More than ever, there is a need for effective professional learning (PL) opportunities for K-12 educators to help address the many new challenges caused by the pandemic, as well as long-standing issues. Yet many K-12 educators feel burnout and prefer to opt out of any optional PL. At the same time, experiences with online PL during the pandemic have made us aware of new possibilities about how PL could be designed and experienced. A two-part series of Zoom conversations on this theme was held in January 2023 with representatives of several consortium members – to better understand the problem as well as inform decisions about what PL to offer moving forward. Here you can find key information and insights shared during these events – including excerpts from the recorded presentations.
Understanding current needs and challenges:
Digitally-rich professional learning options:
Part 1- Understanding current needs and challenges for PL in K-12 schools
Introduction
Dave Miller, Associate Director, Center for Learning in the Digital Age, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester
Provides an overview and rationale for the session, and brief introduction of all the “conversations starters” that provided the brief presentations that follow
Pandemic-caused trauma: A counseling perspective
Scott McGuinness, Assistant Professor of Counseling, University of Rochester
It is important to realize that the pandemic has caused trauma for educators and students alike – resulting in increased depression, anxiety, anger, loneliness, fatigue and diminished interpersonal skills.
Excessive use of electronic devices has further exacerbated the situation. There is also, however, the potential for “post-traumatic growth”. Understanding and taking into consideration of this reality should inform the design of future PL. Providing opportunities to develop coping skills and self-care will also be important.
Why professional development is needed now more than ever: A superintendent’s perspective
Mary Grow, Superintendent, East Irondequoit CSD
While the pandemic forced schools to use technology, much of it was at the level of “substitution” to make remote instruction possible. This may have actually stalled the pre-pandemic efforts of many schools towards leveraging technology to improve and even transform instruction – thus calling for PL that can help teachers appreciate and use the potential of technology to better differentiate and assess learning, communicate with families, etc. PL will also be needed to help teachers deal with students’ new trauma-based behaviors caused by the pandemic.
PD-related challenges experienced at the district and building level: A director of technology’s perspective
Cory Allen, Spencerport CSD
Since the pandemic, offering PL for teachers has presented additional challenges, given new demands on teachers’ time as well as difficulty in securing substitute teachers. This has called for PL offerings that are shorter, offer choices, are job-embedded and/or provide more flexibility through asynchronous components. Districts should also carefully evaluate their priorities for PL, as well as how time during the school day may be used more effectively for PL.
Opportunities and challenges of grant-supported PD: A BOCES perspective
Gordon Baxter, EDUTECH
State grants (such as Smart Start and Learning Technology) are providing great opportunities for externally-funded PL to support integration of technology and/or the implementation of the new Computer Science & Digital Fluency standards – yet recruiting participants has been a big challenge, despite extra compensation. Teachers’ fatigue and time pressures, along with the difficulty of coordinating communication and scheduling across multiple districts, have emerged as major obstacles.
Teachers’ needs and challenges: A teacher’s perspective
Kristen Waldon, NSF Noyce Master Teacher Fellow, K teacher and teacher leader, Dansville CSD
Key teachers’ needs and challenges to take into consideration when designing PL include:
- Teacher burnout (and not just because of the pandemic)
- Little “free” time for PL (because of other duties)
- Data overload (student data is taking time with little return)
- No autonomy for teachers to choose what PL to engage in
- Constant change in priorities
Reporting out from group discussions
Selected added insights:
- The biggest challenges are to find time rather than money for PL
- Need for more teacher’s choice
- PL needs to be “meaningful”, i.e., connected with teachers’ work
- We should find ways to leverage the rich expertise of teachers and teacher leaders
- Rapid changes in technology create unique needs for PL
Part 2 – Digitally-rich professional learning options
Introduction
Dave Miller, Associate Director, Center for Learning in the Digital Age, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester
Provides an overview and rationale for the session, followed by a brief summary of key insights gained from Part 1, and then an introduction of each conversation starter
Hybrid school-based mini-courses
Nicole Charles, Elementary Teacher & Teacher Leader, East Irondequoit CSD
Example: 10-hour course on “Becoming an Anti-racist Educator” for a group of teachers in the same school (four 1-hour in-person sessions + 6 hours asynchronous work in-between) Insights: Importance of choosing carefully what to do in-person vs. asynchronously; sensitive issues were best discussed in person; participants were appreciative of the combination of modalities
Fully asynchronous self-paced learning modules for teachers
Cory Allen, Chief Information Officer, Spencerport CSD
NOTE: Asynchronous PL preceded the pandemic, due to challenge of securing subs AND teachers’ preference – and continues to be the preference for many teachers.
Example: District-wide fully asynchronous “Book Study” run on Schoology
Insights:
- Teachers’ enrolment in PL has increased for asynchronous modules
- Important to meet the teachers “where they are” – both in term of topics and format/scheduling
- A first in-person session may be helpful to launch the PL
Online Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
Jennifer Migliore, Extension Associate, Institute on Employment and Disability, Cornell University
Example: Facilitated online PLC of teachers from different schools that never met before
Insights:
- Importance of building personal connections and trust first
- How information is managed is important – value of a Google folder as a place to store all agendas and shared resources
- Ensuring common vocabulary and background knowledge facilitates participant communication and collaboration – including checks for understanding
- Value of unstructured time to build personal connections
- “Case-study methods”, where participants also brought in student work to discuss, is very powerful
- Prepare for potential tech issues
- Facilitation is important – and could be shared
- Scheduling is challenging and needs to be carefully managed
- Pre-planning is vital
Online coaching
Cynthia Carson, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester
Example: Online content-focus coaching cycles developed for rural middle school teachers as part of an NSF-funded project (SyncOn)
Insights:
- Unlike in-person coaching, online coaching requires a combination of synchronous meetings and asynchronous review of classroom videos by both teacher and coach
- Building the relationship with the coach is critical
- Online coaching increases access – as it does not require local expertise, it is more cost-effective and flexible
- Annotating classroom videos allows for new powerful ways of reflecting on one’s teaching practice
Online Year-long Programs: Combining modalities
Raffaella Borasi, Director of the Center for Learning in the Digital Age, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester
Example: Year-long “Smart Start” program for K-8 teachers, including a 3-day equivalent summer institute (three 2.5-hour Zoom sessions + ~10 hours asynchronous work), facilitated online PLCs throughout the school year, a few follow-up 1.5-hour project-wide Zoom meetings, and a final online “Showcase” of participants’ work
Insights:
- Value of combining synchronous and asynchronous work – although common expectations for asynchronous work need to be established
- Online modality allows for “summer institutes” to be held during the school year
- Value of developing community for each PLC within the Summer Institute
- PLC facilitators are critical and can play multiple roles
- Challenge of scheduling project-wide meetings during the school year
- Recruitment and retention are challenging due to the long-term commitment required by a year-long program
Reporting out from group discussions
Selected added insights:
- Importance of choosing the right modality based on each PL’s goals and topics
- Context matters – as teachers in the same school can more easily get together in person, while online is key if participants are from schools distant from each other
- Value of giving teachers’ choice
- Value of establish expectations and norms upfront
- Importance to meeting teachers where they are
- Importance of aligning PL with district’s priorities
- Combining multiple modalities can make the most of their unique advantages as well as address participants’ different preferences
- Teachers’ turnover requires for more and special PL
- There is great value in working with a community for sustained time – despite the additional challenges long-term PL presents
- The pandemic put us in a unique position to rethink PL in K-12 schools