Establishing a Continuous Professional Learning Culture

Dana DeVandry
College of Education, Grand Canyon University
EAD-513: Shaping School Culture
John Whalen
Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Establishing a Continuous Professional Learning Culture Using Nearpod

Establishing a Structured Approach

Nearpod is a versatile online platform that allows for interactive presentations and professional learning experiences. To use Nearpod effectively for ongoing professional development (PD) among staff, a structured process for evaluating, sharing, and applying learning is essential. This approach helps create a continuous learning culture within the school.

Evaluating Professional Learning Topics

1. Criteria for Evaluation:
   • Ensure that professional learning topics align with the school’s goals, vision (e.g., student achievement, leadership, instructional improvement), and specific needs of staff.
   • Topics should directly relate to current teaching challenges, curriculum changes, or instructional strategies being used at the school.
   • The content should offer actionable strategies and tools that teachers can immediately use in their classrooms.
   • Evaluate whether the PD content is grounded in evidence-based practices, offering proven methods for improving student outcomes or enhancing teaching effectiveness.
2. Evaluation Process:
   • Conduct a needs assessment or gather feedback from teachers on areas where they need more support or knowledge.
   • Review PD content through a committee of experienced educators and instructional leaders before selecting it for Nearpod presentations.
   • Pilot certain topics with a small group of staff for feedback before rolling them out more widely.
   • If you are using the live-time feature, or student-led lesson, you can preview by pausing the presentation before people can see the responses in order to keep a high standard.  You can also choose certain responses to share with the class for teaching purposes.

Sharing Professional Learning

1. Nearpod as the Main Platform:
   • Develop Nearpod lessons or presentations that incorporate content from conferences, workshops, or formal coursework.
   • Use Nearpod’s interactive tools such as quizzes, polls, collaborative boards, and multimedia elements to make the sharing of professional learning engaging and dynamic.
   • Offer both synchronous and asynchronous options, allowing staff to participate in real-time sessions facilitated by instructional leaders or watch recorded Nearpod lessons at their convenience.
   • Utilize Nearpod’s Collaborate Board to allow staff to discuss and share ideas during or after sessions.
2. Supplemental Materials:
   • Upload relevant resources (e.g., PDF handouts, articles, videos) into Nearpod that can be accessed at any time for reference.

Applying and Implementing Learning

1. Application Plan:
   • Include planning time within the Nearpod session itself, where teachers can write down implementation strategies using Nearpod’s open-ended question feature or interactive worksheets.
   • Encourage teachers to commit to applying the new strategies or tools in their lessons over the next few weeks and track the impact on student learning.
2. Peer Support and Collaboration:
   • Group teachers in teams (via Nearpod’s collaboration tools or follow-up discussions) to co-plan lessons or co-teach based on the new learning.
   • Facilitate peer observations to help teachers refine their practice.

Reflective Feedback and Monitoring

1. Nearpod Reflections:
   • Incorporate follow-up sessions in Nearpod where teachers can submit reflections and feedback on their implementation of new practices.
   • Use Nearpod’s open-ended questions or poll features to collect responses to specific reflection prompts.
2. Collaborative Discussion:
   • Use the Nearpod Collaborate Board feature or assign teachers to small group discussions to share reflections, ask questions, and suggest improvements.
3. Ongoing Monitoring:
   • Create a digital portfolio (via Nearpod or another platform) where teachers can document their progress and receive feedback from instructional leaders or peers.

Establishing a Continuous Learning Cycle

Timeline for the Continuous Learning Cycle:

• Week 1: Initial Learning and Sharing
  • Conduct the Nearpod PD session and provide access to the resources.
  • Teachers engage with the content and create an initial plan for implementation.
• Weeks 2-3: Initial Implementation
  • Teachers apply the learned strategies in their classrooms.
  • Offer optional follow-up sessions in Nearpod for questions or troubleshooting.
• Weeks 4-5: Reflective Feedback and Adjustments
  • Teachers submit their reflections using Nearpod’s interactive tools.
  • Provide peer or leadership feedback based on classroom experiences.
  • Teachers refine their implementation based on feedback.
• Weeks 6-8: Monitoring and Evaluating Outcomes
  • Continue to monitor the impact of the implementation on student performance.
  • Hold a follow-up Nearpod session for final reflections and to review data on how the professional learning impacted teaching practice and student outcomes.

