Activity Directions: Powerful Professional Learning

1. Develop a deeper understanding of transformative professional learning

2. Identify the features of effective professional learning

3. Establish criteria to use for decisions about the professional learning system

4. Develop fundamental beliefs underlying effective learning

5. Deepen understanding of effective professional learning

1. Ask participants to take a marker that produces a bold stroke that can be read from a distance—not a pencil or pen—and a stack of at least 10–15 large sticky notes.

2. Invite participants to identify a professional learning experience that was transformative. A transformative experience is one that deeply affected how they think, act, and speak. It also produced results for their immediate clients whether they are students, teachers, or others. If they have not had what could be considered a transformative experience, ask members to identify one that was informative or effective.

· What were the characteristics of this experience?

· With whom did they participate?

· How did it relate to their work responsibilities?

· Other recollections?

3. Using the sticky notes, ask members to write one attribute of the transformative professional learning experience per sticky note.

4. Divide the team into small groups and ask them to identify the strengths, limitations, best practices and most effective use of the following types of professional learning experiences for the organization:

· Mentoring

· Coaching

· Workshops

· Professional learning communities

· Online professional learning

· etc.

5. Each small group should make a poster outlining their discussion.

6. Have groups rotate and add additional thoughts/ideas to other groups’ posters.

1. Review the chart/findings from the discussion in Part 1

2. Review the goal(s) for professional learning identified in the Purposes for Professional Learning activity within the Create a Culture Action Overview

3. Provide research and resources on effective professional development strategies

1. Review the needs of teachers and students identified in your professional learning goal

2. Review the findings from discussions in Part I of this Activity

3. Ask participants to identify the professional learning experience(s) that are most needed to meet the identified teacher and student needs

a. If there are multiple goals break the team into smaller groups to work on various needs

4. Track the various ideas and overlaps by writing them on chart paper or displaying on screen

5. Using this list and the list of experiences with the most impact, identify and discuss the experiences that should be included in the system

6. Identify what will be needed to provide these experiences to teachers

7. Create a list of the experiences that will be part of the system and how they will be provided to share with stakeholders

8. After sharing with stakeholders review feedback and finalize the system for implementation. After sharing with stakeholders review feedback and finalize the system for implementation.