Alternative Professional Learning for Educational Diagnosticians 

 

Why does professional learning need to evolve?

Discovery Learning, hands on approaches, student engagement and choice, meaningful activities, and ownership are all strategies that help produce a significant learning environment for students. As educators strive to construct such atmospheres for their students with the understanding this is best practice for growth and development, the same strategies are often not employed for adult professional developments. The issue with not implementing comparable strategies to adult learning is the potential stagnation of their professional growth and development. If teachers are not growing and evolving through their learning it impedes their ability with continuing to grow students.

 

My innovation plan centers on the growth and development of educational diagnosticians to help struggling students in reaching their full potential. For educational diagnosticians to serve students, parents, and schools with fidelity it is most important they engage in professional learning sessions where they leave each session with applicable information, knowing more then when the start of the session. Through blended learning professional sessions will encompass the elements of duration, support, engagement, modeling, and specific content – all which are necessary for meaningful learning (Gulamhussein, 2013). The time is now to evolve in how we support and foster growth amongst professionals in the educational setting.

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A Call for Evolution 

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The call for evolution video was developed through reflecting upon readings, personal experiences with professional developments I have attended, as well as feedback from professional developments I have presented. I began to reflect upon the need for change and how that could be depicted visually in photos and videos. I as looked through pictures and videos representing change I drafted a script to as a companion to media to fully illustrate the necessity and benefits of change. Once phots and videos were finalized and the script aligned I utilized the CapCuts App, which included voiceover, to chronicle the need for evolution.

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What does it take for professional learning to evolve?

Blended learning as a form of instruction is more impactful than a singular mode of learning such as face to face or online instruction (Alammary et al., 2014). The formation and manner for implementation of blended learning has expanded throughout the years, with many instructional models arising. Computer clusters, electronic portfolios, class websites, interactive presentations, and learning management systems are some of the many blended learning techniques (Means et al., 2013). Goals of an organization, with consideration given to instructors and participants, can be used to design with specification blended learning programs (Hrastinski, 2019). 

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The demand for professional growth and advancement in knowledge are often unavoidable. Federal and state mandates, new regulations, new role responsibilities, shifts in business operations, and technology can all necessitate professional learning. Blended learning enables organizations to respond to professional knowledge demands as it offers a format for instruction to occur in a variety of ways, allows flexible times for learning, can be designed to focus on detailed or general concepts, allows for quick feedback, and fosters collaboration (Werth et al., 2013). 

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Professional learning sessions will be tailored to specifically meet the needs of program participants engaging in learning sessions. Based on surveys, inventories, and current work reviews, educational diagnosticians will have the opportunity for professional growth in the specific areas that require advancement. Through webinars, interactive activities, discussion forums, group activities, stations, and frequent feedback diagnosticians will have a strong foundation to evolve and enhance skills.

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How will professional learning evolve?

Effective principles of professional learning will guide how professional learning sessions will evolve. The duration of professional learning is initially planned for an eight-week period. However, support will be ongoing even when the sessions are complete, and training can be extended based on individual need. This support will come from regular check-ins with designed diagnostician mentors. Engagement for educational diagnosticians will be essential through the use of hands-on activities, collaboration, peer to peer feedback, and inquiry learning. Modeling in trainings and in the actual learning environment will occur to support educational diagnosticians with the transference of skills in the work setting. Moreover, professional learning, supports, and modeling will be specific towards the needs of each individual participant.

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References​

Alammary, A., Sheard, J., & Carbone, A. (2014). Blended learning in higher education: Three 

different design approaches. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30(4). 

https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.693

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Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NBgyzzfGs6VrNjeJRDZLnipZPGeGMDF9?usp=sharing

 

Hrastinski, S. (2019). What Do We Mean by Blended Learning?. TechTrends 63, 564–569. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00375-5

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Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., & Baki, M. (2013). The effectiveness of online and blended learning: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. Teachers College Record, 115(3), 

 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681131150030

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Werth, E., Werth, L., & Kellerer, E. (2013). Transforming K-12 Rural Education through 

Blended Learning: Barriers and promising practices. 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED561276.pdf

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