Boost Morale with These Simple Strategies

Morale can best be defined as the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time. Thriving cultures that produce results make every effort to keep this on the positive side. However, this is easier said than done. While the pandemic has undoubtedly played a monumental role in decreasing morale, other factors continuously play a role, such as leadership, mandates, lack of time, systems that are in place, a toxic culture, inadequate pay, or trying to maintain a work-life balance. No matter the cause, it’s up to the leader and their team to constantly be proactive to combat low morale.

Below are some simple strategies that you can use immediately and long-term, many of which are research-based.

Pile on the positive feedback

Sometimes there is never enough of a good thing when it comes to building up culture. Research has shown that feedback is vital in establishing good relations as it can enhance relationships, strengthen loyalty and commitment, and increase morale (Smith, 2009). When it comes to feedback, make sure it is timely, specific, practical, facilitated in a positive manner, and is a dialogue as opposed to a monologue. Actively look for opportunities to provide feedback through diverse means such as phone calls, paper notes, technology, and face-to-face conversations.

Actively inquire about how people are feeling

While this might seem like a no-brainer, it is not easy at times to know how people really feel unless diligent efforts are made to find out. Listening is one of the best tools that can be leveraged to gather crucial information on the pulse of a culture. Creating a roundtable for staff to share what is on their mind is another solid option, but digital forms that allow anonymous responses could very well be the best route.

Provide autonomy

Micro-managing never ends well. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2008), a study involving 735 workers was conducted to examine autonomy's impact on overall morale. Results revealed that work motivation was significantly related to both intraindividual (global motivation) and contextual factors (organizational support and supervisor autonomy support). It can be concluded that perceived organizational support and work autonomous motivation was positively related to work satisfaction (Gillet et al., 2013). As a principal, I created the Professional Growth Period (PGP) to grant unconditional autonomy to my staff.

Gift appropriate rewards 

The key word above is appropriate. While I am a massive proponent of intrinsic means to improve motivation, that does not mean we cannot leverage extrinsic rewards as a means to boost morale. Examples include release time, professional learning opportunities off-site, a premium parking spot, tickets to school events, books, and school supplies. If you really want to boost morale, try eliminating as many after-school meetings as possible. The bottom line is that people want to be recognized, but morale will be most positively impacted by using authentic rewards that your staff value and do not see as disingenuous (White, 2014).

Celebrate publicly

It is hard to argue the fact that people want to have some semblance of fun and feel appreciated. A study using a large email survey of managers found overwhelming support for having fun in the workplace. Respondents reported that having a fun work environment will increase the levels of enthusiasm, satisfaction, creativity, communications among staff and enhanced feelings of group cohesiveness (Ford et al., 2004). Some schools have large-scale team-building events both on and off-site. If you go this route, elicit feedback from staff on what options they think will be best. You can also share stories across social media as a way to share successes more broadly, something I dive into deeply in Digital Leadership. 

Sustaining and improving outcomes relies on good morale. It also plays a pivotal role in retaining our most precious people…those who commit themselves to serve kids.

Deci, E. & Ryan, R. (1994) Promoting Self‐determined Education, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 38:1, 3-14.

Ford, R.C., Newstrom, J.W. and McLaughlin, F.S. (2004), "Making workplace fun more functional", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 117-120.

Gillet, N., Gagné, M., Sauvagère, S. & Fouquereau, E. (2013) The role of supervisor autonomy support, organizational support, and autonomous and controlled motivation in predicting employees' satisfaction and turnover intentions, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22:4, 450-460.

Smith, D. C. (2008). Teaching Managers To Relate: Using Feedback To Bolster Commitment And Morale. Journal of Diversity Management (JDM), 3(3), 7–12.

White, P. (2014), "Improving staff morale through authentic appreciation", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 17-20.

The Professional Learning Sweet Spot

For the better part of my educational career, I always referred to any type of learning to assist me as a teacher or administrator as professional development (PD).  It was always referred to like this, so who was I to argue.  For the most part, this consisted of attending mandatory district “PD” days, professional learning communities (PLC)’s or approved off-site experiences such as conferences, workshops, or webinars.  The experiences where I had some level of choice were the most meaningful to me and resulted in real changes to my educational practice. I think the same can be said when it comes to the learners we serve.

