Category: Blog

July 17, 2019 8:00 am

Six Keys to Effective Professional Development

Engage your teachers and staff in effective professional development with these simple and research-backed tips.

As the library begins to fill up with your colleagues, you wonder, “Will we get out early today? What is this professional development about anyway? I’ve got too much to do in my classroom to focus on this.”

This may sound all too familiar to educators taking part in professional development. Naturally, one wonders how to make professional development effective for teachers, and the simple answer is by making sure to both engage teachers and allow time for reflection. But how we get there is a bit more detailed.

In a 2009 study, over 90% of teachers reported having participated in professional development that was not useful. Professional development, of course, is intended to benefit all the educators who participate in it, so what are the keys to effective professional development sessions for teachers?

Students in a classroom all raising their hands to answer a question

1. Administrative Support

Before any PD sessions occur, it is imperative that the district’s primary point of contact be available for a meeting or phone call with the PD specialist. This call may be the only opportunity for the parties to touch base about topics related to the agenda, the level of experience of the teachers participating, and logistics.

During the session, it is important for the overseeing administrator to be present and active. Often, questions or topics arise that are unique to a school district’s policy. While PD specialists can offer suggestions, ultimately the school’s or district’s administration must be present to make decisions or establish guidelines for their staff. A delay in decision-making can impact a teacher’s ability to deploy what they have learned right away.

Beyond the initial session, sustained administrative support is essential to a teacher’s success since implementation of some new practice, policy, or technology is a big challenge. Therefore, support from administration, other teachers, and PD specialists during PLC or instructional time can provide this important layer. 

2. Teacher Buy-in

Teachers deserve PD that is relevant for them and their students. One way to achieve this is to have them play the role of and see the content through the lens of a student. As they learn new content and skills during the day, reflection can help guide them in understanding how their students can apply the new skill.

Another way to create buy-in is to elicit input about their learning objectives for the session. Having a greater stake in the desired outcomes can be very rewarding for a teacher who struggles to see the result.

3. Say–Show–Do

Central to any classroom is the concept of modeling. We first tell students what they will do, then carefully model the skill, and finally expect them to replicate the skill independently. This same concept should apply to PD sessions. Participants are more willing to apply a specific tool or skill once they have been presented with clear instructions and modeling on how to do that.

4. Collaboration Among Peers

Teaching is a collaborative profession, so isolating teachers during a PD session is counterintuitive to that. Finding opportunities for collaborative activities can keep participants engaged and tap into different ideas and perspectives around an idea or philosophy. Broadening teachers’ perspectives can, in turn, lead to increased engagement with their students.

5. Differentiation

Educators are expected to do this for their students in the classroom, so why wouldn’t we do the same thing for teacher professional development? There are a few ways to make this happen:

  • Having participants complete a survey ahead of time that gauges their level of expertise/experience is the first step to effective differentiation. Interpreting these results should guide the day’s agenda, and will hopefully enable the session leader to activate teacher interest by including topics that they would like to learn more about.
  • Teachers who have advanced skills or experience can guide a breakout session using their expertise to build their colleagues’ knowledge base. Additionally, teachers may be more willing to listen and engage with someone they already know.

6. Bringing Content to Life

Humor and fun are not just for the playground and classroom! Sharing humorous, real-world examples can be an effective way to engage participants and promote a safe and comfortable environment where meaningful professional development can take place. Bringing in humor and real life can also help keep teachers engaged and create memorable experiences.

When you’re planning out your PD sessions, keep these things in mind. PD should be beneficial for all educators, and students, too, so consider which way and when is best for your teachers to participate in PD. Incorporating these keys to effective professional development sessions is important to teachers’ personal growth and should be approached with careful consideration.

