ASK PRETTY MUCH ANY TEACHER ABOUT PD AT THEIR SCHOOL AND THEY WILL LIKELY ROLL THEIR EYES. MOST OF US IN EDUCATION HAVE EXPERIENCED A MIND-NUMBING LECTURE DURING A DAY WHEN STUDENTS ARE AT HOME AND YOU’RE STUCK AT SCHOOL LEARNING ABOUT A NEW READING PROGRAM OR DATA SYSTEM. INTERESTING, FOR SURE, BUT SO DISCONNECTED FROM YOU, YOUR STUDENTS, AND YOUR LIFE AS A TEACHER THAT IT’S LIKELY YOU’LL FORGET WHAT YOU LEARNED THE MOMENT YOU WALK OUT THE DOOR. DISTRICTS CONTINUE TO SPEND THOUSANDS ON THIS KIND OF PD, WITHOUT GREAT RESULTS.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SHOULD BE CHERISHED TIME. IF WE WANT SCHOOLS TO EVOLVE, BECOMING MORE STUDENT-CENTERED, VIBRANT, CONNECTED PLACES, OUR PD NEEDS TO HELP TEACHERS EXPERIENCE THAT KIND OF LEARNING TOO.
We run professional learning experiences for districts and schools around the country, so we’re highly invested in making dynamic PD. We want PD to work and work well. We have spent over a decade figuring out what works best, why, and how. (We even contributed to a book on it!) Here are the highlights.
Unlocking the Future of Learning by Redesigning Educator Learning
Written by Adam Rubin & Ali Brown
Why DOES PD NEED TO CHANGE?
The field of education is constantly shifting and evolving in order to best respond to societal norms and demands. The world around us changes, and so should our schools. Our society is faster-pace, technology has disrupted many elements of life. Our world is globalized. We are connected to each other in ways that would not have been possible in the past because of the limits of geography and invention. Our schools need to prepare kids for our current and future world, which means letting go of antiquated approaches to both student and teacher education. We need to seek a forward-thinking rather than backward-glancing approach to teacher training and provide educators with PD they need to unlock learning for students.
Watch this short video for more on why school needs to change.
CURRENT TRENDS
Affecting teachers and students
TECHNOLOGY - Technology has profoundly changed our world in a few decades, giving us new ways to approach learning. For example, artificial intelligence can help teachers create personalized education plans based on a student’s interests and abilities. Content, research, and learning materials are more accessible than ever before, so the focus, rather than on memorizing information, should be on how to apply what is learned. Students can now quickly Google search a topic. For example: “What is a theme of To Kill A Mockingbird?” “What happens when we mix two elements?” The focus should be on what they do with that information once they access it.
COGNITIVE SCIENCE ADVANCES - We now have much more evidence on the factors that create an optimal learning environment. These include: giving students opportunities for movement and breaks throughout the day; starting classes later to allow students to sleep in; cutting down on the length of vacations to bolster student retention of material; and more.
ON-DEMAND and GIG ECONOMY - The world of work is changing. Many people no longer work in a traditional environment for a large corporation, but instead engage in the gig economy, coming together for a time period to get a project done and then dispersing. This shift is also connected to the “on-demand” atmosphere: receiving the resource or tool you need, when you need it.
DEPTH not BREADTH - There is a shift away from covering as much content as possible, towards delving deeper into and mastering a concept or skill. Part of this movement is also rethinking assessments to focus less on coverage of material and more on how to apply that material authentically in a “real world” context.
ECOSYSTEM of LEARNING - Rather than focusing simply on education that takes place within a school, there is a shift towards “informal” learning, which can happen in any number of places and does not have to be within the school day. Flipped classrooms, extracurriculars, and enrichment activities all serve as rich spaces for learning.