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By Janet K. Neufeld Streamline Your PD t e k c o r o r t e r /m o c .o t o h p k c o Support evidence-based practice in the classroom t s i with a professional development management system. Copyright © 2013, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. 18 Learning & Leading with Technology | March/April 2013 N ine years ago, my district was One of the larger shifts in education It is important to remember that our mired in paperwork. We spent is evaluating our knowledge acquisition professional learning can only affect countless hours tracking the to determine if it is effectively chang- student learning in the classroom if professional learning of all staff with ing the way we learn, teach, and bring we evaluate it in terms of changes in paper and pencil, and that got us about student improvement. In our ef- teacher practice and student outcomes. wondering if there was an easier and fort to do this, we were spending much A high-quality PDMS allows you to more efficient way to plan, manage, of our time on administrative duties, create and customize evaluation/reflec- and evaluate the effects of all the such as documenting what classes or tion and application forms to capture professional learning opportunities workshops we had taken, and this often teachers’ intent to change their practice we were working so hard to facilitate. took time away from more important based on applying new learning in the We learned that professional develop- tasks, such as capturing what individual classroom as well as the actual results. ment management systems (PDMS) learning occurred and how we applied This is how PD programs create new could support our district’s learning that learning in the classroom. learning and help us apply new skills. journey by not only tracking our As in all new learning, sometimes the learning activities, including approv- Features and Customization first step feels a little awkward as we als, registration, hours, and credits, What we needed was a system that facilitate and model new processes and but also creating a seamless system offered features that went beyond sim- techniques, but a PDMS can shorten to align our district, school, educator, ply managing enrollment in our PD that learning curve. and student goals and outcomes. program. I found that a robust PDMS The user interface must be com- I found about five or six systems that would allow us to plan, manage, and prehensive and user friendly. As you had extensive tools and possibilities for evaluate the impact of a district’s inter- begin to explore different PDMS op- customization. We wanted a tool with nal and external professional learning tions, first determine your must-have comprehensive features, customization experiences and more. criteria. Ask PDMS vendors how capability, and a complete set of stu- With a high-quality PDMS, you can long they’ve been providing service dent impact assessment tools. We also plan professional learning with online to school districts, ask about their wanted a system that would allow us to surveys for needs assessments; create upgrade policies, and get details about grow and customize our professional mentor, professional learning com- customer support. Remember, tech learning and appraisal process as we munity, school, and district learning support is just as important in the became more skilled users. plans; and align specific experiences long term as it is during the rollout. Most systems are licensed according to those plans to assist with reporting. You must make certain the system to the needs of the district and its size, In addition to planning, a PDMS can will help you evaluate the effect of and many provide several layers of manage your initiatives by posting PD in addition to tracking hours and service with licensing. We chose a sys- professional learning offerings in an credits. Be sure to speak with other tem called MyLearningPlan. Pricing online catalog, so educators can en- districts or connect with educator list- for this system consisted of a one-time roll, track hours and credits, and log servs to learn about vendors that oth- configuration fee and a $10 annual action plans and outcomes through ers use and how they would rate the licensing fee per user. (For details, mentor and professional learning quality of customer service and sup- visit www.mylearningplan.com.) interactions. Having an online col- port. From those questions, identify In previous years as a teacher, laboration feature within the PDMS user groups in your area that use the counselor, and administrator, I was supports team-based threaded discus- same PDMS to pick up tips and tricks confused about reporting my PD sions and file sharing between or in about similar systems. hours when moving from one position place of face-to-face sessions. to another and from one district to The system should easily manage both Implementation another. When I was required to send in-district and out-of-district profes- After you’ve made your selection, in my hours to receive my license or sional learning experiences. The PDMS enlist stakeholders from across de- to renew it, I had to follow a cumber- should be highly customizable, manage partments to help develop a shared some process that involved collecting site-based learning, and include a suite understanding of what a PDMS does all the forms, making copies, and then of tools for evaluating effectiveness. and how it will help the district. For ensuring they had the right signatures. MyLearningPlan did not charge us for example, you must make collaborative We found that a good PDMS helped customization, but be aware that other determinations about how you will in- us manage this process more easily. providers may assess a fee. corporate historical data. You will need Copyright © 2013 , ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. March/April 2013 | Learning & Leading with Technology 19 to thoughtfully gather, create, and re- Building leaders benefit by easily re- creating structures