For this module, I decided to investigate ISTE standard 4.4b – help educators use digital tools to create effective assessments that provide timely feedback and support personalized learning. ISTE standard 4.6 also relates to the use of qualitative and quantitative data to inform one’s own instruction and professional learning. Designing learning activities with the end […]
ISTE Standard 4.4.d states: “Model the use of instructional design principles with educators to create effective digital learning environments.” ISTE standard 4.4.d is not the only one that addresses the importance of instructional modeling. The article ISTE Standards for Coaches 2: Model effective tech integration (2014) explains that modeling effective strategies allows teachers to see […]
Before the pandemic forced educators to teach online, I had been developing a blended model for teaching Middle & High School Spanish. Once a week, students would experience online learning in the face-to-face classroom. The model I created not only solved time and management constraints common in the brick-and-mortar classroom, it also was well received […]
“You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” – Michael Jordan Retrieved on Aug 23, 2021 from successstory.com The article Bridging the Gap: Technology Trends […]
My Big Takeaways From DEL As my Masters in Digital Education Leadership program comes to a close, I have spent a significant amount of time reflecting on what I’ve learned and how much I’ve grown. Coaching is a dynamic job requiring one to be knowledgeable, flexible, and relatable. It’s hard to narrow down the essential elements of being a Digital Learning Coach because they have many roles and responsibilities. Below are my 10 big takeaways from my time in the DEL program; lessons that I know will impact my future as an educator. 1. Relationships are Key Coaches won’t make an impact if they don’t first develop a trusting relationship with the teacher. So start slow. Get to know each other, ask questions, listen, and smile often. Have chocolate handy and remember that teaching is personal. Educators pour so much of their soul into their craft that being vulnerable is hard. So as a coach take the time to develop trust and think carefully about how you can encourage, empower, and support the teachers you work with. 2. Coaching Roles Coaches have more roles to be than just “the expert”. In fact, my master’s program continually highlighted how much I didn’t know. Coaches don’t have to be an expert, but they should be skilled communicators who are experienced at lesson design, best practices, and tech integration and are able to interweave all of these components when helping teachers design curriculum and assessment (Mraz et al., 2016). Coaches should be able to facilitate professional learning or one-on-one meetings when working through a coaching cycle. They spend a large amount of time collaborating with teachers helping them plan, implement, and evaluate activities (Foltos, 2013). But I think most importantly, coaches are change agents. They help teachers reflect on and improve their practice and encourage them to try new things. 3. Communication Skills Needed While most coaches are effective communicators there are certain skills that take intentionality and practice, such as setting norms, active listening, paraphrasing, and asking probing questions. One big take away for me was recognizing that I need to spend a lot more time asking questions and listening than talking. A coach’s goal should be to help teachers build capacity to make their own instructional decisions. If coaches acted as the expert with all the answers, teachers would shy away from sharing their thoughts and would become over-dependent on the coach to come up with solutions. 4. Technology Should Not Be the Focus The focus should be on pedagogy, content, and student learning. After the learning activity is created THEN the teacher and/or students can help choose the technology that will best help them accomplish the task. “Too often, teachers still plan their lessons around technology instead of putting learning first” (Foltos, 2013, p. 136). Annie Tremonte, a digital learning coach in Renton, Washington uses this analogy when working with teachers to highlight how we can become overly focused on technology: “No one ever said ‘Wow, Elmer’s glue is amazing. How can I design a whole lesson just around Elmer’s glue?’ Yet oftentimes we start with the technology we want to use and try to build a lesson around that. Why?” Coaches can help teachers focus first on student learning, and then choose the technology that helps students achieve those goals. 5. Be a Life-Long Learner Coaches need to work hard to stay current with innovative practices. They continually take the time to research, contribute to online professional learning communities (PLCs), curate resources for teachers, and tinker with new technology. 6. Twitter! I didn’t realize what I had been missing out on. Twitter is a fantastic source for educators to follow emerging technologies and best practices. You can curate resources and network with other teachers around the world. Twitter is also a great way to advertise the cool things that teachers are doing at your school. Learn more about how to use Twitter as a PLC in Cory Cumming’s blog. 7. How to Rock PD Teachers want professional learning that is relevant, interactive, teacher-led, and sustained over time (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2014). During my graduate studies I learned more about adult learning theories and discovered different ways to make professional learning engaging and personalized. I can’t to host an EdCamp, organize inquiry-based PD, or try out some microcredentials myself. 8. Technology Procurement Acquiring new technologies is exciting, but should be done thoughtfully and responsibly. There are a lot of items to consider when shopping for new tech (check out my blog post to read more). Take the time to research, involve various stakeholders in the discussion, consider student demographics, and pilot new tech. You won’t regret it. 9. Equity Matters One of my goals as a teacher or Technology Coach is to fight for every student’s right to an equitable learning experience. During my graduate studies, I became aware of the digital divide in our nation and in the world at large. As the divide grows, it feeds new forms of digital discrimination. Think of the advantage some students will have if only the wealthy school districts can purchase one-to-one devices and state-of-the-art tech. But it is not just owning devices that will fix the problem. As digital education leaders, we need to push curriculum developers to design tools and content that fit the needs of all diverse learners. 10. It Takes a Village Resources Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (2014, December). Teachers Know Best: Teachers’ Views on Professional Development. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5W5P9bQJ6q0SUlzb19fX0lpaXM/view Foltos, L. (2013). Peer Coaching : Unlocking the Power of Collaboration. Corwin. Mraz, M., Salas, S., Mercado, L., & Dikotla, M. (2016). Teaching Better, Together: Literacy Coaching as Collaborative Professional Development. English Teaching Forum, Vol. 54 n4, p24-31. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1123196
Okay teacher friends, we’ve all been there. You just completed some form of professional development and you’re itching to get out the door. Someone walks by and hands you that green evaluation form right at the end. You know, the one you have to complete in order to get clock hours? In my experience, there are usually some additional questions about how the training went so that the facilitator can glean feedback on how they did. I remember jotting down some notes as fast as I could (while still being legible) so that I could jet out the door. I’ve participated in a spectrum of professional learning sessions. From big international technology conferences to small local ESD workshops and in-house training on a specific topic. I feel like I’ve “been around the block” and done everything from PLCs and book studies to school tours and big conferences. Needless to say, I feel tremendously blessed to have been given these opportunities to explore, learn, and grow in my own skills as an educator. But how do we know if these professional learning opportunities actually made an impact? How do we measure teacher growth, the impact on student learning, or overall school-wide improvement? ISTE Coaching Standard 5 states that coaches “Evaluate the impact of professional learning and continually make improvements in order to meet the school-wide vision for using technology for high-impact teaching and learning.” So my big question: “How do we evaluate the impact of professional learning?” As I highlighted in a previous blog, Righting the Ship, one of our biggest problems with professional development (PD) is that we cram too many different topics into our annual schedule and then can only follow up on one or two of them. If that! This would be like teaching a math lesson to our students and moving on before we checked for understanding. Did our students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be successful? We need to ask the same thing of our teachers. After completing PD, there should be more than just a half sheet evaluation on how the session went. So this week I chose to dive in deep on best practices in evaluating professional learning. There are several well-known theories on how to evaluate the effectiveness of training. Perhaps the most famous in the education realm is Guskey’s Five Levels of Professional Development Evaluation. Guskey proposed that there were 5 domains that needed to be evaluated when weighing the success of a particular training. Below is a summary of each domain and suggested tools for collecting data. Guskey also had a Theory of Teacher Change. He believed that teachers needed to first see the power of the new teaching method to really believe it was effective and continue to apply it (Hanover Research, 2015). Therefore, teachers must be given the time to reflect and evaluate student learning outcomes. Then they can see the impact of their training and continue to make changes where needed to improve student learning. PD is a complex beast. It can take many forms, whether attending workshops, participating in study groups, curriculum development, peer coaching, and so on. “But regardless of its form, professional development should be a purposeful endeavor. Through evaluation, you can determine whether these activities are achieving their purposes” (Guskey, 2002). As coaches, we cannot stop after the training, say a little prayer, and hope that we hit our mark. We owe it to ourselves and our students to follow through with Guskey’s five steps to determine if the training worked. Even if we are working alongside teachers who have individual goals and are doing more of a personalized PD structure, we can train and empower them to collect and analyze student data to take charge of their own continuous improvement cycle. Professional Learning should be an iterative cycle, where we take time to evaluate the impact on teachers, school-wide improvement, and most importantly student learning. Works Cited Guskey, Thomas. (2002, March). Does It Make a Difference? Evaluating Professional Development. ASCD, 59(6), 45-51. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar02/vol59/num06/Does-It-Make-a-Difference%C2%A2-Evaluating-Professional-Development.aspx Guskey, Thomas. (2016, February). Gauge Impact With 5 Levels of Data. Learning Forward, 37(1). https://tguskey.com/wp-content/uploads/Professional-Learning-1-Gauge-Impact-with-Five-Levels-of-Data.pdf Hanover Research. (2015, November). Best Practices In Evaluating Teacher Professional Development. Hanover Research. https://www.rsdmo.org/community/committees/professionaldevelopment/Lists/Meetings/Attachments/61/Best%20Practices%20in%20Evaluating%20Teacher%20Professional%20Development%20(1).pdf ISTE Standards for Coaches (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches Background photo created by denamorado – www.freepik.com
