Developing Effective
Professional Learning
According to the article, Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability, most professional development today is ineffective (Gulamhussein, 2013). It neither changes teacher practice nor improves student learning. Gulamhussein (2013), states that in a recent study, researchers found that while 90% of teachers reported participating in professional development, most of those teachers also reported that it was totally useless. According Gulamhussein (2013), research suggests that effective professional development abides by five principles; duration, support, active participation, modeling, and being content specific.
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This page is dedicated to the Professional Learning Plan that my colleagues, Veronica Balli, Ileana Reyna, and I created to implement Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education in our school, Victor Fields Elementary. In order to create an effective Professional Learning plan, we embarked in a 3 step process. Step 1, was a call to action presentation to promote a Go & Show approach to professional learning. Step 2 was to create an outline that provided an overview for the PL sessions we will provide in order to implement our innovation plan. Lastly, Step 3 was a fully prepared PL session that will introduce our staff to blended learning. Read below to learn more about how we use the 5 Principles of Effective Professional Development to promote and implement Blended Learning at our campus.
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Resources
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
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning [eBook]. Creative Commons License. http://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.pdf ​
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Step 1
Promoting a Go & Show PL
Although teachers attend countless hours of Professional Learning every year to continue to learn, grow, and foster a learning mindset, most sessions are considered ineffective. Most current professional learning sessions are delivered in a one size fits all “Sit & Get” approach where new teachers are often left confused and overwhelmed, while veteran teachers are often left frustrated with the redundant information. Just like students deserve personalized and differentiated instruction, so do our teachers. We believe we can reach and grow more teachers, and in turn reach more students, with a “Go and Show” professional blended learning approach that provides teachers with Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic professional learning opportunities.
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Step 2
Planning Alternative Professional Learning
As we move forward into the implementation phase of our innovation project, Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education, we, the Blended Learning Implementation Team (BLIT), want to make sure to deliver an alternative professional learning plan to our Administration and K-5 Reading teachers. By including the 5 Principles of Effective Professional Development, we will ensure that we provide ongoing support, engagement, modeling, and learning goals that target the specific needs of our campus staff and students. Our professional learning outline is directed toward introducing and implementing our blended learning initiative while supporting our staff and students through the change.
Step 3
PL Plan
When developing our Professional Learning Plan, our objective was to create a significant learning environment for our Administration and K-5 Reading teachers, like the one we envision for our students. We understood that if we expected our teachers to invest their time in implementing a successful blended learning environment in their classrooms, our PL needed to replicate and model it.
Our PL Plan aims to deepen our teachers' knowledge of blended learning by fully submerging them in a differentiated learning environment, one that is tailored to their needs. Our learners, Administration and K-5 Reading Teachers, will actively participate in a blended learning environment that has been strategically planned.
