My take on Professional Learning

When it comes to Professional Development opportunities, it often comes with a negative connotation. Many teachers and educators can often approach the situation with a fixed mindset (like myself) because they do not understand why they have to attend the presentation when it does not adequately meet their needs. Learning often occurs when the learners are actively engaged and involved in making meaningful connections to the material rather than passively obtaining the information from a lecture-style presentation. Studies show that, on average, learners who are taught using active learning learn twice as much as students taught using direct instruction (Andrews et al., 2011). It is essential to take the time to address learners' needs and activate their prior knowledge to be effective. Educators need to have the opportunity to receive the proper training and support needed to fully understand how to implement sufficient active learning strategies for their students.

Collaboration is often defined as having the opportunity to work together for a common purpose. According to research from Murray, Ma, & Mazur, (2009), peer-coaching collaboration can be supportive and positive, but many times it lacks the overall depth needed to push teachers to be more productive and thriving in the classroom. More recent research from Jao (2013), found that when teachers were given probing questions for their collaborative conversations for observing various teaching strategies, peer coaching collaboration was more insightful and beneficial.

It is necessary to establish an environment on campus where teachers can build trusting relationships with their peers and colleagues. This allows them the opportunity to feel comfortable and assured when giving or receiving feedback. It is also essential to meet teachers where they are and ensuring that their needs are being met. Professional development does not need to be advertised as a universal "fix". Teachers must be successfully equipped with the tools and resources they need to be effective in the classroom. It is also imperative that the school leaders take the time to participate in ongoing learning opportunities so that they are familiar with the information and can accurately encourage staff. Providing staff with ongoing learning opportunities or follow-ups with peer coaching helps to support teachers throughout the process of implementing new information. Teachers are more likely to "buy-in" to the process and approach professional development opportunities with a growth mindset when they can effectively see success in the strategies and programs.

From the resources I have read this week I have learned that as the presenter, it will be essential to indicate that I am taking the time to meet the audience's needs. It will also be important to give the audience the skills and resources they will need to be successful by making meaningful connections. I need to make sure the audience understands what it is that I can do for them.

A little bit about my back story.. I have always loved technology and getting to see what a great tool it can be for teachers. I have been with my district for almost five years now. When I first started four years ago, everything was paper or textbook-based. Unfortunately, we had little to no technology resources (no access to computers, or smart boards, or anything.. I was dying on the inside). I struggled with making connections to students to keep them engaged and on task. I fell in love with play-based learning in undergrad, and that was successful in some areas of the curriculum but was lacking in other areas. I was not making the connections I needed. We have slowly implemented 1 to 1 devices over the last three years. Having the opportunity to implement technology in the classroom has drastically changed my classroom environment. My students are thrilled to learn so many different things and are far more engaged and excited about learning. Data and assessment information is right at our fingertips, and I can better and more adequately meet students' needs.

After asking around on campus this past week, the most significant need mentioned was the need for more professional learning on google classroom specifically and gaining an understanding of all the tools and resources that it can offer. Since we are implementing google classroom to reach and serve our virtual students, I could see the need for this immediately. With many of my colleagues lacking the fundamental understandings of the application, I feel that this would be a tremendous professional development learning opportunity to utilize on campus.

My call to action will be focused on administrators and providing them with evidence of the importance of implementing this professional learning opportunity to equip our faculty with the tools they need to be successful now and in the future, so both presently and long term. With their continued support for the staff, I believe they would see a steady increase in student achievement and the use of best practices in the classroom. With technology comes many roadblocks, unfortunately like a poor internet connection or lack of overall experience. This could be an ongoing PL if needed, and I will assure faculty and staff that I am available to support them or follow up with them at any time. This week, many teachers have mentioned that with more ongoing training on this application and future technology applications and resources, they would be more willing to buy-in to the process!

Although this is very general and what I am thinking is a good place to start, I believe that as I continue to build my presentation I will continue to fully develop my ideas! I am looking for any and all feedback. Thank you!

References:

Andrews, T. M., Leonard, M. J., Colgrove, C. A., & Kalinowski, S. T. (2011). Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses. CBE

Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 394-405. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-07-0061

Goodwin, B. (2015). Research says/does teacher collaboration promote teacher growth? Educational Leadership, 73(4), 82-83. Retrieved from https://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 https://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/2013-176_ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf

Duarte, N. (2009, December 16). Five Simple Rules for Creating World Changing Presentations. [YouTube.] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT9GGmundag.

Duarte, N. (2013). Resonate: present visual stories that transform audiences. John Wiley & Sons.