Recommended Implementation Strategies

Learning for both students and teachers is not a one-size fits all or a copy and paste operation. For teachers to value and create student-centered classrooms, they must experience professional learning in a personalized and embedded manner. Supportive school cultures recognize the value of professional collaboration and actively seek to connect educators in meaningful ways. Technology must be used as a tool for learning and not an entity unto itself to meet the challenges of tomorrow's workforce. Personalized professional learning, incorporating coaching, modeling, reflection, collaboration, and professional learning communities build both internal and lateral capacity through a carefully planned environment involving stakeholders. This chapter encompasses recommendations for implementing personalized professional learning strategies to connect institutional knowledge and practices through professional learning networks (PLN), interactions, collaborative conferencing, and coaching.

Digital Learning and Pedagogical Practice

Despite the influx of classroom technologies and personal devices, many teachers are still not adequately prepared to integrate technology into instructional practices. Research shows that effective integration requires the confluence of teaching knowledge, technical knowledge, and content knowledge. Carefully analyzing personal practice using the Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge, and Knowledge of Teaching (TPACK) Framework and Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) Model aids teachers in better understanding ways to design and implement technology rich strategies aimed at improving student learning and collaborative inquiry. Because technology professional development has been often delivered as crash courses in the use of a particular technology or technology enhanced instructional method, supporting and developing teachers in engaging, meaningful approaches are often omitted. Chapter 4 focuses on the shift in professional learning to better support and engage teachers in pedagogical practice using digital learning strategies aligned with school change initiatives.

Foundations for Change

Historically, educators, leaders, and policymakers have described teacher professional learning as professional development or trainings, which imply teachers receive information rather than acknowledging and accepting personal learning as an ongoing, natural progression toward improving the craft of teaching. Consensus exists regarding standards for professional learning, which includes the elements of embedded learning in contextually relevant locations, content focused practices, collaborative interactions, ongoing and sustained opportunities, and alignment to district and school goals. However, many school and district leaders have not yet made the paradigm shift to valuing the importance of teacher agency and cultivating an environment for building capacity. This chapter is devoted to sharing a research-based personalized professional learning model for change, which focuses on building greater teacher capacity and improved student learning.

Role of Coaching and Reflection

Personalized professional learning incorporating coaching, modeling, and reflection, facilitates internal capacity building and increases self-efficacy, which are important elements to supporting school change. Coaching has been shown to improve teachers' abilities to adopt and implement new teaching practices. Also, through reflection, or purposeful thinking, and a sustained collaborative culture, educators have indicated stronger feelings of support, greater personal investment, and increased motivation to enrich teaching and positively affect student growth. However, despite research indicating the value of personalized, embedded, and sustained professional development, rooted in project-based activities with coaching and reflection, one-shot workshops are still, often the norm. This chapter is dedicated to sharing research related to coaching, reflection, and collaboration as it applies toward improving instruction and supporting school change.

Global Perspectives

When looking to the future, leaders need to keep in mind that when dealing with change, challenges and opportunities continue to evolve. The dynamic ebb and flow of cultural, social, and economic issues play a role in the school context, which requires ongoing attention to pedagogy, technology, and content and knowledge. Predicted future collaborations and program content will focus on global competencies causing a shift toward campus administrators serving as lead learners with staff, and encouraging teachers to implement innovation in disciplined ways, while keeping an eye to ongoing assessment to meet school improvement needs. Time should be devoted to personalized professional learning through coaching and reflection incorporating voice and choice. Chapter 5, devoted to global perspectives, examines the state of personalized professional learning opportunities in varied contexts.

Personalized Professional Learning

The goal of teacher professional learning is to build teacher capacity and to facilitate improved student learning. Personalized professional learning should be differentiated based on teacher needs and prior knowledge and embedded within the individual teaching context in a job-embedded approach. Further, professional development is meant to provide teachers with on-going opportunities to keep current on new research regarding student learning, technology tools for the classroom, and curriculum resources. The content in this chapter builds upon the foundational concepts previously discussed to define personalized professional learning, explains the differences between traditional and personalized professional development models, and enlightens the reader regarding recommended changes in professional learning approaches to achieve greater teacher success in the classroom.