In March of 2009, I began to use Twitter, and it was at this time that I began to create a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Through the use of social media, I realized that I didn’t really need to be “developed.” What I craved were experiences that I valued and could pursue that would help my school and district achieve collective goals. Thus, my thinking changed. Up until this point, professional development was always done to me as opposed to something that I wanted to be an active part of. Intrinsic motivation should always be the focal point of any experience geared at improving professional practice. If we find and see value, the emphasis becomes embracement as opposed to buy-in.

With a PLN, I was able to learn anytime, anywhere, from anyone I wanted for free. I now had access to a human-generated search engine where I gleaned the best resources, ideas, supports, and advice. Questions became a more prized commodity than answers. No longer did I have to continually fret about reinventing the wheel or coming up with the next most fantastic innovative idea.  I was both enlightened and empowered. It was at this time that I began to shift away from PD and instead embrace a culture of professional learning. There is a big difference in my mind.

Learning should be a personal experience, deeply rooted in purpose, meaning, authenticity, practicality, and relevance.  If the goal is to provide this for our students, then the same must be emphasized for teachers, administrators, and support staff. Personalization emphasizes high-agency approaches such as voice, choice, path, pace, and place, perfect for both kids and adults. Even though the individual level is the most important in my mind, we cannot discount our organization, district, or school needs. 

In order for a mission, vision, and goals to become a reality, it takes a collective effort to learn and grow together. The professional learning sweet spot evolves through a balancing act, as depicted by the image below.

In Digital Leadership I emphasized how input from educators is crucial to the success of any professional learning experience, as is time. When you think about the image above, take a critical lens to what you currently engage in and what is provided to you by your organization, school, or district.  On-going and job-embedded experiences lead to sustained changes to practice and improve student outcomes when it comes to results. A dynamic mash-up of workshops and coaching definitely falls into the sweet spot. It is crucial always to align any professional learning with current trends and needs. The COVID19 pandemic has brought a few of these to the forefront, such as social-emotional, remote, personalized, and blended learning. As schools begin to develop plans for student and staff re-entry, pertinent professional learning supports will need to be emphasized.

Below are some pathways to consider that are more personal and focus on the unique needs of educators:

• Personal Learning Network
• Asynchronous, self-directed opportunities (i.e., Professional Growth Period, flipped sessions, webinars, open courseware, digital badges/micro-credentials)
• Edcamps and Teachmeets
• Professional Learning Communities where educators determine the focus
• Blended approaches
• Peer observation
• School and site visits

Effective and meaningful professional learning is all about striving for the sweet spot. At times there will have to be concessions in terms of time, choice, and available funding. 

That’s just how it goes. The key takeaway that I hope you leave with is developing professional learning opportunities through consensus and ensuring mechanisms in place lead to improved outcomes.  In the event that you are not satisfied with what is provided to you through your organization, district, or school, then there is a myriad of options that you can pursue.

6 Ways to Improve Professional Learning

No matter your position in education, you have gone through some form of professional development. In many cases, the act of being “developed” comes in a variety of standard types such as workshops, mandated PD days, presentations, conferences, book studies, or keynotes. Many of these are often the one and done variety or conducted in a drive-by manner. Now, don’t get me wrong; some educators find value in the experiences I have outlined above and have gone on to change their respective practice for the better. However, I would say an equal amount have found little to no benefit. The bottom line is that all educators yearn for quality professional learning as opposed to development that leads to sustained improvements in teaching, learning, and leadership. The image below from Katie Martin sums up nicely what educators want out of professional learning. 

Image Credit

So where is the disconnect when looking at the typical professional development offerings? Some recent research provides great insight into this issue (Darling et al., 2017):

Research has noted that many professional development initiatives appear ineffective in supporting changes in teachers’ practices and student learning. Accordingly, we set out to discover the features of effective professional development. We define effective PD as structured professional learning that results in changes to teacher practices and improvements in student learning outcomes. Through a review of 35 studies, we found seven widely shared features of effective professional development. Such professional development:

1. Is content focused
2. Incorporates active learning, utilizing adult learning theory
3. Supports collaboration, typically in job-embedded contexts
4. Uses models and modeling of effective practice
5. Provides coaching and expert support
6. Offers opportunities for feedback and reflection
7. Is of sustained duration 

The same focus areas listed above apply to people in leadership positions just as much as teachers, as supported by research. Leaders need consistent support and feedback on all aspects of the position to continually grow and improve, but the most emphasis should be on issues related to instructional leadership that leads to pedagogical change.

