Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 47

Ideas and Tools to Give Everyone a Voice

Whether during a class, meeting, presentation, or workshop it can be at times extremely difficult to give everyone a voice.  I remember as a teacher many years ago asking my students to raise their hands to respond to a question and even during Jeopardy-style review games had groups collaborate on their response. Undoubtedly this left many students out of the formative process. Later in my career, I was able to get my hands on a class set of dry erase whiteboards so that each student had a chance to respond. While this was definitely an improvement, issues still remained as to the depth of responses each student could provide as well as actively engaging the shyest students in the class.  Even as I moved to a leadership position the same challenge persisted during faculty meetings. Giving everyone a voice seemed like an insurmountable challenge.

As I have transitioned to a major role as a presenter, I initially experienced the same struggles listed above. Never could I have imagined giving twenty different educators a voice during a presentation let alone thousands.  Well, technology has changed all that and regardless of your specific role you too can increase authentic engagement with your audience.  The best part is the variety of tools out there that are easy to use, allow for a diversity of answers, and are free (most that is). These collaborative tools can be used to:

Make thinking and learning visibleCheck for understandingReview prior learningClose lessonsProvide the means for others to pose questions Allow large masses to openly respond and interact with each otherCraft multimedia responsesCollect perception dataBackchannel a class or eventOpenly reflect and discussExtend learningBrainstorm
Image credit: https://www.turningtechnologies.com
In my opinion, the most beneficial aspects of available web-based technology are allowing anyone to improve formative assessment, feedback, and active engagement. There is really no excuse not to honor the voice of your respective audience, whether they are students or adults.  Even in situations where technology might be tight, cooperative groups can be utilized to reflect and then share out.  Below is a list of some of my favorite free tools (unless noted) that I integrate during my presentations along with a short description:

TodaysMeet – Create your own room to where people can respond to a question or reflect in 140 characters. This is a great tool to use for a backchannel. Tozzl – Take your backchannel to a new level! People can respond via text, videos, images, and documents. You can even integrate a Twitter hash tag. AnswerGarden – My new favorite tool! Use it for real time audience participation, online brainstorming and classroom feedback.  Responses can only be 20 or 40 characters. Mentimeter – Move over Poll Everywhere. Mentimeter is a great tool that allows you to poll your audience in a variety of ways. You can even create a presentation that has multiple polls. Tackk – Collaborate, discuss, and create all on one interactive platform. Over 300 apps can be embedded making it a great platform for app smashing. Be sure to check out Tackk in the classroom. Padlet – A long time favorite of mine, which allows participants to respond using virtual Post-It notes. The beauty of this tool is that within each board responses can be text, video, images, or attached documents. Lino – An online web sticky note service that can be used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas that is similar to Padlet Kahoot – A fan favorite of educators around the world. It is a free game-based learning platform that not only gives everyone a voice, but also provides a fun way to do it. ProConIt – Gather and organize opinions on any topic while engaging your audience. This is a great tool to formatively evaluate just about anything. FlipGrid (NOT free) – You need to pay a little for this one, but oh is it worth it. Create grids of questions or topics using text or video and share your questions with whomever you like. Your audience then responds with recorded videos.The ten tools listed above will allow you to empower your respective audience by giving them a voice and sometimes a choice as to how they want to respond. There are so many other tools out there that can be used in powerful ways to enhance learning and gather meaningful feedback.  Let’s use the power of social media to crowd source even more examples. Please feel free to list other tools with a short description in the comments section below.

Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Specialized Supports (Part 3)

This is the third guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Check out all the posts in the series HERE.

Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students. We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This third in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.

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There will be students who require the most specialized supports that we can provide; students who have not yet responded to intervention and for whom special education supports may be necessary.

Strategically assess within the finite formal-evaluation time frame

There will be students who, despite are best efforts, are not yet adequately responding to tiered interventions. In these instances, we request permission to conduct a formal evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. But we intend that students will respond to special education supports such that they will no longer require them at some point in the future. We are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity to gather vital information during the limited amount of time we have to evaluate student needs, make an eligibility determination, and if appropriate, collaboratively craft an Individualized Education Program plan. We must use all the knowledge that we have gained while scaffolding and intervening prior the formal evaluation period to ensure that this occurs.

