Summary of “Create a collaborative professional development plan that includes coaching and evaluati

Video Transcription

Hello there. Congratulations. You've completed this unit on collaborative professional development. Let's take a few moments to look back at some of the most important learning objectives that we covered.

There were four main objectives in this unit and they're listed here. They were analyze learning theories and research based practices, analyze the role of coaching and teacher evaluation, develop a competency-based collaborative professional development plan, and reflect on the professional development plan. I'd like to walk through and pull out some highlights of each one.

We introduced a number of learning theories that can be applied to your work with professional development plans and beyond. Some have been around a while and others are fairly new. However, they all help us gain a better understanding of how we learn. For example, network learning theory.

As you saw, the words used to describe network learning theory carry somewhat a different meaning today as they may have 40 years ago when Ivan Illich defined learning webs. Network learning theory is defined as a process of developing and maintaining connections with people and information and communicating in such a way so as to support one another's learning.

This can be summed up in one word-- connections. As learners of any age, it is much easier to learn when we are connected to the content or individuals we are learning with. This is why we want our classrooms to be communities. I have a friend who recently got into the world of cycling. He didn't just do it in a vacuum, but rather, he talked to some people and joined a club. That's an example of network learning theory.

Another theory we looked at was situated learning, which has its roots in Russia back in the early 1900s and was later revived in the 1990s. Situated learning states that knowledge acquisition occurs through the social interactions in real world application of the content, standards, and skills being learned. As teachers, we try to capitalize on this by creating authentic learning experiences for our students. We develop units and lessons that tap into students' interests and connect them to the real world.

In the older grades, you may see this happen when students find internships or mentors as part of their learning. As adults, we don't need to invent these situations because we're living them every day. Stop and think about the context in which you acquire new skills and knowledge. One way is by simply being in the midst of it as it's occurring.

For example, I recently worked with a student teacher and saw this happen first hand-- by being put into certain situations, she learned from them. We know that by understanding these theories, it will help to support our own professional development and support that of others that share a collaborative rich environment with us.

These theories and others, like Albert Bandura's social learning theory, tell us that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling. We discovered throughout this unit that this notion is a key component to collaborative professional development. It's why we promote collaboration and teamwork amongst our students and why we encourage our staff to do it as well. We learn better when we learn with others.

In our professional lives as educators, there are things we need to know how to do and we call them competencies. Using discussion techniques, integrating technology, and classroom management are just some examples. In this unit, you were exposed to examples of how to build your collaborative professional growth plans to address your individual needs in a way that reflects these theories. This will lead teachers to continually improve their practice and impact student achievement.

By now, you should be aware of the incredible impact a quality mentor or coach can have on you professionally. We highlighted some of the reasons for that, including instant access to a trusted colleague, someone to bounce ideas off and get feedback from. And a coach will ask you difficult questions that will help guide your thinking and shape your practice. And also in most situations, a reciprocal relationship will be formed in which there is give and take benefiting both parties.

I hope that if before this unit you were anxious about evaluations, that I've convinced you not to be anymore. The work of the likes of Charlotte Danielson and Robert Marzano, as well as others, isn't about a gotcha at all, but it's about improving the practice of everyone who works in the field of education. I hope you are now able to view their extremely comprehensive domain competencies as a vehicle for guiding your practice and telling us how we are doing.

As teachers, we shouldn't dread the feedback but welcome it, because it will make us better. Remember this next time you're asked to complete a survey or questionnaire based on a good or service you received or at the end of a customer service interaction where you're asked to rate the representatives politeness, knowledge, efficiency, and so on. It's because those are the competencies they're expected to possess. As teachers, we have our own. And yes, there are certainly a lot of them.

The word reflection is used a lot of work and for good reason. One of the keys to success in any endeavor is the ability to look back on the decisions you've made and the quality of your practice in order to decide what your next step should be. This is a never-ending process, and that's not a bad thing at all.

Imagine if you just stopped reflecting on your practices and were content with what you were doing. Would the practices of decades past be effective today? This is true around non-teaching lives as well. In this unit, you learned that by conducting a self-reflection-- or in the case of collaborative professional development planning, a group reflection-- teams are able to grow as a result of this careful analysis of past practices, which is based on quality data, and from their own and one another's past experiences as well.

So to summarize this unit, the focus was you, the adult learner, and the collaborative professional development that you engage in. The main learning objectives centered around learning theories, coaching, evaluation, planning, and reflection. Once again, thanks so much for joining me and congratulations. Have a great day.