As educators, we have all been in the professional development that has been less than riveting. Someone stands in the front of a room full of educators who have spent the day living the realities of the classroom. They are tired, they have tons of grading to do, they are worried about the student who hasn’t been to school in a week and this is all on top of lives outside of school. When I reflect on the professional development stereotypes it is easy to see why that seasoned teacher may sit in the back of the room, masking the grading they are completing for full engagement with fellow teachers. If someone is going to stand in front of me with another PowerPoint presentation on how to use data and I have to be there than I am going to make the most of my time so I can maybe grab a workout and catch the last half of my own child’s soccer game before I get up at 5 am to start the daily process all over again.
Organizations with a focus on professional development continue to highlight research on the importance of honoring the voice of teachers regarding effective professional learning opportunities and the impact on the learners these educators support. In Learning Together, Learning on Their Own, Rodman states, “As I collaborate with leaders and teachers around the world, differentiated student learning abounds in the form of flexible grouping, leveled reading, digital playlists, centers, and similar approaches. Many educators personalize students’ experiences even further by inviting each student directly into the learning-design process, enabling the co-creation of lessons or projects…
“ …Yet teachers in these same schools participate in one-size-fits-all, ‘sit-and-get’ professional development.”
(ASCD & Rodman, 2018)
As practitioners focused on designing, implementing, and evaluating these important elements of the cycle of learning, could we forecast the professional learning needs of adult practitioners within a technology-rich learning environment by addressing the past professional learning experiences of educators? If the ‘sit and get’ method is no longer acceptable for our learners in the classrooms, I argue that our models within the educator professional development must change to meet the rapidly changing arena we are all participating in each and every day.
Teacher-centered learning is just as important as student-centered instruction. ISTE Standard 4.b: Professional Development and Program Evaluation states that the best-practice of Professional Development is to “ Design, develop, and implement technology-rich professional learning programs that model principles of adult learning and promote digital age best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment.”
So there you have it, the answer to the question is clear and concise, our practices need to evolve along with our learning environments!
Just what does this evolution look like in practice? How do we support the educator to see a technology-rich learning environment past an enforceable cellphone policy and classroom set of Chromebooks for writing papers? I contend that the best way to do this is though research-based modeling during those dreaded afternoon meetings. If we have a computer that we can use for inputting grades and checking email, we cans utilize many tools that will grow engagement in the professional development experience and the classroom alike.
The Evaluation Report- Transforming Professional Learning in Washington State identifies how important the design of professional development expectations are; specifically around how building leadership and district leadership must first build a culture around the common goals and endpoints of learning for educators and students.
“ The themes of “agency,” “distributed leadership” and “differentiation of professional learning” changes the concept of what traditional district leadership means and was carried out in the districts. At the same time, districts struggled through the implications of the shift in control of professional learning from the “district office” to teacher leaders within schools. Hence, the assertion that professional learning requires engaged leadership is echoed throughout this project and is demonstrated through these different shifts in thinking and the implementation of professional learning plans, leadership roles and implementation of a distributed leadership model.” (p. 20)
In order to implement strong programs that will have a lasting impact on student learning, the building leadership and school/district culture must be aligned with the instructional expectations and realities while making room for the continued voice and choice of educators based on the trust that educational professionals know what students need. Yes, we need checks and balances to align our goals but I argue that with agency comes ownership and with ownership comes a willingness to display a growth while practicing and reflecting on the innovative approaches to educators for teachers and students alike. Sometimes our best professional development practitioners are sitting in the back of the room waiting to be asked what they think based on what their students say and produce each and every day.
We cannot evolve in a vacuum of old practice that no longer fits the stakeholders we are servicing. I personally have a profound connection to the idea and professional practice of agency. To me, recognition of thinking through the practice of voice and choice is a fundamental practice of teacher voice professional learning. According to the research from the Office of Educational Technology, “To build this capacity, learners should have the opportunity to make meaningful choices about their learning, and they need practice at doing so effectively. Learners who successfully develop this ability lay the foundation for lifelong, self-directed learning.” (United States of America: Department of Education, n.d.) When the culture work has been done then the agency and self-accountability will follow.
Digital best practices honor the choice and voice of learners and should do the same for the teachers who grow our future leaders. Could this idea of agency in practice become contagious? Does agency lead to empowerment? I find myself developing a new question…
Is the digital best practice within our technology-rich reality about the use of digital tools to promote solutions for the greater good? If empowered learners feel valued will they take the digital tools that are running our world and share the innovative thinking to create solutions to our current dilemmas?
Stay tuned my friends, I clearly have a lot of learning in front of me this quarter, I look forward to sharing it with all of you.
References:
ASCD, & Rodman, A. (2018, November). Learning Together, Learning on Their Own – Educational Leadership. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov18/vol76/num03/Learning-Together,-Learning-on-Their-Own.aspx
Bishop, D, Lumpe, A., Henrikson, R, & Crane, C. (2016). Transforming Professional Learning in Washington State – Project Evaluation Report. Seattle Pacific University: Seattle, WA.
ISTE. (n.d.-b). ISTE Standards for Coaches | ISTE. Retrieved January 17, 2020 from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
Office of Educational Technology- United States of America: Department of Education. (n.d.). Learning. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from https://tech.ed.gov/netp/learning/