Collaboratively craft the IEP

Again, we intend for special education to be a temporary designation for the vast majority of students who are determined to be eligible. Therefore, IEPs must be strategically written. Students must receive supports within the least restrictive environments possible – inclusive settings with all students, regardless of label. They must continue to access and gain mastery of core academic and behavioral priorities. Significant deficits in foundational skills must be ameliorated. Students must be equipped with coping mechanisms and work around strategies so that they will be successful in school, college, career, and life in the absence of special supports. 

Scaffolded access to core within the least restrictive environments

As noted repeatedly above, all students must successful participate in the core. Otherwise, the risk of failing to catching up will be great and sustaining progress will be compromised. To ensure that fully inclusive environments work for all students, some form of co-planning and co-teaching must be in place. 

Access to Tier 2 must continue

We can predict that some students will learn core priorities at different rates and in different ways. This may be particularly true for students with special needs. This is Tier 2: more time, alternative approaches. Ensuring that students with special needs have access to all tiers of supports will greatly increase the likelihood of their success.

Intervene in a targeted and intensive manner, in accordance with the IEP

This is critical. IEPs have specific goals and objectives based on areas of need. We must explicitly address and ameliorate these areas of needs. Time periods that serve as study halls and work completion assistance are not the answer. We must immediately and intensively focus on diagnosed deficits with targeted interventions, with the goal of eliminating these deficits. Within special education, the intensity of focus and resources that we are prepared to assign are greater than ever, as is the sense of urgency.

Behaviors

As noted above but with even more care, we teach, reteach, and reinforce key pro-social and pro-functional behaviors for students with special needs. Behavioral skills are doubly important for a student determined eligible for special education services.

Monitor

Measuring the extent to which students are responding to instruction, intervention, and in this, case special education supports, should be done more, not less, when a student has been determined eligible for special education services. There is not a moment to lose and we must make adjustments, in collaboration with the IEP team, when adequate progress is not made.

Exit when possible

Approximately 12% of students receive special education services and have an Individualized Education Program plan. Approximately 1% of students have been diagnosed with a severe or profound disability, meaning that their intellectual functioning will significantly limit their ability to live an independent adult life. They will have modified jobs and accommodated living conditions. We feel blessed to live in societies in which we provide care and support for these precious individuals. The vast majority of students receiving special education services, students who have an Individualized Education Program plan, do not have a severe or profound disability and will be expected to live an independent adult life, without modified jobs and accommodated living conditions.

When we do not expect high levels of learning for all, we significantly limit students’ future prospects with equally significant impacts on our societies. Students receiving special education services graduate from Grade 12 at rates that are demonstrably lower than their peers; they attend 4-year universities and colleges at equally lower rates. We must remove supports when students are ready, allowing students to learn and thrive within the least restrictive environments, and ensure they have access to any and every opportunity.

We fear that tragically lower expectations for students receiving special education services has led (and continues to lead) to their significantly lower achievement. Accommodations and modifications in support of successful educational experiences must not correspond with modifications to expectations. Students within Individualized Education Program plans who do not have a severe or profound disability will be expected to compete and collaborate with rest of the 99% for a purposeful and productive adult life, and we must urgently prepare for this reality.


Differentiation, special education, and RTI are not new processes and they continue to be identified as areas of need by schools and schools leaders. They should be. They are incredibly impactful and important sets of principals and practices and we have not yet done them well. We must, for once and for all, do it right. A comprehensive approach to differentiation, special education, and RTI, integrated into a System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, is possible and more necessary than ever. 

