Optimal Professional Learning

Professional Learning

This week’s post takes a look at professional learning- the use of technology to facilitate interactive professional learning experiences, transcending space and time. I’m fortunate to be part of a professional learning community (PLC), as I’m constantly learning from, and with, my wonderful cohort and professors in the Endicott College M. Ed. programme. Not only do my colleagues bring such a wide and varied range of experiences to our collective learning, our professors also bring decades of school, district, and accreditation leadership and wisdom. We meet in person for two thirds of the course, and for one third of the course we embrace technology and embark on online learning journeys.

After reading a few articles this week, I invite you to reflect on my thoughts on the following question: As a leader, how would I like professional learning to look in my (hypothetical, idealised) school, and how will TPACK and SAMR be integrated as part of this plan?

First, make sure the right questions are being asked

Jill Berg posits that the best questions to ask before embarking on a PL odyssey are:

1. What do the students need?
2. What expertise is needed?
3. What roles are needed?

This sounds pretty solid to me. Number one above should be backed up with data and research. Placing students first and foremost is a no-brainer- remember, the ultimate goal of PL is to improve teachers’ abilities to improve student learning (have a look at Carol Tomlinson’s work for more on this). Number two ensures that staff expertise is valued and recognised. And number three (asking for volunteers) ensures that staff have involvement in the entirety of the programme. All three are fairly essential prerequisites for any change initiative. I’m happy to point out that my current school actions these priorities pretty well.

Next, ensure trust, vision and support

Here’s another prerequisite that also applies to any school initiative. School leadership needs to provide unwavering support here, especially if - as noted by Berg - the PL priorities are competing with other school priorities. Staff need to feel trusted so that they can take calculated risks without fear, and so that they receive constructive feedback with a positive attitude. A clear vision for the PLC - complementing the school’s vision - provides the anchor for this trust. I like what Berg has to say- it complements all of my previous leadership research on implementing change and new initiatives.

Then, take care of the nuts and bolts

So, what will the PLC look like in action? Let’s always bear in mind that teachers prefer to work in many different styles. Therefore, a PLC must incorporate this consideration into its plan. Some teachers might prefer to learn by creating and listening to podcasts, using apps like Anchor, while others might prefer presentation types such Padlet. There’s no one size that fits all. Even better, let’s listen to teacher voice (thanks, Allison Rodman), then TPACK things and involve the teachers in the design of the learning, ensuring that their pedagogical, content, and technological knowledge intersect in that magical zone. As part of this design, the PLC members could be guided by the following questions, which will enable them to hit the redefinition aspect of SAMR, creating tasks which would engage their higher order thinking skills, and thus providing a model to engage the higher order thinking skills of the students in their classrooms:

What is the new task? Will any portion of the original task be retained? How is the new task uniquely made possible by the new technology? How does it contribute to my design?

These are questions that I would love to introduce to PL conversations at my current setting.

Let’s provide some flexibility in the delivery of learning sessions, and give the adult learners plenty of choice. This is one of the great advantages of tech- it can be used to help meet the logistical needs of adult professional learners who are juggling full time careers with families and study.

The PLC will engage in socially constructivist learning activities, with content located in the realm of where the adult learners are right now, with outcomes defined by specific descriptors and criteria, as advocated by Rodman and Tomlinson. This would provide opportunities to situate learning within zones of proximal development as time progresses.

How does that sound? Realistic, or a little too aspirational? Are there any other models that might fit this PLC?

I’ll finish with a quote from Pernille Ripp on the use of Twitter. This reflection really does sum up the fantastic potential of the use of social media in education:

I know there is a whole group of educators worldwide who share many of my same ideals or have much better ideas than I could ever dream of. I am grateful that they share their practices in order for all of us to learn.