Frontline Blog

While many of us can’t wait to get back to in-person professional development and think online PD is less than ideal, I’m here to tell you that virtual professional learning can be highly successful. When online professional learning is well planned and well executed, teachers describe their experiences as “fantastic,” “effective,” “perfect,” and “wonderful.”

As educators seek to refine practices and improve student achievement, it is important for educational leaders to provide access to high-quality professional development that offers a timely response to needs. Whether that professional development addresses the unique needs presented by the COVID-19 pandemic or broader trends developing in education, each learning opportunity demands thoughtful consideration to ensure it is the most appropriate option to support teacher growth.

Implementing professional learning programs to meet the needs of all teachers and staff has always been challenging. Over the past few months, a monumental shift has thrust many schools and districts into what feels like a tailspin: “We have to put together online personalized content using new resources and tools — as quickly as possible!”

Most schools dedicate a good deal of time and money to professional learning for teachers and staff. But not all schools can confidently say that all that time and money makes a difference where it counts: in the classroom. So, how do you gauge the impact of your program? This infographic explores the process.

If engaging, collaborative, relevant-to-classroom-needs learning opportunities represent the best of what professional learning can do for teacher growth, there’s also a flip side. Everyone decries those stay-for-two-hours-after-school-and-sit-in-a-large-room-and-passively-listen workshops.

Education is constantly changing, giving us new opportunities to discover, create and adapt. That goes for all of us: the teachers referring to real world situations and current events to deepen student learning, the Curriculum & Instruction specialists seeking ways to further uphold and implement best practices in evaluations and professional learning, and the administrators who must prepare for and comply with new regulations and expectations.  

My daughters are attending new schools this year, so I’ve been a nervous dad the past few weeks. How will they do? Will they make friends quickly? Will they learn and grow like we hope?

With the start of a new school year almost upon us (or already here, depending on where you are), educators everywhere are gearing up — making preparations for students, polishing up lesson plans, training new hires and laying plans for the year.