The Case for Case Studies: Success Stories for Continued Growth

Case studies provide a glimpse into how vision, strategic planning, and implementation drive results-oriented change. In education, they connect people to stories of how schools and districts have improved school culture and the specific steps that were taken. These detailed stories have the ability to provide great context through an explanation of the following:

GoalsChallengesSolutionSuccess
Overall, a case study provides readers with details on how problems were solved, outcomes achieved, and how investments in professional learning led to a positive cultural shift. In a time when so many schools and districts are looking to technology as a means to improve student learning, case studies have become an essential tool to illustrate the benefits to stakeholders.

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No two schools or districts take on the same initiative in the same way. Every school and district, just like every student, teacher, and administrator, learns and grows uniquely. Tailoring professional learning so that it is accurately identifying a school's or district’s essential DNA and applying its understanding to meeting the particular needs for growth and change was achieved in two very different schools/districts in California. 

Shifting to a Culture of Student-Centered Learning Through Technology Integration

La Quinta High School, in La Quinta, California, aspired to a digital integration that would ultimately transform its learning culture into a more collaborative and student-centered one. As a result of a deep and sustained vision, the school culture is fast becoming one of confidence, engagement, and interaction.  Access the case study HERE.

Empowering Teachers and Students Through Effective Use of Technology

In Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in Coalinga, California, a digital initiative was also put in place, in this case, system-wide. Among the needs that the district had were a multi-year plan, a vision that understood the nature of its teachers who needed confidence in integrating technology, and help in establishing an understanding of what a high quality technology integration meant. The district has become empowered with technology to the extent that they have been recognized as being a national leader for its work with blended learning.  Access the case study HERE.

Case studies in education are a valuable tool for change. They tell a story, demonstrate success, and provide insight that can empower other schools and districts to embrace a framework for change. The combination of what, why and how aligned to results can be a springboard to focus on how to better implement technology at scale to improve student learning.

Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Early Intervention (Part 2)

This is the second guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Check out the first post in the series HERE on differentiation.

A Comprehensive Approach to Early Intervention within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, prior to a Referral for Special Education Assessment

Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students. 


Image credit: http://images.pearsonclinical.com/
We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This second in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.

Supports for students with special needs begin immediately. We cannot allow for failure and frustration to occur. Well before a request to conduct a formal evaluation or a determination of eligibility, we must: 

Screen 

The purpose of a screening process is to efficiently, and in a timely manner, identify students who at a grave risk of experiencing failure and frustration so that:

Scaffolded supports can be immediately provided within Tier 1Intensive and targeted supports can be provided within Tier 3. This applies to all students, including students with special needs. We must not assume we know that needs within a domain or the antecedents to difficulties are known, and we must not assume that supports are already in place. We screen to ensure that we can proactively serve students who likely have a significant deficit in a foundational skill.

Scaffold

Students should not fail a class because of a deficit in a foundational skill. Students in an Algebra class who lack fluency with computation must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; they should not, however, fail Algebra. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master algebraic concepts. We maintain that all students can think critically and problem solve. They’re “smart.” 

Similarly, students who cannot decode text at a grade nine level must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; however, they should not fail the grade nine English class. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master the comprehension-based concepts that are the likely the priories of the course. A significant deficit in a specific skill area must not limit a student’s ability to access core learning. We must differentiate to ensure success in the core and provide intensive, highly-specialized supports that address the significant need. 

Behaviors

We find that students who have experienced frustration and failure in schools, who have not been supported in a timely and focused manner within a system of supports, often lack a growth mindset and have internalized a sense of learned helplessness. Therefore, nurturing the development of behavioral skills – such as self-regulation and executive functioning – while important for all students, is absolutely critical for vulnerable students. This process requires that we:

Identify the priorities that all students will master.Clearly define what mastery “looks” and “sounds” like.Explicitly teach, model the habits and skills that we want to see and hear displayed and employed, with differentiated supports prepared.Assess student mastery of prioritized behavioral habits and skills so that we can determine the efficacy of our instruction and identify the areas of need for intervention.Provide feedback regarding students’ success and setbacks as they relate to achieving mastery.Intervene in a targeted manner if necessary.Intervene

We commit to supporting vulnerable students’ most immediate area of need proactively, immediately, and with intensity. We strive to target the antecedent or causal factors that are most contributing to difficulties and vulnerabilities and that lead to significant deficits in foundational skills. All students will learn at high levels, but when a significant deficit in a foundational skill is present, frustrations and challenges highly compromise learning. While the significant deficit exists, or until we have identified and empowered the student to employ sustainable coping mechanisms, the student’s chances of success in school, career, and life are significantly at risk. The most critical, customized, highly specific support for a vulnerable student will undoubtedly involve addressing foundational skills. Without these foundational skills, meaningful experiences with, and mastery of, the 4 Cs and other 21st century skills will be compromised. We define foundational skills as:
Literacy – If students cannot access content and participate in learning opportunities (the majority of which are presented in textual form), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course. If students struggle to demonstrate their understanding of content and mastery of skills (the majority of these demonstrations will require written expression), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course.Numeracy – Skills associated with pre-computational numeracy impact a student’s ability to succeed in all subject areas, not only mathematics. A “sense of number” impacts a student’s ability to identity and interpret part-whole relationships, to sequence, to understand and interpret timelines and graphs, in addition to more obvious connections to mathematics and the sciences.Behaviors – Respect, responsibility, and safety are completely appropriate behavioral goals to establish for students; and, there are many other critical pro-social and pro-functional skills that are foundational to success. When a student has a significant deficit in behavior due to social, emotional, or cognitive factors that result in a severely angry, withdrawn, inattentive child or young adult with few coping mechanisms, self-regulatory strategies, or executive functioning skills, little learning will take place. More immediately, students with significant deficits in behavioral skills are truly at-risk in their right to be a healthy human.Monitor 

We must monitor student response to instruction and intervention and learn from the evidence that is gathered: As we scaffold to ensure student access to learning at Tier 1 and provide specific interventions that target immediate areas of need within Tier 3, we learn about what works and what does not work. Moreover, we view progress monitoring as a logical task with which to meaningfully involve students. Progress-monitoring assessments measure the extent to which students are responding to supplemental interventions. Progress monitoring is feedback:
Feedback for educators: How well have we matched the support to the diagnosed need?Feedback for students: How much growth am I making? Where are my strengths and where do I still have needs? What are my next goals? What can I do? What support do I need?Repeat

If we find that students are not responding to the interventions that we are providing, we suggest that we do not simply seek a new intervention; we may need to better identify the causes of student difficulties and better match a support to the diagnosed antecedent skill. This process may be iterative and we may not be right the first time. But we never give up. In fact, we expect that we will learn quite a bit about the underlying causes of student difficulties through the very act of prescribing and providing an intervention. 

In the third post in the series, I will describe the effective and necessary elements of Special Education within a System of Supports.

A Paradigm Shift

The world continues to change as a result of technological advances.  Just a few years ago it would have been near impossible to predict some of the paradigm shifts we have experienced.  It all began around 2003 when the smartphone wars started with Blackberry, but was quickly taken over by the Apple iPhone in 2007.  At this point change began to happen at a rapid pace. Disruptive innovations, such as Uber and Netflix, have begun to dramatically alter consumer behaviors, in many cases for the better. Make no mistake about it; technology is shaping the world in ways that we could never have imagined. The types of disruption we are seeing are improving effectiveness, efficiency, and results. It's a dog eat dog world in the digital age. Either adapt and evolve or become obsolete and extinct. The dying taxi industry and Blockbuster provide stark reminders of this fact.


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With all the change the world is now experiencing it is quite dumbfounding, to say the least, as to why schools and education remain static when it comes to change. All one has to do is walk into a school and for the most part they will see the same structure and function that has dominated for the past 100 years. The pressure to conform to a world that solely equates school success to standardized metrics is, for all intents and purposes, the reason why we are not seeing disruptive innovation at scale. However, if schools and leaders do not take cues from history it is only a matter of time before they suffer the same fate of obsolescence. The domino effect here could be catastrophic to our economy and the world, as we know it.

