MOOC Unit 5 Professional Dev

Unit 5 of the Digital Learning Transition MOOC speaks to Teaching and Professional Learning.

The two questions for week five are:

How well prepared are teachers and administrators for the changes in their knowledge and practices required for a successful digital learning transition?

How can effective professional development be provided to prepare teachers and administrators for the changing expectations involved in digital learning?

This week there were two specific resources on professional development that stood out for me.

The first was the article: Project Tomorrow Speak Up National Findings, May 2012. This article includes a summary of the teacher component of the National Speak Up survey. The focus is on the way that educators use technology for student learning, and how this reflects their own online learning, social network and digital content experiences.

Personalizing the Classroom Experience: Teachers, Librarians and Administrators Connect the Dots with Digital Learning

http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU11_PersonalizedLearning_Educators.pdf

The second resource was the audio of the Unit 5 Expert Panel discussion. During this discussion there were many different approaches to effective professional development, examples included; professional learning communities, online learning, peer coaching, teacher feedback and more.

Other strategies for professional learning formats were suggested such as encouraging teachers to provide leadership and support in creating the professional development activities, and to provide a learning experience that exemplifies effective classroom practice. This 45 minute audio/video is well worth the time.

The experts participating in the discussion forum, are:  

Lorie Kaplan, Executive Director, eMINTS National Center, University of Missouri – Columbia

Joellen Killion, Senior Advisor, Learning Forward

Thomas Murray, Director of Technology and Cyber Learning, Quakertown Community School District, PA

Barbara Treacy, Director, EdTech Leaders Online, EDC, Newton, MA

http://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HWcbtk0s

I agree with this panel, effective professional development for our Chimacum staff will be essential as we integrate Common Core State Standards, technology and our teacher evaluation system TPEP. As Technology Committee members, we need to be thoughtful about making PD recommendations within our Technology Plan.