Over the years, I have been blessed to be a part of several long-term professional learning projects in schools and districts across the United States. Even though each project is different, each contains an assortment of classroom observations, strategic planning, coaching, and loads of feedback. Through each experience, I open myself to learn, unlearn, and relearn with the educators that I am working with shoulder to shoulder in the trenches. Below are a few lessons learned.

Model what you expect

Adult learners don’t like to be spoken at. Many want to see what a strategy actually looks like in practice and then have the time to apply it. The also really want to see how it can be successfully implanted when aligned with the realities they face. A focus on the why might get educators all excited, but that typically fades when they need more of the how in terms of what the strategy actually looks like in practice. After you model, give people time to apply what they have learned.

Share exemplars

I am always asked for examples of innovative practices in action and what they look like at various grade levels. It is important for many educators to see success through the lens of their peers. By doing so, the task of change becomes more doable in the eyes of those engaged in the professional learning experience. Thanks to being in different schools each week, I have been able to curate so many artifacts that are then used to help others see how a strategy or idea has been implemented successfully (especially from Wells Elementary). Once an exemplar is shared, give educators time to reflect and then plan their activities.

Feedback and more feedback 

Virtually every educator wants feedback, and when delivered the right way, it can lead to powerful improvements to practice. When it comes to ongoing support in the form of job-embedded coaching, timeliness and specificity are critical in the eyes of the receiver. During year two of my continuing work with Wells Elementary, the administrative team asked me to develop videos for each grade level. For example, after conducting walk-throughs of all third-grade teachers time was built into the schedule for me to create a video emphasizing commendations and areas for growth. By the end of the day, six different videos were reviewed by the teachers during grade-level meetings. The goal was then to act on the feedback prior to my next visit.  Always make time for feedback.

Get Creative 

Doing the same old thing the same old way becomes boring not only for those engaged in professional learning but also for the facilitator. That’s why I am always open to ideas from the schools and districts I work with to spice it up. Recently Cheryl Fisher, the principal of Wells Elementary, asked me to create a scavenger hunt. I am so glad she did, as it was a huge success. Here is some more context. The school opened up three years ago, and I have been engaged with them since the beginning.

In an effort to differentiate on this particular day, I was to work with all first-year teachers. After a hands-on workshop with time to reflect and apply what had been learned, I sent them all on a digital scavenger hunt using Goosechase. Several missions were developed where they had to go find evidence of the practice being implemented by one of their peers. Not only did they have a blast, but also we were all able to see how innovative methods have become the standard at this school. Getting creative with professional learning will take a little time on your part, but in the end, it is worth it.

Add some personalization

There is nothing better in my opinion than putting teachers and administrators in charge of their professional learning. I see personalization as a move from “what” to “who” to emphasize a shift to ownership on the part of the educator. For example, I have been working this year with the Corinth School District in Mississippi in a job-embedded coaching role. After spending an entire day visiting classrooms and providing feedback, I then empowered the teachers and administrators to collaboratively plan out their next day with me based on agreed focus areas.

When I was the principal at New Milford High School, I created the Professional Growth Period (PGP). By giving my teachers time during the school day, I let them choose their own path and pace to work on innovative practices. Feedback on what they had accomplished was provided at each end of year conference. In the end, I gave up my time to cover duties, so my teachers could learn.

Time 

Time is critical to success, no matter what professional learning pathway is pursued. As you think about what you want to accomplish in your school, organization, or district, think carefully about how time will be provided. As you have seen above, time is a crucial element in each strategy above.

When it comes to professional learning, either advocate for what you feel you need and deserve, or work to create the types of experiences that educators will find value in.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M., & Espinoza, D. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

Agency: Important for Students and Educators

There is a great deal of talk and focus on the need to improve student agency in our schools and rightfully so (see my post on this topic HERE).  Empowerment and ownership need and should be associated with learning to increase relevancy, value, meaning, and outcomes.  The desire to increase agency in the form of voice, choice, and advocacy should be viewed as just as important for educators (teachers and administrators) as it is for students.  For sustainable change and innovative practices to take hold let’s evaluate the level of educator agency in our schools. 