Maybe evolution is not the right approach for education, but rather a concerted focus on paradigm shifts to professional practice.  As Thomas Kuhn (1970) argues, scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another". Thus a paradigm shift constitutes a change from one way of thinking to another to spur a revolution that transforms learning and professional practice. This sounds great in theory, but it won’t just happen. For a paradigm shift to occur and be sustained it must be driven by change agents who are willing to disrupt the status quo embedded in the global education system.

Paradigm shifts need to be driven by change agents in classrooms, schools, districts, and other educational organizations across the globe.  In a world where technology is becoming more and more embedded by the minute, it is incumbent upon leaders, regardless of position, to replace the conceptual view of school with a more meaningful one. This is where the concept of digital leadership really comes into play. By carefully analyzing current components of professional practice, educators can begin to make the necessary paradigm shifts to replace existing practices with more effective and relevant ones. The following are some specific paradigm shifts in relation to the Pillars of Digital Leadership:

Student Engagement, Learning, and Achievement

We can ill afford to teach and lead in the same ways we were taught and led. It is important to sift through the fluffy ideas that abound as well as the allure of the tools and begin to integrate technology with purpose when appropriate. Success is contingent upon sound instructional design, quality assessments, and an improved feedback loop. To validate this paradigm shift, the concept inherent in this pillar should be aligned to actual results that exhibit improvement not just in terms of engagement and learning, but also achievement as evidenced by a Return on Instruction (ROI). When implemented correctly, digital tools can transform education.

Learning Spaces and Environments

Desks in rows, LCD projectors used as glorified overhead projectors, uncomfortable furniture, poor lighting, and inflexible arrangements have to go. To prepare our learners to think and solve problems in the real world and beyond, they need to learn in spaces and environments that most emulate this reality. Research has shown that redesign can impact student learning (Barrett et al., 2013). More importantly, it can empower our learners.

Professional Growth

Traditional forms of professional development such as “sit and get”, one-size-fits-all, a few isolated days in the school calendar, and trainings lacking accountability are all a waste of time and money. Technology now allows for professional learning to take place anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Combining improved professional learning experiences with the power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) sets the stage for meaningful improvement that can be transformational.

Communications 

Schools still rely on traditional means (email, newsletters, phone calls). The shift here is to begin to meet stakeholders where they are at and engage them in two-way communications. This blended approach will result in more transparency, exposure, and message amplification.  

Public Relations 

If you don't tell your story someone else will. Do you really want to roll the dice and take a chance with this? Everyone has access to the same free video, picture, and text tools to become the storyteller-in-chief. There is such power in stories that focus on student successes and staff accomplishments. No longer does any educator have to rely on the media alone to share the daily awesomeness that occurs in classrooms and schools. 

Branding 

Here is a simple equation: Communications + Public Relations = Branding.  This is not a business-minded concept focused on selling, but instead telling stories and consistently sharing a positive narrative about education. The focus on telling and sharing work in concert with one another to build powerful relationships with all stakeholders. This results in greater support and appreciation for the whole child approach that many schools are focused on.

Opportunity 

As the saying goes, if opportunity doesn’t knock then build a door. The digital world allows us to open doors like never before. The paradigm shift here will naturally result with a sustained focus on the other six pillars.

A paradigm shift in learning, teaching, and leadership is needed to improve our education system. Opinions, talk, and ideas alone will not do the trick, especially those not connected to research and evidence. Let’s raise the bar for schools and ourselves so that a scalable paradigm shift occurs and holistic improvement becomes the norm, not an exception.

Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat,J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils' learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678-689

Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Differentiation (Part 1)

This is the first guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education.

Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In my opinion and experiences schools can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students. 