and a culture that view learning materials and resources viewing professional learning requests supports job-embedded professional to develop comprehensive professional online. Principals are able to stay on learning with the school as the hub and learning plans and to figure out how top of what staff is learning to guide our PDMS as our partner in that work. you’ll use other configurable parts of leadership conversations based on the system. After you have done this, data. And learning leaders can identify Learning Plans identify key milestones, including the which kinds of professional develop- At the conclusion of a learning event, I date when all workflow and processes ment have an impact so they can repli- complete an electronic reflection form happen online. cate and scale those approaches. in MyLearningPlan, documenting Central office administrators can what I learned as well as my plans for Benefits save time and money using an online applying that learning in my practice As you implement your PDMS, you’ll PDMS instead of paper and pencil and my expected outcomes in terms start to see benefits at many levels. methods. The PDMS allows a district of my work’s effect on teacher practice Students learn from and with teachers to collect and analyze data from sur- and student learning. who apply practices that have been veys, evaluation forms, and myriad I also used the system to pilot a new shown to improve student achieve- reports to inform accurate and timely professional learning measures tool. As ment based on evidence collected in decision making and to track financial principals gather data from the tool, the PDMS. Teachers can easily track expenditures by budget code. they use this information to create an- their own hours/credits for recertifica- Our PDMS has allowed me to align nual learning plans for each building. tion, salary movement, and teaching my professional learning requests to The plan is the formative process with- status. The resu lt is a dyTnahmiinc pkoritnfog- Toeura dcisthricet’sr sstr aTtegeica gocahls, ianrougn dT sthu-inkine thres PDMS that allows us to incor- lio of all of their formal and informal dent outcomes, and my own personal porate student and educator learning learning in one place, and they have a learning goals. As a district leader, I needs as well as evaluation measures forum for engaging in online collab- recognize that my role has shifted from into a comprehensive plan that ulti- orative dialogue with colleagues. providing professional development to mately shapes the learning designs that Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers® R E E F a t e e y o uE ! A d - F r e e S T I S www.teachersfirst.com For teachers. For families. For excellence. Copiysrtieg-hatd ©-13 2003.1in3d,d I S T1E (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. A1ll/ 4ri/g1h3t s 7r:e5s8e ArvMed. 20 Learning & Leading with Technology | March/April 2013 guide the growth of leaders and faculty. growth. The technology facilitates staff between their own learning and class- We created our template for the plan reflection and tracks how teachers are room application and student results. using the Learning Forward Stan- applying new knowledge and skills in In a time when we must make dards for Professional Learning (www. their teaching. It then collects evidence stronger and more visible connections learningforward.org). The plan makes of effectiveness in terms of changes in between educator learning and student use of reflection, data, and discovery teacher practice and student learning. learning, a PDMS enabled my district to capture evidence of the outcomes The role of “external assistance,” to save time and money while ensur- and document how leaders plan and such as conference participation and ing that our professional learning ex- implement professional learning in technology solutions, becomes clearly penditures were highly focused on the each building. The planning process delineated and focused with these adult learning experiences that make a also leads to greater efficiency in prior- tools. To further support our site- difference. In these lean times, I know itizing the resources we need to fund, based learning, we are also piloting a that we’re all interested in using tech- scale, and replicate desired results. learning walkthrough tool using a fea- nology to maximize limited dollars by ture within our online educator evalu- providing data about what kind of pro- Ongoing Learning and Growth ation management system. We use the fessional learning is having an effect. After integrating an online educa- forms and workflow in this system to By doing this, we have identified what tor evaluation management system, manage our standard appraisal pro- specific teacher learning opportunities our district is now comprehensively cess, in addition to providing regular and structures we should fully support planning, managing, and evaluating feedback and targeted professional to increase student learning. the impact of our professional learn- learning throughout the year. Janet K. Neufeld previously ing initiatives while easily managing Our technology systems have not served as the assistant super- the whole educator appraisal process. only enabled meaningful profession- intendent of the Newton Pub- Our use of this tool plus the PDMS al learning, but also have been the lic Schools in Kansas, USA. forms a complete and integrated cycle catalyst for cultural changes, as our of ongoing educator learning and teachers are now seeking connections Now more than ever, effective learning needs to connect content, technology, assessment, and services to create personalized solutions for every student. Pearson can help you make the most of grants and funding opportunities and align your instruction with Common Core goals of college and career readiness. PearsonK12.com Make every day a learning break through with Pearson. Copyright © 2013 , ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved. March/April 2013 | Learning & Leading with Technology 21