Blog Post 1

KEY CONCEPTS
"What Works in Professional Development?"
by Thomas R. Guskey and Kwang Suk Yoon

• Training is NOT Professional Development  - If teachers are not strengthening content knowledge or enhancing pedagogical practice they are being trained not professionally developed (pg. 497).
• That which is monitored gets done. That which gets done brings change. - "significant amounts of structured and sustained follow up after tha main professional development activities" is needed to ensure effective practices are being implemented in the way that will impact student outcomes (pg. 497).
• Prove efficacy with quality data. - Data should demonstrate efficacy of professional development in multiple contexts, not just a single study of a small isolated population (pg. 498).

"Mort Elementary Community Partnership School 2019 Exemplary Professional Development School Award Winner"
by Rebecca West Burns, Jennifer Jacobs, David Allsopp et. al.

• It takes more than money to be successful. - It takes a significant amount of human capital and relationship building/sustaining to implement a structure focused on impacting student achievement (pg. 4)
• Experiences matter.  - Providing educators differentiated learning experiences supports their individual needs, models what they should be doing for students, and can increase buy-in from resistors as they experience the benefits (pg. 7). 
• Recognition matters. - Recognizing and celebrating educators as they continue to be life- long learners communicates that an organization values their efforts and sets a great example for students, parents, and the community (pg. 5).

"A Revolution in One Classroom: The Case of Mrs. Oublier"
by David K. Cohen​

• Content knowledge AND Communication Skills Count. - When teachers lack deep content knowledge and strong communication skills that allow them to admit a lack of knowledge without damaging their credibility student learning suffers (pg. 322). 
• Support and Resources Matter. - Teachers need to be provided instructional support and resources that model for them what they should provide for students. They also need support to apply the Growth Mindset belief that mistakes are learning opportunities not endings to themselves (pg. 327).

"First-Order, Second-order, and Third-order Change and Organization Development Interventions: A Cognitive Approach"    

• Types of Change as Elements in I Do, We Do, You Do Framework of Instruction .   
  • First Order Change = Warm Up.  There's room to deepen or extended what's known, but not the space to make radical changes (pg.486).
  • Second Order Change = I Do. The change agent drives the direction of the change and the organization follows along (pg. 488). 
  • Third Order Change = We Do and You Do. The change agent helps organization develop ability to identify needed change and supports their implementation. They shift into the role of facilitator (pg. 488). 

CONNECTIONS 

• Begin With the End in Mind. Change agents should have a goal and a plan to achieve that goal. Change is hard, and having a vision and a road map will allows an organization to stay focused on their destination and not be derailed by detours that arise.
• Quality Counts. - Professional Learning opportunities must be well planned, collaborative, and focus on improving learning outcomes by improving educator content knowledge and pedagogical practice. 
• Pay Attention. -  Planning and implementation should be done carefully and leverage all available resources to ensure success in learning, mastery, implementation, and continuity of use.  If teachers aren't supported in learning and adapting to new practices they will revert to familiar routines even if they know those routines don't maximize opportunities for student success.
  

QUESTIONS​

• What resources exist for providing professional learning opportunities for teachers aimed at keeping their expertise in the classroom rather than preparing them to leave the classroom for coaching or administrative positions?
• How can professional development be implemented to foster educator growth and convince them that no matter their education level or experience they will never truly "arrive at the other shore" as Mrs. O felt she had because the world in which we live is always evolving?