Image credit: www.peoplematters.in

Voice

Educators, both teachers and administrators, should have a say in many elements that influence a school’s learning culture.  When we don’t listen to the ideas and concerns of others people will shut down and withdraw. This results in a negative impact on motivation, respect, enthusiasm and a willingness to innovate.  In terms of communication, the aspect of listening is just as important in leading and sustaining change as the use of verbal and non-verbal strategies.  Educator voice can be cultivated using the following strategies:

• Flipped staff meetings – Everyone who plans a meeting works terribly hard to develop and then get through an agenda.  This results in a death-by-meeting scenario and is a main reason why most people hate meetings. Consider developing a meeting agenda using Google Docs. The added bonus here is that other documents, images, and videos can be embedded, which really creates a more dynamic agenda.  Complete this a week prior and then send out to your staff where they can add comments and content to the agenda.  Then during the actual meeting focus on one or two very important goals such as the following: How do we improve learning for our students? Have a back channel established and monitored using a tool like TodaysMeet to take educator voice to the next level.  Creating a trusting environment where staff can respond under the cover of anonymity amplifies voice even more.   
• Planning professional learning – How many of us dreaded professional development (PD) days? Historically PD has always been something that was done to us, not something that we wanted to engage in.  The best way to change the paradigm here is to afford educators opportunities to use their voice and ideas to plan powerful learning experiences.  This could consist of speaker recommendations, workshop topics, hosting your own event, or even the development of an unconference.  Just as we want students to own their learning the same should apply to adults. 
• Comment box – This strategy has been used in the hospitality business for ages.  Some people just want their concerns to be heard, but acting on certain concerns can be empowering on many levels.  Consider having some of your talented students create a wood box do this the traditional way and then leave it in the faculty room.  If digital leadership is your thing, set up a few tools (Padlet, TodaysMeet, Tackk) and allow anonymous comments to be posted.  Establish some ground rules prior such as including a solution to go along with the identified problem, as you don’t want this to turn into a gripe session.  The comment box should also be used as an opportunity to provide compliments and positive reinforcement.

Choice

In the classroom, agency empowers a shift where students can choose the right tool for the right task to demonstrate conceptual understanding and mastery. Various pathways to personalize learning and make it more personal are also emphasized.  Educators should have more choice over how they learn themselves. They should also have choice over resources that they, the experts who work with students the most on a day to day basis, feel are valuable to support and enhance learning.  Below are some ideas on how to promote educator choice:

• Micro-credentials – The use of digital badges, otherwise known as micro-credentials, can afford educators choice over what they want to learn about as well as the specific time that they want to learn a new skill or pedagogical technique.  Accountability for learning is ensured through a vetting process and the badge represents the successful achievement of a learning goal. Thanks to the leadership of Laura Fleming we implemented a micro-credential system to acknowledge the informal learning of our teachers and administrators.  You can visit her site HERE and begin to earn your own badges through choice or work to implement your own system.
• Genius Hour - Genius hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom.  It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.  This concept can be applied for educators as well.  As principal I created the Professional Growth Period (PGP) where in lieu of a non-instructional duty my staff were given 2-3 forty-eight minute periods per week to follow their learning passions.  A learning portfolio was required as part of this process and presented at the end of year evaluation conference. You can learn more about the PGP process HERE. 
• Distributive budgeting – Distributive leadership conveys the importance of a shared, collective and extended leadership practice that builds the capacity for change and improvement. This can be applied to the budgeting process when it comes time to purchase learning tools, resources, and services (PD providers). The choice factor honors the expertise found in our classrooms and schools and can serve as a great catalyst for sustainable change. 

Advocacy

Educators need to be put in a position where they can actively advocate for system improvements without the fear of repercussion.  It is important to understand that there is no perfect teacher, classroom, administrator, school, district, or system. In education, we must focus on areas where our data tells us we can improve, but also continue to push the envelope by embracing innovative ideas and an edupreneurial mindset (learn more about this concept in my book BrandED). Advocacy educators consider voice and support for a cause to bring about needed change.  Let’s face it, even with progress in schools there still are many areas that need improvement. Forums should be established where advocates for grading, homework, schedule, curriculum, budget, and professional development reform can not only be heard, but also offer recommendations for improvement.  These need to be safe places where open dialogue is encouraged and action results. 

These are my thoughts on improving educator agency in our schools to compliment student agency. When looking at the three essential elements (voice, choice, advocacy) what examples would you add?

