What Really Works?

Professional Learning Edition

In my time of teaching, I would say that I identify as a mid and high-flyer tech educator. Mid is under the circumstances that I never seem to have the appropriate amount of time to incorporate technology in the ways that I would like to. Now I am very tech savvy which would lead me to believe I am a high-flyer tech educator as well. I've come up with these cool ideas but finding time to implement them while also staying on track with the district's instructional calendar can make it pretty difficult.

As far as professional learning, it is often ineffective because it tends to be one-size-fits-all, lacks relevance to teachers' immediate needs, and doesn’t provide ongoing support. In addition, PL is sometimes disconnected from the realities of the classroom and doesn’t encourage active learning or collaboration which leads many educators to sit and listen to a lot of information with no practice. This also caters to the level of enthusiasm teachers have behind professional learning.

Regarding my district/campus, I do not have insight into exactly where the PL dollars are allocated. Many times the resources given don’t always align with the specific needs of our teachers. Sometimes, the focus is on compliance with state or district requirements rather than addressing the challenges we face in our classrooms. The Mirage report is important because it reveals that despite significant investment in PL, the impact on teacher growth and student outcomes is often minimal. Understanding these findings helps us reflect on the shortcomings of current PL models and the need for more thoughtful, targeted approaches. The report pushes us to ask critical questions about how PL is designed and implemented.

Overall, I believe that if we become more intentional with professional learning by involving staff in potential questionnaires or polls to vote on what they feel the next professional learning should be about then PL would be more effective. However, there is also a strong importance in the follow-up and having hands-on practice in implementing what was taught during the PL.

References

Hill, H. (2015). Review of the mirage: Confronting the hard truth about our quest for teacher development. National Education Policy Center. https://www.greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT-Hill-TNTP.pdf

TEDx Talks. (2013, November 6). Empowering the teacher technophobe: Kristin Daniels at TEDxBurnsvilleED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiNcIFJTCU