Learning Designs

Study, learn, design; repeat as necessary.

Vol. 32 No. 4

Designers reside mostly in school districts and schools and can have primary assignments of all sorts. In many districts, central office personnel are most visible on design committees, but teachers, principals, and superintendents are included. Members of professional learning communities can design their own processes, and individual teachers can, too. States do also. National organizations and commercial companies are increasingly designing distance courses (Ross, 2011). Learning Forward asked us to write about design referring to the new Standards for Professional Learning and drawing on research. We needed to synthesize a considerable quantity of research, opinion, and experience into a few principles of design that will have practical applications. We organized this essay around a scenario that begins when a group of promising professional development providers from

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Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.

Authors

Bruce R. Joyce and Emily F. Calhoun

Bruce R. Joyce (brucejoyce40@gmail.com) taught in the schools of Delaware and was a professor at the University of Delaware, University of Chicago, and Teachers College, Columbia University. His work focuses on models of teaching and professional development. Emily F. Calhoun (efcphoenix@aol.com) focuses on school improvement and professional development in her research, writing, and consulting. Her recent books cover action research, models of teaching, and assessing reading programs. Together they have written Models of Professional Development (2010) and Realizing the Promise of 21st-Century Education (in press). They reside in St. Simons Island, Ga.

NEW COMPONENT

A new component of professional learning is being generated by the need to integrate information and communication technologies into core curriculum areas of the school. While many teachers are reaching out to the web and using the library resources being developed, the core curriculum areas need to be redeveloped into what my colleagues and I call hybrid courses (the term blending is often used), where the familiar campus course is augmented by technology resources. Components of distance courses can also be integrated into campus courses and curriculum areas from kindergarten through grade 12. The teachers who take this on will need support through serious professional development. Professional development to help them to learn to generate online components for their courses is currently available, often online itself. We should soon enter a new era of research on how to design the online and offline professional development on integrating this technology into core areas.

References

Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Edmonds, R. (1979, October). Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational Leadership, 37(1), 15-24.

Hall, G. & Hord, S. (2011, August). Learning builds the bridge between research and practice. JSD, 32(4).

Harkreader, S. & Weathersby, J. (1998). Staff development and student achievement: Making the connection in Georgia’s schools. Atlanta, GA: Council for School Performance, Georgia State University.

Hunt, D. & Sullivan, E. (1974). Between psychology and education. Hinsdale, IL: Dryden.

Iowa Association of School Boards. (2007). Leadership for student learning. Des Moines, IA: Author.

Joyce, B. & Calhoun, E. (2010). Models of professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Joyce, B. & Calhoun, E. (in press). Realizing the promise of 21st century education: An owners’ manual. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Joyce, B., Calhoun, E., Newlove, K., & Jutras, J. (2006, November). Scaling up: The results of a literacy program implemented in an entire education authority. A paper delivered to the Asian Pacific Educational Research Association, Hong Kong.

McGill-Franzen, A., Allington, R., Yokoi, L., & Brooks, G. (1999, November-December). Putting books in the classroom seems necessary but not sufficient. Journal of Educational Research, 93(2), 67-74.

Ross, J. (2011). Online professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.

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