Educators pour their hearts and souls into teaching. When I was a classroom teacher I started pinning posts about classroom decor and learning activities on the first day of summer break. I kid you not. I loved what I did and I wanted to give it 100%. I think this is true of most teachers. Teachers don’t enter the profession because of the pay or the recognition, they do it because they love kids and they love learning. They spend countless hours decorating, designing engaging curriculum, and grading papers on their evenings and weekends. And while many teachers want to be the best that they can be, it is sometimes hard to open up our classrooms to outside feedback and scrutiny. I think that is because we pour so much of our soul into our craft that feedback becomes a very personal thing and being vulnerable is hard. That is why it is vital that coaches take the time to develop trust with teachers and carefully think through how they can encourage, empower, and support teachers in their professional learning. There are 3 different types of feedback. Each is important and needed in our schools. While Coaches can be cheerleaders and highlight the various successes happening on campus, the main type of feedback they give is aimed at helping teachers reach their goals. Grant Wiggins defines feedback as “information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal” (2012). In extensive research done by John Hattie, it was found that giving formative feedback to teachers (aka offering coaching), has an effect size of .90 on student achievement (Bright Morning, 2016). If coaches can effectively offer teachers feedback, then we can have a tremendous impact on our students’ learning! So what goes into the art of giving meaningful feedback? First, coaches need to take the time to develop trust and credibility with teachers (Bright Morning, 2016). This step should not be rushed since it is the foundation for future success. After this has been developed and nurtured, coaches can come alongside teachers and offer their support. Montini (2014) and Brown (2020) give great tips on how to support teachers emotionally and set the meeting up for success. When working with teachers make sure to sit on the same side of the table. Be mindful of your body language and start by saying we’re in this together. These steps can help a teacher feel comfortable and disarm a potentially disgruntled or nervous teacher. After researching I compiled the following suggestions for coaches when giving feedback: 1. Ask permission Before giving feedback ask if it is okay and explain that your intention in giving feedback is coming from a place of care and concern, and a desire to help the teacher reach their goals (Aguilar, 2013). This could sound like, “Can I share a couple of things with you that I observed that might help you address those issues you’re raising?” (Aguilar, 2013). 2. Focus on data Instead of discussing what the teacher did well or where they struggled, focus the conversation on student data or non-judgmental observation notes. For example, noting how many students were participating during a lesson when a teacher’s goal was focused on student engagement. Wiggins (2012) argues that “Effective feedback requires that a person has a goal, takes action to achieve that goal, and then receives goal-related information about his or her actions”. So ask yourself, what is the teacher’s goal? Stay specific and focused on feedback that gives the teacher information on how they are doing reaching that goal. If you’d like to learn more about structuring coaching conversations around data, my friend Megan Heineman has a great blog post on using a third point during coaching sessions. 3. Less is more Elena Aguilar (2013) encourages coaches to keep critical feedback to one or two key points. We don’t want to overwhelm teachers with every bulleted point on our notes. Begin by affirming something the teacher did well and then give feedback related to their personal goal. Effective feedback is concrete and specific (Wiggins, 2012). 4. Plan next steps After you’ve shared feedback with the teacher, invite them to share their thoughts and/or feelings. Does the teacher become defensive, embarrassed, curious, or relieved? Aguilar stresses how important it is to help teachers process these emotions so that they are ready to take the next step (2013). It’s important to ask “what’s next?” and “how can I support you?”. By asking these questions, the coach is putting the teacher into the driver’s seat. You’re not ending on a negative note, but a positive one of how you can proactively move forward. 5. Follow up! Too often we give feedback and then never return to see if it is being implemented (Bright Morning, 2016). Teachers need ongoing support, encouragement, and more feedback. By checking in with teachers we encourage this iterative cycle of professional learning where we try something out, reflect on the outcome, tweak it and then try again. Coaches can help by giving formative feedback that provides teachers with the opportunity to reshape their performance to achieve their personal goals (Wiggins, 2012). What practices do you think are essential when giving feedback? I’d love to hear your thoughts from either a place of receiving or giving feedback to others. Works Cited Aguilar, Elena. (2013, March 6). Giving Feedback. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-giving-feedback/2013/03 Aguilar, Elena. (2018). Receiving and Giving Feedback. Bright Morning. https://brightmorningteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Giving-and-Receiving-Feedback.pdf Bright Morning. (2016, February 15). Common Mistakes When Giving Feedback. Bright Morning. https://brightmorningteam.com/2016/02/common-mistakes-when-giving-feedback/ Brown, Brené. (2020). Daring Greatly: Engaged Feedback Checklist. Retrieved from https://brenebrown.com/downloads/ Montini, Laura. (2014, October 16). 2 Things Great Leaders Do When They Give Feedback. Inc. https://www.inc.com/laura-montini/brene-brown-why-great-feedback-can-t-be-scripted.html Wiggins, Grant. (2012, September). Seven Keys to Effective Feedback. ASCD. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Seven-Keys-to-Effective-Feedback.aspx
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
