Patiently Progressive

Digital lesson design is the focus of most all of our district technology professional development. For each PD we call teachers together (in person or digitally) to share strategies for building quality learning experiences for our students. Sometimes the focus is on the course content itself and how it can best be delivered. Other times our sessions are designed to familiarize instructors with tools to make the delivery of digital content better, as well as how students can demonstrate understanding and apply what they've learned. Regardless of the topic, PD experiences model best practice for teachers, giving them the chance experience these strategies as learners themselves. This is critical. As my YCS teachers are provided with increased opportunities to participate in digital learning experiences in the role of a student, I see more of these strategies transferred into the learning experiences they construct for their own courses. This excites me and makes me incredibly proud of their learning and overall willingness to evolve.

So what's next? As our district looks to provide true blended learning opportunities for students, the modeling will become increasingly important. Professional development that provides teachers a real choice in time, place, pace, and path will require a mind shift. It will look different. It will require a professional commitment to grow. Those 30 minute sessions that involve everyone coming to me to demonstrate, collaborate, and participate, or everyone access our online PD course and..., may morph into a very different structure that won't mirror the PD of our past. It will be a shift in responsibility, a shift in attitude, a shift in culture for all of us. Although it's only February, preparations for next year's professional development start now! I'm planning strategies for giving those who have taken things a bit slower, a means to catch up. At the same time I'm educating myself and preparing for the PD/instructional shift that's to come. And while progress is likely to be slow, I am excited to be patiently progressive.