5 Key Principles of Professional Learning
Principle 1: The duration of professional learning must be significant and ongoing
The professional learning plan that is initially laid out is about 7 months long; however, the intention of this plan is to continue into the next school year, building upon the skills that teachers have acquired, as well as their interests.
Principle 2: There must be support for teachers during implementation
The leaders of this professional learning plan are the Social Emotional Learning Specialist and the Digital Learning Specialist. Their jobs are to provide various levels of support to the teachers as they learn to incorporate SEL strategies into their lesson plans while increasing teachers’ digital literacy. Upon request, a teacher can get extra support as they navigate the specifics of their lesson plans.
Principle 3: Teachers must engage in active learning during professional learning.
As teachers work through the scheduled PL, they will be actively engaged in determining how the app or program will work in their own lesson plans. These will be a sort of make-and-take PL sessions, since teachers will ideally leave with a modified lesson that is ready to teach. The learning modules in this plan will be accessible to the teachers after each PLC, so they can continue to work through them as necessary. This will help build their confidence as well as their digital literacy.
Principle 4: Professional learning leaders must model the concepts they are teaching, so that teachers may see and experience the learning.
The SEL Specialist will model learning strategies with apps and programs as necessary to ensure that teachers understand how use them effectively in their lessons. Also activities that teachers can easily add to their lessons to engage virtual and F2F students in their classrooms. Furthermore, some modules will model the flipped classroom model with embedded SEL Strategies; Modules will be specific to teachers' needs, and teacher will participate in active learning as they build their own lessons.
Principle 5: Professional Learning content must be specific and relevant
The content of these modules will be determined by the ongoing needs of the teachers and may vary from content to content. Because teachers will be required to bring their actual lesson plans, the SEL specialist and the Digital Learning specialist will be able to help them with the specifics of each plan. Furthermore, the surveys in this professional learning plan will ensure that learning continues into the next school year and that the learning will meet the needs of every teacher on our campus
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