hinges on adults taking responsibility for their own learning (SH!FT, 2019). So it would be prudent for school leadership to provide an accountability structure that gives teachers a time and place to collaborate on what they are learning, perhaps during a “Lunch and Learn” or a PLC. Choice Boards or Cafe Menus A third way to revamp your PD time is to create a choice board or cafe menu for your staff giving them PD options to choose from. One awesome example I found was from Big Spring High School in Newville, PA. Their instructional coach, Niki Donato, designed a Best Practice Group Choice Board that allowed teachers to personalize their PD and choose how they wanted to engage with others (Gonzalez, 2018). Some options included participating in Teacher Labs, doing cross-curricular planning, or spending 1-1 time with a coach. While this option is not strictly on an online platform, technology can assist in so many ways! Teachers can collaborate asynchronously on shared documents, post reflections via FlipGrid, research topics online, or explore new technology together. This PD structure made me think instantly of the experiential learning theory created by David Kolb. To put it simply, adults learn best by doing (Gutierrez, 2018). Compared to traditional PD where teachers sit and listen to an expert, choice boards or cafe menus have teachers participate as active learners! They read, design, collaborate, tinker, build, etc. These hands-on tasks let teachers apply their new learning and give them concrete experiences (Gutierrez, 2018). Conclusion I was fascinated when researching different ways to personalize and differentiate PD for teachers. There are a lot of good ideas out there and people are doing some amazing things! However, we have a long way still to go. Let us commit together to make PD more meaningful one session at a time. By using technology, we can truly start to meet our individual teacher’s needs and allow them to learn in ways that motivate them. If you enjoyed this blog post, check out my other one: Shaking up PD. Works Cited Coaching_Whitepaper_digital.pdf. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.ri-iste.org/Resources/Documents/Coaching_Whitepaper_digital.pdf Daniels, Kristin. (2014, April 18). The Flip Side of Professional Development. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-04-18-the-flip-side-of-professional-development Gutierrez, Karla. (2018, April 24). Adult Learning Theories Every Instructional Designer Must Know. SH!FT. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/adult-learning-theories-instructional-design Gonzalez, J. (2018, March 4). OMG Becky. PD is Getting So Much Better!! Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/pd/ Moroder, Krista. (2014, April 7). Micro-credentials: Empowering Lifelong Learners. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/micro-credentials-empowering-lifelong-learners-krista-moroder Navy Fleet and Family Readiness. (2018, February 12). Adult Learning Theory [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6QFlUYrkE Robinson, LaKetra. (2020, August 26). The Benefits of Differentiation in Professional Development. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/benefits-differentiation-professional-development SH!FT. (2019, June 14). Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Self-Directed Learning at the Workplace. SH!FT. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/self-directed-learning-workplace-trend Wolpert-Gawron, Heather. (2018, October 30). The Importance of Choice in PD. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/importance-choice-pd
Research in higher education looks very different today than it did even ten years ago. Academics who, not so very long ago, were well acquainted with physical library study spaces and large collections of peer-reviewed academic journals, find themselves in a digitized world of research with unprecedented access to information and virtual repositories of human …
Continue reading “The Changing Nature of Research in Higher Education”
Captains of our Mental Ships I’m rounding the corner on my third year of full-time teaching, as well as my third quarter of doctoral studies. One of the most surprising things to me about both pursuits is the copious amount of information I’m consistently exposed to. There’s a constant stream of information about advances in…
Remember the telephone game? There’s a line of people, and the first person whispers a message to the person next
The new year rang in a new focus of study in my graduate program. We are beginning to learn about needs assessments and program evaluations related to our current positions. As a fifth-grade general education teacher, I have found myself considering the different possibilities to focus my attention on. To start this phased approach of reflection upon a current need or program, we are diving into professional development and taking on the role of a professional learning facilitator. Our current essential standard of study is ISTE Standard 5. 5: Professional Learning Facilitator A. Design professional learning based on needs assessments and frameworks for working with adults to support their cultural, social-emotional and learning needs B. Build the capacity of educators, leaders and instructional teams to put the ISTE Standards into practice by facilitating active learning and providing meaningful feedback C. Evaluate the impact of professional learning and continually make improvements in order to meet the schoolwide visions for using technology for high-impact teaching and learning The first step towards becoming an effective professional learning facilitator is to focus on effective professional learning. What are the best practices in educational technology professional development? This led me to thinking back on some of my personal experiences and opportunities with professional development. When racking my past opportunities, one specific conference and session stuck out to me as the most inspirational and impactful learning experience; a Minecraft for Education session at NCCE (Northwest Counsil for Computer Education) Conference 2018. I sat, in awe, at two primary teachers who travel with their students around the United States to teach educators about the powerful learning that can take place with Minecraft for Education. While I thoroughly enjoyed every single session I attended during the 3 day conference, this