PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
A Call to Action
Studies show that short-term professional development doesn't work as instructional strategies rarely change. (Goodwin, 2015). While this research is relatively new, ask any teacher about the effectiveness of professional development and you will understand that these findings aren't surprising.
In the midst of Covid-19 and the idea of learning online becoming mainstream, the role of the teacher and expectations of instruction will be forever changed. If professional learning strategies did not have any effect in "normal" times, that's not likely to change in this unprecedented era. If any time is the right time to completely revamp how professional learning is done, it is now. As teachers come together to share online teaching strategies and tools of how to bridge the gap between face-to-face instruction and virtual teaching strategies, professional learning needs to adapt and give teachers the opportunity to build this knowledge by bring hand-on opportunities for learning.
Allison Gulamhussein at the Center for Public Education writes about the 5 Principles of Effective Professional Development.
Professional learning should be an ongoing process to allow teachers the time to understand, implement, and master any new teaching strategies. Studies show that teachers who receive over 80 hours of professional development where significantly more likely change their teaching strategies.
Professional learning should provide support for teachers as they implement new teaching strategies. Support should include scaffolding for specific challenges and assistance when frustration arises during the implementation of new teaching methods.
Professional learning should be an active, hands-on experience that engages teachers and allows teachers to practice instructional strategies by problem solving and "doing". Just like students, teachers learn best when they are given varied ways to learn the concept as to when they are just passive listeners.
Professional learning should provide modeling of the new teaching practices for the implementation to be effective. Teachers need to see how the methods are used successfully in a class of real students as a guide and as an exemplar to help teachers identify what the strategy will look like in practice.
Professional learning needs to be specific for the teachers needs. Meaning, the strategies taught should be specific to the teachers content and grade-level.
My call to action, as seen above, introduces all of these professional development principles as a road map that can guide us in this new teaching era post-Covid. I used Google Slides and Free Music to bring this story to life. I found headlines from newspapers across the United States to help the audience understand the new challenges that we face in education. I chose not to have any spoken audio clips as a way for the presentation to be more of an emotional experience so it's important that the sound is on.
References:
Goodwin, B. (2015). Research Says/Does Teacher Collaboration Promote Teacher Growth? Educational Leadership, 73(4), 82–83. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec15/vol73/num04/Does-Teacher-Collaboration-Promote-Teacher-Growth%C2%A2.aspx
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/2013-176_ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PLAN OUTLINE
My plan for Professional Learning is to create a Content/Digital Leader for each team of the four core departments. These teachers will receive content and grade specific training on how to incorporate blended learning and digital literacy in lessons. They will model these tools in a classroom setting for the other teachers in their team and provide support for the implementation of these strategies.