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Just as teachers can rely on learning transfer to occur when they challenge students to think, problem solve, communicate and collaborate as they move students' understandings outside a specific lesson or unit, why can't professional developers rely on a similar happenings with teachers? For decades, I have heard and read the complaints of teachers about the low quality of their professional development. "No engagement". "No insight about us or our kids". "Superficial." Isn't what is good for the children, good for the teachers? Isn't the opportunity to learn deeply as we ask children to do equally important for teachers?

Evidence-based Professional Development
I have seen more professional development programs telling teachers and principals about evidence-based instruction for kids than I can count on both hands. That's no different that my first contact with learning how to do values clarification way back in the early 70's. We got lectures on the theory, slide shows on the research, and handouts on the "how to". Today, colorful, cartoon-infested power points, funny stories, thick manuals filled with examples, talking head videos and even some videos showing classrooms examples have updated how talkers can engage. Now and then an instructor may include hands-on examples of best- evidence teaching strategies such as cooperative learning to engage the audience. Perhaps an advance organizer starts the "show and tell" before cooperative groups are asked to jigsaw information or to fill out a preprinted graphic organizer such as a web or concept map. Or there may be some higher order questions for a select few to answer as the closing discussion.

All well and good, except if the aim is transfer theory to practice, the talk-a-thon arrows don't even hit the outside target ring. What has happened to the evidence that identifies the needs of adult learners to learn by doing with those types of instruction that works best for the big folks? Most of that evidence is not new. Malcolm Knowles first presented it in the early 1980's.

1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.
2. Adults' past experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for new learning.
3. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their jobs or personal lives.
4. Adult learning is most productive when it is problem-centered, not content- oriented.

Hmmm? Don't these four points sound very familiar? They should. Number one sounds a lot like "student agency"...except for older folks. Constructivists have taught us how number two applies to children as well. Numbers three and four have other words, but there is more than enough evidence supporting the connections between student's lives and the content they are asked to learn as well as to the value of problem-based learning.

It seems Malcolm was only off in one regard...he limited his ideas to adult learning. In fact, he was describing something that later research about teaching and learning clarified. Learning is an act of construction. The only difference between young and old may be the amount of prior experience each brings as they build new ideas on prior knowledge and experience.

No Double Standard
Business, industry, government, and everyone else who develops the minds and competencies of their staff long ago adopted Knowles' ideas for their adult learners Only the education community seems to hold on to obsolete behaviorist notions of adult teaching and learning...harder even than it clings to obsolete theories and practices of student learning.

So if ask "What evidence drives the teaching of pre-adult students?", shouldn't we also find out what evidence drives adult learning in the professional learning experiences of teachers? Shouldn't educators be the first to apply that evidence to professional learning in their field? Isn't what is good for the geese also good for the gander?

I find it difficult not to say, "Yes!" I believe it is time to apply the same standards to both groups.

Adult Learning for Educators
What does professional development for educators look like when Knowles' well-established ideas guide practice? Adapted, those ideas say

1. Teachers should be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.
2. Teachers should be challenged to build on prior knowledge and experience.
3. Teachers should focus on learning information and skill development that will help them do their jobs more successfully.
4. Teachers must have the opportunity to solve problems that they face in doing their jobs.

Point #4 provides the breaking point from past practice and reconfigures their learning opportunities. Teachers sitting through an edutainment, superficially engaged in a show and tell, or given a binder with an implementation mandate have seldom moved to better practice, no matter how motivational the speaker. On the other hand, using both Knowles' principles and data about learning transfer, is it not possible that teachers will leave the shallow waters of sit and get professional development and readily swim in the deeper waters of problem-centered professional development? If given the chance to solve the pressing problems they see that are slowing student learning, is it not likely that there will be more transfer into the classroom? From experience, many can declare an emphatic "Yes!" to each of these questions.