SOURCES

DARLING-HAMMOND, L., CHUNG WEI, R., ANDREE, A., RICHARDSON, N., & ORPHANOS, S. (2009). PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN THE LEARNING PROFESSION: A STATUS REPORT ON TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD. DALLAS, TX: NATIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://STATIC1.SQUARESPACE.COM/STATIC/56B90CB101DBAE64FF707585/T/583C7FE720099E25D0B1BD24/1480359912004/NSDCSTUDY2009.PDF 

June 19, 2019 8:02 am

Growth, Grit, and Gaming: Video Games in Education

How game-based learning engages students, improves academic outcomes, and helps to build grit and a growth mindset along the way.

Recent studies show over 90% of American children play video games. Ask a parent their opinion of children and “gaming” and you’re likely to get a response about the amount of time kids are wasting. Additionally, many educators express concern about the negative impact of gaming, but some researchers are working to change these perceptions, especially around the idea of gaming and education.

“Children tend to be more engaged in learning when we incorporate gaming into lessons,” expressed Patrick Efird, a curriculum game designer at educational technology provider Imagine Learning.

And Efird would know. A self-declared video game aficionado, Efird taught middle school for five years. “I incorporated video games into the classroom whenever possible,” he explained. “My students loved the gaming components of their learning and I believe it helped them dig deeper into the material, retain what was being taught, and develop a belief that they could learn if they worked hard at something.”

child learning on tablet

Growth Mindset and Gaming

Efird isn’t alone in his beliefs. Scholar Carol Dweck found that video games can play an important role in supporting growth mindset, or the belief that an ability to learn is not fixed but can grow with effort.

In Dweck’s research, students who played a video game with rewards for productive struggle stuck with the game longer, were more engaged, and used more strategies than students who received traditional “level completion” rewards.

Video game experts believe video games can support growth mindset in a variety of ways.

  1. Leveling up. Students are feel a sense of accomplishment when they reach goals, and are motivated to endlessly engage in video games as they advance, learn, and achieve in the program.
  2. Learning from mistakes. Games are a safe place for students to make mistakes, learn, and ultimately succeed over time.
  3. Visualize growth and progress. Games utilize features such as maps, treasure hunts, and statistics to show a player where they have the potential to progress. Visualizing where a player can go motivates them to continue trying.
  4. Experiencing growth. Students experience growth as they have opportunities to evolve, take on new abilities, or earn add-ons when they stick with their task in the game.
  5. External rewards. Students who persist at tasks receive rewards for trying, motivating them to keep striving.
  6. Real-life growth. Apps with game-like elements, such as Fitbit or Happify, transfer growth to real life by tracking progress towards physical, emotional, and cognitive goals that benefit users.

Grit and Gaming

Video games can also help students develop “grit,” or the passion and perseverance to work towards long-term goals as described by Angela Duckworth, PhD. Some argue that video games develop grit as players “follow the rules, acquire and practice skills, and apply those skills to achieve specific goals.”

Duckworth posits that “students may need help from supportive others to become comfortable with facing, accepting, and learning from failure.” Video games can play the role of the “supportive other” by incorporating positive messaging.

Efird suggests that positioning messages in educational video games that “praise effort despite outcomes, show evidence of growth, and acknowledge players for tasks accomplished or improvements made” can support students to persist in pursuing tasks. Additionally, live-supports—such as online, certified teachers available to students using digital instructional programs—can provide needed support while fostering perseverance and determination.

“Game-based learning engages students, and research indicates strong correlations between student engagement and student achievement across all levels of instruction and subject areas.”

Sherri Walker

Imagine Learning

Engaged Students Achieve

Ultimately, educators want to know students are learning and achieving.

Game-based learning engages students, and research indicates strong correlations between student engagement and student achievement across all levels of instruction and subject areas.

Studies have also shown that when students are engaged in their learning, they are more focused, more motivated, and have more meaningful learning experiences. Educators agree, ranking “student engagement and motivation” as the highest driver of achievement, good attendance, good grades, positive behavior, high school graduation, and readiness for postsecondary education.

In the end, utilizing video games in education can be a powerful tool for teachers to engage students and help them learn and achieve. “I believe we can use video games in classrooms to help students learn that they can accomplish whatever they put their energy into,” shares Efird. “I know as a kid, I would’ve been even more engaged in what I was learning in the classroom if games were utilized. I’m pretty sure there are other students out there today who are just like me.”