Making Time vs Finding Time

One of the most utilized excuses in education when it comes to change is lack of time. At one point or another, we have all used the time excuse when it comes to our professional work.  With all of the mandates and directives that are thrown our way, time becomes a relatively easy scapegoat when it comes to skirting the issue of change. Whether it be in the form of endless piles of paperwork, never ending observations, meetings with parents, attending events, developing a master schedule, or constructing a school budget – there never seemed like enough time in my day to even get those responsibilities done. It is never easy in the role of a teacher either. Lesson planning, grading, meeting with students before/after school, running clubs, and coaching all take up a great deal of their time as well.  Time is the number one enemy of needed change and improvement in my opinion.

Image credit: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/12354248703_f23b955afe.jpg

Let’s face the perceived fact that there will never be enough time in any of our days to get everything done.  Or is there? Regardless of your respective role in education, time will always be your enemy if you look at it with a fixed as opposed to a growth mindset. This is where you need to focus less on finding time and more on making time to complete necessary tasks that are not only required, but also ones that will allow you to grow, innovate, and develop more of a passion for your work. Before getting to this point you must look at how you currently utilize the time you have. In my case I was more of a manager as opposed to a leader. In response I began to either delegate the managerial aspects of my position as a principal to my assistants or I just got rid of obligatory routines shrouded in monotony such as certain meetings.  For teachers it is important to look at how time is spent during areas of opportunity during the day (i.e. prep periods, lunch) to see where a growth mindset can be employed.  

No matter how you slice it the time game will always be challenging, but there is hope. First and foremost, make the time to learn, grown, and get better as opposed to finding the time.  There is nothing more important to an educator, outside of working with kids, than professional learning. Carve out some time each day if possible. Through social media a Personal Learning Network (PLN) provides a great antidote to the age-old time excuse. You can now learn anywhere, with anyone, at anytime you want for free.  While online consider making some time to learn and then apply a new skill while earning a digital badge to acknowledge your informal learning.  As great as a PLN is to professional growth, make the time to connect face to face with colleagues at conferences and workshops. Hands-on learning and networking experiences are invaluable to any educator who aspires to and models life-long learning.

If you are an educational leader one of your responsibilities is to take the time excuse away from your staff. Consider flipping your faculty meetings.  This concept is based on the popular flipped classroom model. When flipping a faculty meeting teachers are given informational items to read and view in advance. This results in a shift from a leader-driven meeting to one where leadership is distributed. Instead of reviewing items off an agenda, time is spent more creatively as teachers take on a more active, creative role. For example, a short video outlining the agenda items can be created and viewed by teachers beforehand. Or articles and data sets can be distributed prior to the meeting for staff to review.  Actual meeting time can then be dedicated to analyzing data, developing common assessments, making policy revisions, discussing and/or modeling effective pedagogical techniques, or engaging in hands-on technology trainings.  Either way time is made available for all staff to do things on a consistent basis that normally fall by the wayside. To learn more about flipped leadership check out the latest book by Peter DeWitt.

Another way leaders can make time for teachers to engage in professional learning is to look for and then take advantage of opportunities embedded in the school schedule. During my tenure as principal I cut all non-instructional duties in half that each teacher had by contract to create the Professional Growth Period (PGP). This essentially freed up every single teacher at least two periods a week to engage in professional learning experiences that he/she was passionate about. You can read more about the journey to implement this initiative HERE. 

In 2015 and beyond how will you make time for yourself and others to grow and innovate?

Image credit: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/blissblog/files/2014/02/whatmattersmost.jpg

Roadmap to a Job-Embedded Growth Model

I remember a few years back, during a meeting with teacher leaders, a tipping point that would ultimately change the direction of professional growth at my school. During this conversation, I was passionately sharing my experiences as a connected learner.  As social media embracement was not even a blip on the radar at this time, these teacher leaders were quite skeptical about the alleged benefits I described.  Undeterred, I continued to talk about the concept of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) and what it had done for my professional growth. I shared how its simplistic nature, built on conversations with educators all over the world, led to new knowledge development, resource acquisition, exposure to innovative ideas and strategies, support, feedback, friendships, and spirited discussion.  Best of all, at least in my mind, was the newfound ability to learn anytime, from anywhere, with anyone in the world for free.  Little did I know that this conversation set the stage for one of the most significant learning shifts we ever experienced at my school.