The Looks and Sounds of Best Professional Development Practice
Four key arguments support extended and intensive professional development for educators giving us a common sense answer that connects back to our knowledge of adult learners. This professional development is:

1. Problem-centered. What would happen on the first day of school if grade level teams or PLCS spent two or three hours brainstorming and prioritizing instructional problems they faced in the prior year and wanted to solve so their was more student learning this year? And then, what would happen if these teams met one day a week during planning time, designed problem-based learning projects aimed at improving instruction, and then scheduled their problem searches, at a time to get each problem solved. Measurable changes in their teaching behavior and in students' learning results are what happen.

2. Learning the 4Cs from Doing. Teachers gain experience in problem-centered learning and inquiry because they find good answers for doing a better job. They think critically (problem definition, analysis of data, assessment) and creatively (ideate, differentiate), they interact with peers, collaborating and communicating about an authentic, self-selected problem. If they incorporate goals and rubrics to assess their 4C development, they will intensify their team productivity.

3. Practicing What's Preached. In their all too many "sit and get" in-service sessions about new mandates (e.g. Evidence-based teaching, RTI, 21st Century Learning, Common Core, Formative Tests, Bullies, etc., etc.), rained on them from above, teachers can be saturated with wonderful and not so wonderful initiatives, and told "do it now" with no indication of "how." The predictable result: "This too will pass."

In contrast, the easy to adopt, problem-centered implementation model allows teachers to pilot on themselves what the evidence-based research suggests is best practice for student learning. As they solve their own instructional problems, the teachers actively engage themselves, think-about-their thinking, collaborate, summarize, give and get feedback. (Marzano) (Hattie). And because this model provides ample encouragement for teacher teams to self-evaluate their own plans and goals, they are experiencing the research on self-directed learning and expanding their options for other types of "owned" professional learning.

4. As Cost Effective as PD Can Be. Contrast a big speaker's fee and expensive travel for the worn out one day in-service costs with evidence-based, problem-centered PD or one-shot summer workshops with high stipends. In this problem solving, teacher-agency approach, no speakers fees and no travel costs start the yearlong activity and dent the limited PD budget. With teachers meeting during their planning periods, there are no substitute costs. Total = zero dollars for a series of 1 hour work sessions that are aimed at measureable teacher change.

The Upside Downside
Districts that see the advantages of shifting to a more cost-effective and more adult professional learning approach should consider a short-term downside. Groups are not teams. Collaboration is not just doing a common task at one table. Well functioning teams require a common goal, trust, and cohesion. These come from development of team members' skills for leading and collaborating so that the skills become competencies and mindsets. It behooves districts considering the change to team-driven and problem centered PD to fund team development focused on collaborative problem solving that leads groups to work self-directed together.
References
Hattie. http://www.visiblelearning.com
Hewlett. http://www.hewlett.org/education
Knowles. http://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of- malcolm-knowles
Marzano. http://www.marzanoresearch.com
Jim Bellanca, P21 Senior Fellow, is the founder of the International Renewal Institute and Exe cutive Director of the Illinois Consortium for 21st Century Skills. Bellanca has more than 40 years of experience as a classroom teacher, alternative school director, professional developer for educators, and intermediate service center consultant. He has published more than 70 books and articles.

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Taking Time To Transfer In Professional Development

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Just as teachers can rely on learning transfer to occur when they challenge students to think, problem solve, communicate and collaborate as they move students' understandings outside a specific lesson or unit, why can't professional developers rely on a similar happenings with teachers?

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A Guide to Aligning the Common Core State Standards with the Framework for 21st Century Skills Get the P21 COMMON CORE TOOLKIT Download Center

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With your group, visit the “Problems of Practice” AND “Promising Practices” Padlets. Use your knowledge of P21 skills to discuss observations made in your building. As a group, record at least 2 examples of each. When done, let Stacy know!

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*You will need to log into 365*

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It looks like you're on a slow connection. We've disabled some images to speed things up.

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BCPS - Students & Teachers Accessing Tomorrow

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Professional Learning Tool with examples

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Some of the teachers in my small group at the last meeting asked me to share the resource I got that showed how to adjust the level of iReady lessons. Here it is! :)

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Changing Instructional Levels in i-Ready