one has stuck with me and I continually find myself dreaming of having the chance to implement Minecraft for Education with my students. Don’t get me wrong, the content was superb… but there were more aspects to this professional development that helped It remain impactful. The entire time I was fully engaged; we collaborated with peers, had the opportunity to talk to the students about their experiences, and had prompts to help us with questioning to have a deeper understanding of the program. The presenters also made the content feel immediately accessible by showing multiple ways to adapt and implement for different subjects, grade levels, and levels of knowledge of the program. I left motivated, informed, and ready to start the learning with my students (if that were to be possible… our technology was not compatible at that time). This session was focused, kept me engaged through collaboration and activities, offered expert support and adaptability, and gave us time to reflect and brainstorm lesson ideas of our own. It was quite easy for me to think of a great professional development, but I came to realize that I could not think of the worst or least impactful professional development I have attended… which through more reflection makes sense. I can’t remember poor examples because I did not retain the information! However, I can think of a few general feelings I have had during professional developments that did not work for me. Having learning that is not adaptable for my position or my students, not having time to collaborate and work through my new knowledge with peers, and not having the opportunity to plan based on the content I just learned. While these are instances of my own experiences, I wanted to find what research says about planning effective and impactful professional development surrounding educational technology. What are the main components of planning impactful professional development that utilizes educational technology? I began my research with an report published by the Learning Policy Institute titled, “Effective Teacher Professional Development”. Authors Darling-Hammond, Hyler and Gardner highlight the main components of effective professional development after completing a review of 35 studies. They begin by stating “we define effective professional development as structured professional learning that results in changes in teacher practices and improvements in student learning outcomes”. The 7 key elements consisted of: specific content focus incorporation of active learning supportive of collaboration use of models of effective practice provides coaching and expert support offers feedback and reflection is of a sustained duration After finding this first source, I saved the info (read their full report here) and continued searching. This brought me to an article written by Vicki Davis, “8 Top Tips for Professional Development”. Davis hits the nail on the head when she states “It’s not enough to teach the right things to your teachers – you have to teach your teachers in the right way.” This could not be more true! Find her full article here. Davis states her tips for effective PD in these 8 statements: Use what you are teaching Develop something that you’ll use right away Use the lesson and receive feedback Improve and level up with another lesson Local responsibility and buy-in Long-term focus Good timing Empower peer collaboration We can see some of the parallels between Hammond, Hyler and Gardner’s key components with Davis’ tips in one more take on planning impactful professional development: Janelle Cox took a different approach to the important factors that go into a professional learning experience. Instead of looking at the pieces of the learning experience, she speaks to the skills that a teacher needs to have to be a modern and successful teacher. Her 15 professional development skills for modern teachers include: adaptability, confidence, communication, being a team player, continuous learning, imagination, leadership, organization, innovation, commitment, ability to manage online reputation, ability to engage, understanding of technology, knowing when to unplug, and having the ability to empower. Read more in depth in her article here. While this may feel off-topic, it is related to professional learning in a different manner than learning a program, or curriculum. It is the way in which teachers should strive to learn and grow. If our professional development can incorporate the components of effective PD from our first authors, while drawing on the tips derived from Davis, and holding ourselves to developing the skills from Cox, I believe you will have the tools necessary to plan and implement an impactful professional learning experience. What are other tips, tricks or elements of effective and lasting PD that you have found to help you? What have you tried that was successful during a learning experience you facilitated? Comment below! References: Cox, J. (2020, May 14). 15 Professional Development Skills for Modern Teachers. TeachHUB. https://www.teachhub.com/professional-development/2019/11/15-professional-development-skills-for-modern-teachers/ Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. Davis, V. (2015, April 15). 8 Top Tips for Highly Effective PD. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/top-tips-highly-effective-pd-vicki-davis
High school teachers need to define their grading criteria before the course starts. Grading is explained in the syllabus, presented to students, and shared with parents in the first week of classes. Determining what and how learning will be assessed are the first steps in the backwards design process described in Understanding by Design (2005). […]
Beyond the medical disparities affecting youth in under-served populations, social changes due to the pandemic such as the move to remote learning have a disproportionate affect. How can student choice and empowerment help students learn?
It is the beginning of a new year and the second semester of school. At the beginning of January I…
Inquiry Question: How can coaches use technology to design, implement, and evaluate effective professional development? In the first module for our EDTC 6106 course, the focus has been on developing effective professional development. As I reflected on my experience both as a participant and designer of professional development, I thought about professional learning experiences that…
