Designing Effective Professional Learning Experiences

CHRISTINA STEINBACHER-REED

Designing Effective Professional Learning Experiences

Good Morning!

Please take the Instructional Coaches’ Needs Survey. Include your name so I can provide you with differentiated support.

New additions to the group

Cool-Stuff-Share – Matt DeWire

Wiki - ????

A Quick Review

PIIC 4 Elements Penn Literacy Network (PLN) http://www.pacoaching.org/ Resource Guide -

http://www.instituteforinstructionalcoaching.org/

Roles of the CoachUnderstanding the Change Process - CBAM

Today’s Essential Questions

What are the needs of adult learners?

What are the characteristics of effective professional development?

What are Learning Forward’s standards for professional learning?

How do you design an effective presentation?

Familiar feeling?

Planning PD On the Fly

Name that Tune!

Four Corners

Identify the song that describes your comfort level with facilitating whole group professional development

Which song best describes your comfort level?

Help!

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

I Can See Clearly Now

Change the World

Talk Amongst Yourselves

In your group, introduce yourself and your role as it relates to providing professional development to teachers

Explain to your group why you chose this corner

What are your needs as an adult learner?

Ink-Pair-Share

What are the needs of adult learners?

Knowles’ Five assumptions:

1. Dependent to independent to self-directed

2. Variety of experiences serve as resources in acquiring new knowledge

3. Readiness to learn becomes increasingly related to the developmental tasks of social roles

What are the needs of adult learners?

4. Perspectives change from delayed to immediate application and from content-centered to practice-centered

5. Increased by internal factors rather than external factors

IMPACT 6 Refocusing 5 Collaboration 4 Consequence

TASK3 Management

SELF2Personal1 Informational0 Awareness

How does adult learning theory relate to CBAM?

Generational Value Differences

Silence Generation (Age 66-83) Boomer Generation (Age 47-65)

Gen X (Age 31-46)

Millennial (Age 18-30)

Principles of Designing Professional Learning Experiences

The Decision Making Cycle

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Cambourne’s Conditions of Learning

Gradual Release of Responsibility

The Decision Making Cycle

Planned based on teachers’

needs

Teach while checking for

understanding

Reflect based on evidence of

teacher understanding

and the effect on classroom

instruction

Vygotsky’s ZPD

Teacher’s thrive when instruction is aimed within their ZPD (instructional level)

What can teachers already do?

What can your teachers almost do?

Based on what your teachers have been working on, what makes sense to do next?

If the coach chooses to work on something too far outside the ZPD, teachers are likely to become frustrated.

If the coach chooses to work on something that is easy for the teacher, teachers are likely to become bored.

The delicate dance of choosing the right focus for a whole group of teachers during professional development is the same dance teachers perform as they design lessons

Your principal has asked you to do a presentation with the entire school during the next in-service day. She has asked you to focus the presentation on implementing content-based literacy strategies. You feel as though some teachers already have a handle on this while others are ‘using but confusing’. There are a few teachers in which this concept will be totally new to them. Keeping in mind ZPD, how will you approach this presentation?

Gradual Release of Responsibility

I do, you watchI do, you helpYou do, I helpYou do independently

You have been assigned to work with three new teachers to teach them summarizing strategies. Given the constraints of your current coaching role, how can you best teach them this strategy keeping in mind the GRRM?

I do –

We do –

You do -

What are the characteristics of effective professional development?

Revisit your Type 1 writing on the most powerful professional development experience that you have engaged in during your career.

Compare this experience to the needs of adult learners, ZPD, and GRRM.

How does it compare?

Characteristics of effective professional development – T/F

____ Focuses on specific subject related content ____ Focuses on pedagogy (teaching practices) ____ Is collaborative ____ Sustained and on-going over time ____ Connected to other aspects of school

change ____ Includes job-embedded support ____ Includes opportunities for reflection and

inquiry

Return to your description of a powerful professional learning experience.

Which characteristics of effective professional learning applied to this experience?

Which of these characteristics is the most important?

____ Focuses on specific subject related content ____ Focuses on pedagogy (teaching practices) ____ Is collaborative ____ Sustained and on-going over time ____ Connected to other aspects of school

change ____ Includes job-embedded support ____ Includes opportunities for reflection and

inquiry

What are Learning Forward’s standards for professional learning?

Learning Communities Leadership Resources Data Learning Designs Implementation Outcomes

What about resistant learners?

Most rejection of new learning occurs when: It is imposed (McLaughlin, 1990)Is in the context of multiple, contradictory, and

overwhelming innovations (Werner, 1988)Feel excluded from the design (Fullan, 1991)Is not related to the context of the teachers’ work

(Little, 1993) It experienced alone and participants fear

criticism from colleagues as elevating themselves on a pedestal (Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991)

Think about a resistive learner with whom you work.

What do you think is the root cause of their resistance?

With this root cause in mind, how might you plan for or approach this learner in a whole-group presentation?

How do you design an effective presentation?

Qualities of a good teacher transfer to qualities of a good presenter

Designing a good presentation is much like designing a good lesson plan

Remember ZPD and GRRM

Before

Needs Survey Logistics Audience Know your objectives (start with the end in

mind)Know how this fits into the overall school

improvement planKnow your audience (to the best of your

ability)

During

Establish protocols as a appropriate Be flexible…to a point Be clear on the objectives Provide some level of voice and choice Provide opportunities for collaboration,

movement, and formative assessment GRRM

After

Meaningful expectations for follow-up

Meaningful reflection

Meaningful evaluation

Give One, Get One

Return to your three column note-taking sheet

Add any final thoughts

Share your thoughts with a partner

Conference Call

Based on today’s learning, complete the “Conference Call”

Please include your name so I can follow-up with you if needed.

On-Line Tools for Planning Professional Learning Experiences

Team Time

Meet with your district team to apply today’s learning to your current situation.