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December 13, 2017 8:00 am

What is Competency-Based Learning?

Explore the trending paradigm shift that is competency-based learning and incorporate more mastery-based techniques into your classroom, school, and district.

It seems that every day there is a new education buzzword that pushes teachers to change the way they teach, so when people began discussing competency-based learning, educators and policymakers were cautiously optimistic.

But as Illinois’ Department of Education joins New Hampshire, Michigan, and Ohio in incorporating competency-based learning into their policy, the buzz around this new learning strategy is gaining steam.

Here, we define competency-based learning and discuss how can you incorporate the techniques from this new methodology into your classroom, school, and district.

What is competency-based learning?

Seen as an alternative to more traditional educational approaches, competency-based learning (CBL) can completely redefine a school’s way of teaching and assessing students. Sometimes called mastery-based, outcome-based, performance-based, or standards-based education, instruction, or learning, CBL focuses on ensuring students are truly mastering academic content regardless of time, place, or pace of learning.

Traditional schools and classrooms utilize an efficiency-centered model, meaning students are classified by age and given a fixed amount of time to master a lesson before moving on to the next.

This can result in students skating by whole sections without fully grasping the material and the ways this material builds on the next unit.

How can a student truly be successful learning the area of triangles if he does not understand the concept of area?

What is Competency-Based Learning? graphic

The best way to define competency-based learning is by explaining what it is not.

CBL no longer advances students on an arbitrary timeline, but allows them to move onto the next concept when they have mastered the current one. This allows advanced students to move forward without having to wait for the designated time set in the curriculum, and struggling students can spend as long on a unit as they need to until they reach full understanding.

It does, however, pose some significant changes to the ways students are assessed.

Academic progress should be tracked and reported by learning standard, so educators and parents can know precisely what specific knowledge and skills students have acquired or may be struggling with.

According to the Glossary of Education reform, “instead of receiving a letter grade on an assignment or test, each of which may address a variety of standards, students are graded on specific learning standards, each of which describes the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire.”

How can I incorporate CBL into my school?

Administrators and teachers can incorporate competency-based learning methods right into the curriculum without completely rewriting it. Educators can break down the competencies that will drive student learning for each listed standard within the curriculum.

These competencies should move beyond content and address process and dispositions, too.

For example:

If one of the standards or outcomes of a geography lesson is to recognize how characteristics of regions affect the history of the United States, the competencies could be to first recognize cultural, economic, and physical characteristics of US regions, then to analyze the relationship between geography and history.

This takes a basic geography lesson beyond memorization and into a broader understanding of how geography has impacted our country and its ties to history.

Obviously, these example competencies will not be achieved in one week, or even one lesson, so it is important to strategically emphasize core standards and their related competencies throughout the year.

Analyzing the relationship between geography and history will be a competency that the class works on in every lesson, and something that students should be reminded of consistently so they can continue to practice to achieve mastery.

After identifying the competencies within the standards, educators must then translate this into student actions and create a rubric that clearly defines how a student can show mastery in that particular competency.

This may take discussion between administrators and curriculum developers, but the idea is that a strong alignment to the competencies is identified by more than a test grade. Rubrics, checklists, and reflection prompts can be extremely helpful in connecting competencies to the assignments within each unit.

Don’t be afraid to have students retake units if they have not fully mastered the associated competency, and help them understand that a retake is not punishment, but a way to ensure that students are the center of learning by allowing them to fully understand concepts before moving on.

How can teachers incorporate CBL into their classrooms?

Teachers may feel that they have little control since these decisions are made at the district or even state level, but there are ways to incorporate CBL into your classroom with little administrative involvement.

  1. Initiate conversations with school administrators about strategies for making education more learner-centered.
  2. Base grading policies on assessments of learning outcomes instead of participation points to truly identify if students are comprehending the subject matter.
  3. Use formative assessments to pinpoint students who need instructional supports.
  4. Allow students to resubmit work so they can learn from their mistakes and try again.
  5. Acknowledge students learn at different paces and advocate for differentiated student learning.
There are many ways to incorporate CBL into the classroom

How can technology help?

