Like many of you, I have been fortunate to participate in a host of professional learning (PL) opportunities - many quite wonderful and energizing, a few unrewarding and downright painful, and others just fine but not overly impactful. For close to thirty years, I have been keenly interested in designing and facilitating high-quality professional learning (PL) experiences for adult learners, as well as high-quality learning experiences for children/youth. I find it helpful to tease out and study the nuances that make for impactful adult learning. I am particularly keen on testing out various learning designs - so much so that my husband and I purchased commercial property and designed a professional learning and event center! :) We are working to put into action what we have learned about adult learning and brain-friendly learning environments in the space we have created! More about that in another blog post, including our intentional use of psychology of space and adult learning principles.
I am privileged to teach a graduate course I designed for our Teacher Leadership Master's degree program at the University of Southern Maine titled Professional Learning in Schools. As such, I have been reflecting on some of my own experiences with professional development/learning. One of the most impactful, positive PL experiences I had was a three-year experience with a coach from Thoughtful Education who taught us high-leverage strategies. At the time I was an 8th grade teacher and a team leader, working on my doctorate in Teacher Leadership. Our administration wrote a grant and hired an instructional coach (Susan) from the Chicago area who flew into our rural community for up to a week each time she visited (four to six times/year). During the first year, eager teacher leader volunteers from each of the four grade levels and content areas at our middle school formed a cohort of fourteen teachers. We met together with Susan for a full-day of instruction around a particular strategy; at least one of our administrators attended the sessions with Susan as well so they could more fully support the work. Then, during the second day, we worked on planning how we would implement the strategy into our upcoming lessons. We received lots of feedback from Susan and our colleagues. During the remainder of the week, Susan would visit our individual classes and provide feedback about our lessons and how we might consider refining and fine-tuning the use of the strategy. We were encouraged to talk to our students about their experiences and get feedback from them about what was working for them and what wasn't. We would meet with Susan after school for an hour of debriefing. We also had common resources (two books and a set of smaller packets for each strategy we learned).
In between visits from Susan, we met together as a group every few weeks to share how we were implementing the strategy and what our key learnings were. I and other cohort members facilitated those meetings; the focus of which was Teachers Talking about Teaching - TTT (nowadays I would call it TTTL and add Learning to the end). Each of the cohort members shared the strategy we had dove into with Susan at our grade level and content level meetings, including examples of how we and others were using it in our classrooms. This generated a lot of interest from those not involved in the cohort (in fact during the second year another cohort was added to the initiative, and during the third year, yet another). At each of our monthly whole school faculty meetings, two or three different teachers would share how they were using the strategy. I learned a host of impactful strategies that I still use today, gained invaluable insight from my colleagues about the power of collective efficacy, and learned to really gather and listen to feedback from my students.
As I reflect on the varied professional learning opportunities I have experienced for the last three decades both as a participant and facilitator, I am reminded of how fortunate I have been to be part of a profession centered around continuous learning! While I have learned something worthwhile from the vast majority of the PL in which I have participated, there are some consistent elements that make it easier for me to learn and apply my learning in impactful ways. Sit-and-get, one-size-fits-all, one-and-done professional development rarely, if ever, works.
For me, professional learning has to be ongoing; be job-embedded or applied; provide time to think, reflect, discuss and collaborate with colleagues, and to practice what I am learning; incorporate elements of choice/autonomy; be relevant; model effective teaching strategies (live what you preach!); honor my prior knowledge and experiences, have a clear and compelling why/purpose; and actively engage and inspire me. Many of these are tenets of adult learning theory/andragogy and are addressed in the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning (https://standards.learningforward.org/). Yes, there are actual standards for PL! Imagine how impactful professional development could be if every administration team and facilitator adhered to these standards! More about adult learning theory and the Learning Forward Standards in a later blog post. Additionally, environmental factors like natural light, adequate space, flexible seating, hydration and snacks (!), movement, lack of distractions, appropriate climate control (not too hot, not too cold), etc. also play a role in the effectiveness of the professional learning experience, as do emotional/psychological factors. A podcaster I enjoy, Jim Kwik, says that all learning is state dependent (as in emotional state); this statement has caused me pause as I think about the importance of SEL (social-emotional learning) and psychological safety not just for student learning but also for staff learning. Professional learning is too important to the culture of our institutions, the collective efficacy of our educators, and our students' subsequent learning/achievement to leave it to chance, poor organization/planning, inadequate skill sets and knowledge, distrust in educators, and reliance on faulty past history or myths of effective strategies for adult learning. Now is the time for all educational leaders to invest time, energy, and resources in designing high-quality, meaningful PL for (with) all their staffs. Much is at stake.
As you reflect on your own professional learning (PL) experiences, what stands out to you as elements of PL that work well for you? What about for your colleagues and others in your organization? Consider the whole gamut of conditions that help create or hinder impactful learning. I would love to hear your thoughts on and experiences with PL - the good, the bad, and the ugly! And most importantly, I encourage you to be a catalyst in your school/organization in promoting high-quality professional learning tied to what we know about adult learning done well not based simply on past practice, convenience, and perpetuated myths about PL.