Once I got off my soapbox to catch a breath, one of my teachers said that this concept was great but questioned the amount of time that teachers had, in general, to engage in meaningful learning.  With all the many state mandates and district-directed professional development, as well as time after school devoted to grading and lesson planning, in her mind and many others, time was not readily available. Who was I to disagree, as her words were stark fact.  In concert, my teacher leaders said it would be great if we could have a job-embedded growth model as many organizations have in the real world.  Well, this is just fine and dandy in theory but much more difficult in practice.  

I wanted to try really hard to at least attempt to find a way to implement a consistent pathway to learning during the school day, as my teachers had requested.  Then it came to me, much to the chagrin of my Assistant Principal.  My inspiration came in the form of the Google 80/20 Innovation Model. The premise of this for a long time was that Google employees had to spend 80% of their time on their actual job duties, while the other 20% could be spent working on anything they were passionate about as long as it improved Google’s bottom line. When reflecting on this, the light bulb went on and I seized on an area of opportunity embedded in the eight-period day schedule.  In the end, we created our own Google 80/20 model at my school even though Google axed the program last year.

By contract, all teachers had to teach five periods. In addition, they each had a lunch, prep, and duty period, all 48 minutes in length.  It was at this time that I saw an area of opportunity in the form of non-instructional duties (cafeteria, hall, in-school suspension). Every teacher had one non-instructional duty period a day in their schedule.  By cutting the non-instructional duties in half, I was able to free up each of my teachers two to three periods a week, allowing them to engage in activities related to professional growth.  This was the birth of the Professional Growth Period (PGP).  In order to free up our teachers, my Administrative team and I assumed the duties that were cut to pick up the slack.  Now you see why my Assistant Principal was not happy with me at first.  Once we got rolling, though, we realized that our improving school culture did not warrant so much attention and supervision of duties, which eventually made it much easier for all of us.

PGP time for the past two years has been dedicated to my staff to become better educators and learners.  Depending on the semester, all teachers now have 2-3 duty periods off per week to engage in professional learning opportunities.  They have been encouraged to find their passion and work to define their purpose.  This time is spent learning, innovating, and pursuing ways to become a master educator.  Think of it as a differentiated learning opportunity that caters to each of my staff member’s specific needs and interests.  Sample activities include:

• becoming a connected educator by developing and engaging in a Personal Learning Network (PLN)
• researching best practices
• developing innovative learning activities
• creating interdisciplinary lessons
• engaging in face-to-face professional development
• learning to use new technologies
• earning a digital badge
• collaborating on projects with colleagues. 

This is the time that they desperately wanted and needed to improve their craft, build on innovative thoughts and ideas they always wanted to pursue and acquire new knowledge. It was stressed that this time was not to be used to make copies, leave the building to get coffee/food or socialize in the faculty room.  It becomes all about learning.  The expectation was and has been, that each staff member submits a learning portfolio at the end-of-year evaluation conference that demonstrates how PGP time was used to improve his/her professional practice.  The portfolio can be created in any way that fits the creative nature of the staff member, but should clearly identify what was done to:

• improve instruction
• effectively integrate technology
• engage students
• address the Common Core Standards
• increase student achievement  

The PGP Learning portfolio has been presented at the end-of-year evaluation conference for the past two years and is one of the major artifacts used in the McREL observation/evaluation tool.  It can be created in any way that my teachers see fit, but it must clearly articulate what they learned and how this knowledge and/or skills were integrated into professional practice to improve student learning.  Adding more depth to the PGP process and portfolio has been the digital badge platform created by media specialist Laura Fleming to acknowledge the informal learning of our teachers.  The end result has been a proliferation of innovative practices as teachers have been empowered to take ownership of their learning through autonomy.  Removing the time excuse didn't hurt either.  

Integration of Micro-credentials to Acknowledge Professional Learning

The following is cross-posted at Laura Fleming's blog titled Worlds of Learning.  Laura is the new media specialist at NMHS and  has been challenged to develop innovative ways to create structures to recognize informal learning of both teachers and students.

As a 21st Century Library Media Specialist, part of what I strive to do is to serve as an instructional technology resource for both educators and learners.  In my new position here at New Milford High School, I face the exciting challenge of reaching as many staff members as I could at one time.  I threw around many models in my head until I finally found one that seems right for us.   