Ongoing PD and Reflection Cycles:

• Repeat this cycle regularly, introducing new learning, implementation, reflection, and evaluation every 6-8 weeks to create continuous professional growth.
• This structured approach using Nearpod ensures that professional learning is shared effectively, implemented with purpose, and monitored for its impact on classroom practices and student outcomes, fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the school.

Rationale:

The structure for using Nearpod as a platform for professional learning was designed to promote interactive, collaborative, and reflective professional development, aligning with research that emphasizes the importance of integrating technology and working collaboratively within professional learning communities (PLCs).

Relevance of Professional Learning Topics
Evaluating professional learning topics for relevance ensures alignment with both school goals and staff needs. Adult learning theory supports the idea that adults are more engaged when the material is directly applicable to their work (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015). Within a PLC, like the one described by Hutchison and Woodward (2014), teachers can share strategies and support each other in integrating technology into their instruction, making the learning process collaborative and contextualized. This approach is supported by research showing that successful technology integration into professional development requires components of collaboration among colleagues (Kopcha, 2012; MacDonald, 2008; Polly & Hannafin, 2010; Schrum & Levin, 2013).

Interactive and Engaging Professional Learning
Nearpod’s interactive features provide a dynamic and engaging environment for sharing professional learning. Technology, when integrated into professional development, facilitates real-time feedback, active participation, and personalized experiences, which increase the effectiveness of learning (Borman & Feger, 2016). Similarly, the teachers in Thoma et al.’s (2014) study found that working collaboratively within a PLC helped them navigate the complex nature of technology integration into literacy instruction, further supporting the idea that collaboration enhances the learning process.

Reflective Practice
The third component of this structure is reflective practice, which allows teachers to assess and adjust their strategies based on classroom experiences. Reflective practice is an essential part of professional learning because it leads to continuous improvement in teaching effectiveness (Schön, 1983). In the study by Thoma et al. (2014), teachers reflected on the challenges of technology integration alongside the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, showing the value of reflection in managing complex educational changes.

Appropriate Timeline and Continuous Support
Establishing an appropriate timeline for sharing, implementing, and reflecting on professional learning ensures that the new strategies are effectively embedded into teaching practices. This cyclical process of learning, application, and reflection aligns with the ongoing support needed for professional development to lead to lasting change (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). The experiences of the PLC in the study by Hutchison and Woodward (2014) further demonstrate how continuous collaboration and reflection can improve the integration of technology into instructional practice.

Conclusion
The structure for using Nearpod as a platform for professional learning is firmly grounded in research and best practices for effective professional development. By prioritizing relevance, interactivity, collaboration, reflection, and continuous support, this approach aligns with the needs of adult learners and the complexities of integrating technology into teaching and learning.

References

Borman, M., & Feger, S. (2016). Technology takes coaching to scale: Investing in innovation grantees show how it’s done. Center for Educational Leadership.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.

Hutchison, A., & Woodward, L. (2014). Planning for technology integration in a professional learning community. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 15(2), 56-82.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). Routledge.

Kopcha, T. J. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions of the barriers to technology integration and practices with technology under situated professional development. Computers & Education, 59(4), 1109-1121.

MacDonald, R. (2008). Professional development for information communication technology integration: Identifying and supporting a community of practice through design-based research. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 18(4), 459-474.

Nearpod. (n.d.). Nearpod. https://nearpod.com/library/

Polly, D., & Hannafin, M. J. (2010). Examining technology integration in the classroom: A framework for evaluating and promoting integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 58(3), 255-276.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.

Schrum, L., & Levin, B. B. (2013). Leadership for 21st-century learning: Global perspectives from international experts. Springer.

Thoma, J., Hutchison, A., Johnson, D., Johnson, K., & Stromer, E. (2014). Planning for technology integration in a professional learning community. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 15(2), 1-26.