Transitioning to competency-based learning can be difficult, but definitely worthwhile as it creates a classroom that is truly focused on each student as an individual. Since CBL is aimed at ensuring more students learn what they are expected to know, incorporating this method provides educators with more detailed information about student progress.

This allows teachers to identify specific concepts and skills students have not yet mastered, and intervene.

And this is where education technology truly shines.

Programs like UpSmart® can meet students where they are and identify skills, concepts, and standards that they have not yet mastered. Detailed reports provide educators with a granular level of information about each student, much more than they would receive with a simple letter or number grade on a unit test.

Educators can then take that information and intervene to bring students to where they need to be.

Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

Proponents of CBL argue that this method improves the chances that students learn the most important information, concepts, and skills they will need throughout their lives.

It can also help reduce learning gaps or opportunity gaps and provide a more equitable approach to public education. This will reduce or eliminate students advancing to the next lesson, unit, or even grade without acquiring the knowledge and skills they should have to do so.

SOURCES

January 17, 2017 9:50 am

Academic Language: What is It and Why Teach It?

Acquiring academic language is critical to the success of all students — but especially to those who are learning to read, speak, and write in English.

students working in a lab

Every day in American schools, teachers welcome more students whose first language is something other than English. According to the Pew Research Center, this demographic trend will only grow exponentially in coming years.

In fact:

Pew estimates up to 93% of our population will come from immigrant populations and their children by the year 2050. What do these numbers mean for schools?

Here’s the short answer:

Schools will need better ways to teach language generally, and academic language in particular. Why the importance? When students don’t master academic language, they’re at greater risk for falling behind or even dropping out of school.

The Language of Textbooks

Learning to speak, read, and write in English can be challenging enough.

But without knowing academic language (e.g., general-instruction words like “summarize,” math words like “times” as another way to say “multiplied by,” or science words like “hypothesis”), English language learners can quickly fall behind in their progress.

Teachers of ELLs should ask these basic questions before they integrate academic language into instruction:

  • Can students demonstrate understanding of instructional language in the texts they read (or in verbal instruction)?
  • Are students successful in the use of discipline-specific vocabulary during math, language arts, science, and social studies?

If not, it’s time to incorporate a strategic plan for academic language in the classroom.

Of course, each English language learner’s language proficiency is different. Once teachers understand a student’s level of language development, they’ve cleared the first hurdle.

For example:

An ELL may know how to speak a few words of English and use basic social greetings–but they make mistakes often. These students are at the beginning level of English development.

Those with intermediate skills have a better grasp of grammar and English pronunciation, but they’re missing a few rules here and there.

Finally, ELLs who are consistent in their vocabulary, use of idioms, grammar, and oral fluency are at the advanced level of language development.

How to Begin Teaching Academic Language

Beginning early in the primary grades, ELLs need to transition from social English to academic English. While informal discussion is always necessary, student growth and confidence depend on successfully understanding more sophisticated vocabulary.

But where to begin?

There’s no magic list of academic vocabulary words floating out in the ether. But you can follow these six tips:

  1. Use Tier 2 words that students frequently encounter in general instruction (e.g., “predict” or “assess”). Examples of these words can be found in state standards, including the Common Core.
  2. Introduce a wide variety of texts and teach students how to summarize what they read. If students are logged into a literacy supplemental program like Imagine Language & Literacy, they will automatically encounter both of these things.
  3. Teach key vocabulary associated with statewide tests (also common practice in Imagine Learning programs). Once students feel confident about prompts they’ll see later on tests, they are one step closer to taking action and solving problems with confidence.
  4. Reach out to other ELL professionals.
  5. Make sure you receive adequate time for professional development on teaching academic language.
  6. Devote a specific time block toward teaching academic English in your classroom.

By following these tips, you’ll not only help your English language learners become more proficient in the academic tools of the trade–you’ll also feel greater satisfaction at the end of the day.