I am proud to announce Worlds of Learning @ New Milford High School, a micro-credential/digital badge professional learning platform. The idea behind this platform is to provide professional learning with a pinch of gamification.  For some time now, we have been hearing about digital badges and how they can be used to guide, motivate, document and validate formal and informal learning.  In recent years, Digital Badges have evolved from what were originally static images, to a tool used for capturing and communicating knowledge. Badges can now contain critical metadata that reflects who is issuing the badge, who has earned the badge, the date upon which it was earned, and any relevant criteria for earning the badge.  Digital badges are flexible enough to be able to recognize granular skills that one acquires as well as an individual’s entire learning.   I designed the platform in WordPress using a plugin called BadgeOS  - through this plugin, I am able to easily define the achievements and organize the badge requirements. 

Worlds of Learning @ New Milford High School provides a framework to allow our teachers to earn micro-credentials through learning about a range of technology tools and applications.  The platform has been designed so that its resources will help to prepare our educators to fully leverage the potential for mastering digital age skills embodied in the ISTE NETs Standards for Teachers, as well as the seamless integration of technology addressed in the Common Core Standards.  After registering, teachers can earn badges by learning about a tool and then demonstrating how they have successfully integrated it into their instruction. Teachers must register to access all features of the site.   Once completing tasks and earning their badges, they can then showcase their knowledge by displaying their digital learning badges in a number of possible ways:

• By putting them onto Credly, the free web service for issuing, earning and sharing badges - Credly is a universal way for people to earn and showcase their achievements and badges. 
• By putting them on Mozilla OpenBadge.   
• By embedding them into their own sites or blogs and pushed out to their social networks. 
• The badges will also of course be showcased on the Worlds of Learning @ NMHS site.

As technology convergence and integration continues to increase generally in our society, it is paramount that teachers possess the skills and behaviors of digital age professionals. Educators should be comfortable teaching, working and learning in an increasingly connected global digital society.   The real aim of educational technology is to modernize pedagogy and to shape the education of the future. NMHS teachers will be able to take the tools presented in this platform and seamlessly integrate them into meaningful learning that addresses the standards in their respective content areas.

By flipping our professional learning, teachers will receive job-embedded coaching and will be supported by face to face, personalized support.    I will be available to collaborate with teachers on implementing these tools into their instruction as well as offering both face-to-face and virtual support and encouragement. This platform was not designed to be used as a formal evaluation tool.  Instead the purpose of this platform is to track, share, celebrate and be given credit for informal learning.

Teachers at New Milford High School document their learning journey throughout the school year so that it can be incorporated into Professional Growth Period (PGP) portfolios (that teachers present at their end-of-year evaluation conferences.  The PGP, created by our principal Eric Sheninger, was launched in New Milford High School in September of 2011.   As a result, every New Milford High School teacher has two to three, forty eight minute periods a week, to engage in growth opportunities of personal interest.  Each staff member has to create and present a learning portfolio at his/ her end of year evaluation conference.   This learning portfolio articulates how they integrated what was learned during this time into professional practice.  The badges teachers that earn will be a part of their year-long action plan goal. 

I hope that New Milford High School teachers will be able to benefit greatly from this sustained initiative because of the professional learning flexibility an online platform provides as well as it being a means to document and showcase the skills they have gained and  putting their learnings into practice in the classroom. With only a handful of badges available to be earned on the site at the moment, I will be adding to the list considerably all throughout the school year. 

Needless to say I am extremely excited about how Laura has risen to the occasion and created a model for a program that will acknowledge informal learning of teachers that is aligned to professional standards. Once we have this up and running the next challenge will be to set up something similar for students.  In the meantime please share your thoughts on Worlds of Learning @ NMHS.

What Constitutes Good PD?

We can all agree that professional development is essential in any profession, especially education.  It is an opportunity to become better at what we do as well as gain knowledge on new pedagogical techniques, learning theories, leadership strategies, technologies, and federal/state mandates.  With budgets being continuously slashed across the country, districts are beginning to tighten their belts.  When this happens the first line item to get cut is professional development.  This has resulted in fewer and fewer opportunities for educators to attend out of district learning opportunities as there is no funding to support travel, registration fees, and expenses.  