Image credit: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/
Schools should strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for rigorous learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This first in a series of three posts describes how schools and educators must leverage differentiation within a System of Supports:

A Comprehensive Approach to Differentiation within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning

Effective core supports are built on providing students what they need; educators call this differentiation. Our increased successes in differentiating teaching and learning directly improve student engagement and motivation.
What follows are the elements of differentiated supports for each and every student:

Survey students to learn about their interests, passions, and drives; incorporate this information in small and large ways throughout the school year.Screen to ensure we have identified students at high-risk of experiencing failure in the absence of a scaffolded set of Core Supports and immediate, intensive, and targeted Specialized Supports. These students will need the very best in terms of scaffolded and differentiated supports to achieve successes within the core.Build relationships with students early and often, so that the learning environment is positive and productive and so that a growth mindset prevails.In order to ensure that these differentiated supports are in place it is important to plan for:
What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.A prioritized scope of sequence of concepts and skills, based on state and local priorities and student needs.How students will access information and content?How to differentiate during whole group instruction?How to differentiate during small group instruction?How students will interact with the content? With whom students will learn?Tasks that provide students with choice and opportunities to exercise agency.When students will learn with an emphasis on:Where students will learn?How students will show us what they know and what they can do?The materials we will need to provide differentiated supports.Pedagogies that that will scaffold students to success, such as those based on a gradual release of responsibility model. This does not mean teacher-only lecture, but a sound lesson design that includes rich student discourse and interaction supported by a teacher’s metacognitive modeling. There is a reason that direct instruction has twice the effect size of inquiry-based approaches (although we are huge fans of inquiry too…the genius of AND)Questioning techniques that meet students at the leading edge of their zones of proximal development and engage them in productive struggle. Practices and strategies based on interests, modalities, styles – not because any are superior or because students necessarily posses a predisposition to learn best from one more than another, but because multiple approaches contribute to a greater likelihood that learning will occur; because interacting with concepts from multiple perspectives and directions strengthens understanding. Assessments that ensure that we can accurately measure what students know in relation to the very first element for what is planned: “What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.”Whether differentiation serves as the umbrella under which RTI and Collaborative Systems of Support work, or Collaborative Systems of Support and RTI assist schools in organizing and systematizing differentiated practices is unimportant. Both sets of principles must be present.

In the second post in the series I will describe the elements of early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.

Waving Goodbye to Drive-By PD

There has been a great deal of knocks on professional development as of late and rightfully so. More often than not, professional development is something that is done to educators as opposed to an experience that they truly value for growth.  For many, district professional development is a one-size-fits-all isolated event with no follow-up or support.  If impact, changes to practice, and sustainability are the ultimate goals then efforts must be made to better support teachers and administrators. It’s time to move past the practice of “drive-by” PD that has very little, if any, impact on professional practice. 


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Let’s first tackle the stigma that comes with professional development. Learning is the ultimate goal for our students, not development. As such, districts need to invest in professional learning opportunities that will result in fundamental changes to teaching, learning, and leadership.  

Learning Forward describes what effective professional development looks like:

“Effective professional development enables educators to develop the knowledge and skills they need to address students’ learning challenges. To be effective, professional development requires thoughtful planning followed by careful implementation with feedback to ensure it responds to educators’ learning needs. Educators who participate in professional development then must put their new knowledge and skills to work. Professional development is not effective unless it causes teachers to improve their instruction or causes administrators to become better school leaders.”

Professional learning definitely matters and effective planning and implementation is key.  A research review by the Wallace Foundation found that effective districts invest in the learning not only of students, but also of teachers, principals, district staff, superintendents and school board members. A motivational keynote that provides practical, proven strategies for improvement is a good start to set the table, but what happens after this is what really matters. In order to ensure a wise investment of time and resources that will result in sustainable changes, it is important that professional learning be:
On-goingJob-embeddedSupported with coaching (face-to-face or virtual)Personalized and differentiated (i.e. micro-credentials)Facilitated by people who have done the work and implemented successful change that resulted in improved student learning outcomes and achievementDirectly correlated to professional practiceAligned to research and cases studiesAddresses real challenges educators faceSustainable over timeSo what does this actually look like? Our work at the International Center for Leadership in Education has been focused on these elements above for many years.  This is something I take great pride in. Since coming to ICLE almost two years ago we have integrated these principles into our Digital Leadership and Learning services as outlined HERE. In the process we have helped districts and schools embrace meaningful changes leading the digital transformation.  

