The Two Issues Holding Back Most Professional Learning
In 2017 the Learning Policy Institute put out a comprehensive report on Effective Teacher Professional Development, written by Linda Darling-Hammond, Maria E. Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner, with assistance from Danny Espinoza.
You can read the entire report here (and I definitely would if you lead professional learning).
After reading this and looking at the studies that supported the report, I spent a lot of time changing and crafting professional learning experiences that supported the research.
In the end, it came down to two things that held back most professional learning experiences:
Issue #1: A lot of professional learning is "sit and get".
The report is clear. This does not usually work, unless it is to kick off follow-up active PD sessions.
In the report they identify seven factors of effective PD. Five out of the first six are specifically about active and hands on learning.
Using the methodology detailed in Appendix A, we identify seven characteristics of effective PD. Specifically, we find that it:
1. Is content focused
2. Incorporates active learning utilizing adult learning theory (can't do this in sit and get)
3. Supports collaboration, typically in job-embedded contexts (can't do this in sit and get)
4. Uses models and modeling of effective practice (can't do this in sit and get)
5. Provides coaching and expert support (can't do this in sit and get)
6. Offers opportunities for feedback and reflection (can't do this in sit and get)
We see that each characteristic is slightly different, but almost all of them cannot be successful in a "sit and get" type of learning environment. This is why the most effective PD is often an "Earn to Learn" session where both the facilitator and the learner are working to create authentic meaning out of the experience.
Issue #2: A lot of professional learning is "one and done"
The seventh characteristic of effective PD is "sustained duration". This means it cannot be a single session on a single topic. When we do this there is no research to support it being effective in any way, and is often a waste of time.
If you are leading professional learning, try to filter the experiences and sessions between these two reasons and see how it stacks up.
If you have to do a sit and get session, follow it up with a hands on experience like a design sprint, rapid prototyping session, or empathy mapping experience.
Then follow up and continue the focus of your professional learning for a sustained duration to make it effective.
The team at Adaptable Learning and I have been doing this for schools all around the country. We use a mix of kick-off sessions, follow-up work sessions, and courses to create experiences that are both active/relevant/meaningful as well as sustained over a period of time long enough to embed the learning into practice.
When professional learning includes these two key pieces it can be rewarding and impactful, and ultimately lead to better experiences for our learners.
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Want to learn more about our PD offerings? All the info is right here, or email us at team@adaptablelearning.org to get in touch.