Change takes time. Districts need to take this into consideration when investing in and implementing professional learning if the goal is meaningful change to improve student learning and professional practice.  This cannot be accomplished with drive-by PD. 

The Blogging Hurdle

During my typical digital leadership keynote or workshop, I consistently talk about the importance of blogging in relation to the pillars of communication, public relations, branding, and professional growth. When I ask attendees how many of them blog, usually ten or less hands go up. This question is quickly followed by how many of those who blog do so consistently. At most there are five hands that go back up, but usually it is less.  I then proceed to tell the majority of the audience why they don’t blog and offer up some specific reasons:
I don't have timeI don’t know what to blog aboutNo one will read my blogI don't know how to start a blogI can’t writeI get it.  Back in the day, I was against the idea of blogging as I thought Twitter was good enough to meet certain leadership and learning goals I had established.  If something is important to you then you will find a way. If not, then you will make an excuse.  At the time blogging just wasn’t important enough to me so I came up with as many excuses as I could to avoid the topic. 


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My exact excuses are listed above. It wasn’t until a man by the name of Ken Royal pulled me aside and gave me some advice that totally changed my professional career. He basically said that we were doing such great work at my school and I should share it in detail so others could benefit from our experiences.  He essential convinced me that I had to blog. The conversation we had motivated me to move past the excuses I had concocted and to do my best to write in detail about practical strategies that successfully resulted in sustainable change. To this day I have never stopped blogging, although my style and topics have changed with my career transition. Consistency is important, but getting started and valuing the process is crucial.

Let me make this crystal clear – Your work matters more than you realize! Awesomeness happens in districts, schools, and classrooms every day. If you are not blogging about these daily wins, you are selling your kids and community short. Don't let the excuses hold you back from sharing the inspirational stories and practical strategies that can combat the negative rhetoric in education. As I have said since 2009, if you don't tell your story someone else will. Digital leadership compels us to become the storyteller-in-chief.  

So what should I blog about? Here are some general topics and tips to get you motivated to either start or write more consistently:
Communicate news, events, building projects, student achievements, staff accomplishments, and other informationTell great stories as a means to take control of your public relationsReflect on your learning, successes, and failuresDevelop a positive brand presenceShare practical strategies and evidence that have resulted from change initiativesProvide insight on how specific technology tools can be successfully integrated to support/enhance student learningIf you need even more blogging ideas or prompts, then check out the Ultimate List of Blog Post Ideas. 

Take the plunge. There are a variety of blogging platforms to chose from including Blogger, Wordpress, Medium, or Tumblr. Put aside at least 45 minutes a week to write. There are no rules on length of posts. Once your post is complete share on social media using mainstream hash tags. If you connect to my work or interests, shoot me an email so I can read it. Most importantly, write for you and no one else.

Do you already have a blog? If so share a link in the comments section below.

Supplement Your Professional Learning with edWeb

Since 2009 I have been a huge believer and advocate for connected learning and the formation of Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s). Now don't get me wrong, I still highly value face-to-face experiences, as there are some natural limits to learning exclusively in a social media vacuum.  The discussions, interpersonal connections, and relationships that result from these events are priceless.  It is also extremely important for district and school teams to collaborate in person on specific goals. Doing this exclusively online, outside of the school day or year, can be quite a challenge if not impossible.

As digital technology continues to evolve, educators now have numerous options to connect, learn, and grow in both formal and informal ways. These pathways provide an incredible supplement to formal learning opportunities that are provided through district/school trainings as well as off-site conferences, workshops, and presentations.  One of the most significant benefits of connected learning is the ability for educators to follow their specific passions to improve professionally.  Motivated by an intrinsic desire to improve, connected learning and PLN’s provide personalization and differentiation like never before.



There are so many fantastic tools that educators can use today to connect, engage, and learn with colleagues from across the globe. One of my favorite tools is a digital discussion forum called edWeb.  It is comprised of a community of over 100,000 educators from across the globe. Here is why edWeb should be a part of everyone’s PLN:

Anyone can join for FREE!Ability to join specific communities aligned to professional learning needs and interests.Be sure to check out the Leadership 3.0 community that I facilitate. Watch and participate in live webinars aligned to professional learning communities that are of interest to you. There is also a calendar that provides information on all the webinars being offered by month.Practitioners who are actually doing the work as well as experts in the field of education conduct Webinars.All webinars are archived so that educators can watch and learn at times convenient to them no matter where they are in the world.Continuing Education (CE) certificates are provided at the conclusion of each webinar and are accepted by many schools, districts, and states.edWeb can be accessed on any mobile device.
A new feature that has been rolled out recently is edWeb TV.  This paid subscription option provides educators access to over 800 on-demand webinars for a nominal fee. Each webinar has also been aligned to the national professional development standards.

edWeb has provided a supplement to my professional learning since it’s inception. Give it a try and I have no doubt that it will become one of your favorite connected learning tools as part of a vibrant PLN.

Change Needed Today to Prepare for Tomorrow

There is always a great deal of talk about what schools need to do now. The problem though is that most of the talk is not followed with action. Then there are those who want to act, but do not have the adequate support to do so. Herein lies the issue with all the change talk, rhetoric, and opinions.  Very few people reading this post will deny that the education system has to change now or we run the risk of preparing students for a world that no longer exists. 



Change is needed today to ensure learner success in the modern era, but just as importantly to prepare them for the unique challenges of tomorrow.  The reality though is that change in education becomes a balancing act with pressure from stakeholders on one side demanding increases in achievement as measured by standard metrics such as test scores. On the other side is the need to innovate in order to successfully cultivate the next generation of thinkers, doers, inventors, and creators who will be able to solve some pretty serious global problems in the not so distant future.  We have to stop looking at each side of the balance here and begin to focus on disrupting the system with bold ideas that blend results with meaningful learning.

Hence, I come back to the need to support schools and educators in this endeavor. For over 20 years the Model Schools Conference has provided educators with a learning experience driven by the districts, schools, and educators who have closed the achievement gap.  There is no better way to learn what works in a seemingly endless debate about the needed change in schools than from those who have successfully done it.  As a Senior Fellow with the International Center for Leadership in Education, one of my responsibilities is to help provide practical strategies for accomplishing change in the digital age. As many readers of this blog know, I am a huge proponent of innovative change that leads to actual results in teaching, learning, and leadership.  This has resulted in innovative changes to the Model Schools Conference to provide attendees with the skills, tools, strategies, and mindset to initiate sustainable change. 

Here are some highlights and areas of focus for this year’s event:
Closing the achievement gap and digital divide – Teams from model districts and schools will present proven pedagogical and leadership strategies on how they accomplished this in challenging times. There will even be a special Future Ready Schools strand.Innovative spaces for attendees to learn in – Design empowers learning, which is why we want attendees to experience this firsthand. Connections will then be made to how we can begin to transform spaces in our schools to improve student-learning outcomes. LEGO will also be on hand to lead immersion sessions on the importance of creativity in learning. Making to learn – For the second year straight there will be a working makerspace staffed by local students and outfitted by Table Top Inventing. What better why to see how making impacts learning than through our own students?The power of virtual reality – As a result of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s strategic partnership with Google, there will be an immersion experience for attendees using Google Cardboard and Expeditions. Attendees will also be exposed to emerging ways on how virtual reality can support rigorous learning. Return on Instruction – A hallmark of the conference will be a focus on the Collaborative Instructional Review (CIR) process, which will be on full display.  This process can help transform every administrator into an instructional leader, capable of unlocking the instructional power of every teacher and, in turn, the learning potential of every student.
In addition to the awesomeness listed above, numerous sessions will be led by some of the most prominent thought leaders and practitioners in education today.  Join us to get the support to initiate the change needed today to prepare for tomorrow. For the latest updates follow along on Twitter using #ModelSchools.