Image credit: http://theevolutionofeducation.blogspot.com/2011/07/people-development-is-key-to.html

Professional development has now become the sole burden of school districts for better or worse.  It has become a tug of war, in a sense, as districts use this valuable time, which equates to only a day or two in many cases, to focus on organizational needs.  On the other hand, individual educators have specific needs and passions that they want to explore.  They want the freedom to chart their own learning course while receiving support from the organization to do so.  Quality professional development rests on the ability of the organization to not only meet their needs but also that of its constituents. 

Something has to give though.  The pieces of training that many educators are now forced to attend are usually driven by whatever the federal and state governments have mandated.  The key word here is forced.  Educators now have to attend mandate-driven workshops on new standards, teacher/principal evaluation changes, and using data.  Now, I am not saying that these things are not important, but it is hard as a professional to develop a love for learning when one has to succumb to daylong training with absolutely no authenticity.  Many more questions than answers materialize.  Will this help my students learn and achieve? Is this yet another flavor-of-the-month initiative? Is this a wise use of our time?

When the organization dominates the planning, agenda, and implementation of mandate-driven professional development, the end result is often catastrophic.  The most important element of PD is missing – the needs, desires, and passions of the learner.  Even in the absence of mandates, organizations seem to be out of touch with their stakeholders as session after session becomes death by PowerPoint and stacks of paper handouts. The dominating structure fulfills the goal of pumping as much information as possible into our heads, yet fails to inspire change.  

Effective professional development is:

• Meaningful
• Relevant
• Allowing educators to choose what they what to learn about
• Accommodating to different learning styles
• Providing time to apply what has been learned
• Focused on one initiative as opposed to many simultaneously
• Organized in a way that time to apply what has been learned is provided
• Convenient in the sense that learning can take place at any time from anywhere
• Cost-effective
• Embedded into the school day if possible
• Accessed through available technology
• Resulting in observable outcomes related to changes in professional practice and student achievement

The list above includes some lofty, but necessary, expectations of professional development today.  So where do we begin?  Below are some effective strategies, ideas, and learning opportunities that will provide you and your school the means to invigorate professional development to get real results. Each is hyperlinked to additional information.

• Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s)
• Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s)
• Professional Growth Periods (PGP’s)
• Edcamps (For an introduction to Edcamp click HERE)

In this day and age, we must take control of our own learning if organizations are not providing and/or supporting meaningful PD opportunities.  The three pathways above provide practical, cost-effective, and accessible means to improve professional practice. Nothing is more important than our own learning if we are to not only meet the demands of the profession, but also the needs of our students. Great teachers do not wait for PD days!

So what did I miss?  What are some other issues with professional development? Can you provide other innovative and effective PD options?

Our Doors Are Always Open

The following is a guest post by Steve D’Ascoli.  Steve visited New Milford High School on Thursday February 28, 2013.  NMHS routinely hosts visits from outside educators, schools, and organizations in an effort to provide insights on our initiatives.  Below is a reflection by Steve on his recent visit.

Today I had the opportunity to meet with Eric Sheninger before he headed off to the 2013 NASSP Conference.  I reached out to Eric to gain insight into the technologically driven mindset that has encapsulated New Milford High School. It was a great opportunity to not only get to exchange ideas with Eric regarding technology’s role in the classroom, but to see the learning community that has been nurtured and developed at his school.

Probably the most interesting idea Eric shared with me is how his school has structured their schedules to provide time for daily professional development.  In order to foster growth and development, a “PGP” (Professional Growth Period), allows teachers to have time to search for resources, share current practices, and collaborate with one another. An amazing, transformative decision, which can spur innovation and afford teachers the opportunity that no one ever has... time!  I don’t know if Eric was the brainchild behind that idea, but I have to tip my cap to whoever came up with that model.

It is also interesting that at New Milford High School, there are no mandates for teachers to use technology. Eric shared that teachers  are beginning to welcome the role of technology, as they are able to see how it not only makes their instruction more engaging, but also in many circumstances, easier on the teacher!  Through self-directed personal learning communities, and support from administration, Eric shared how teachers are empowered to take a different approach towards instruction because THEY want to.

As we navigated the hallways and classrooms, I was able to experience firsthand the school culture that is fostered at New Milford High School.  The students recognize their opportunities to use devices in school, and understand what the expectations are for appropriate use.  It was eye-opening to see that in a cafeteria filled with high school students that are allowed to use personal devices,95% of them were eating lunch, doing homework, and interacting in the same old fashioned ways!

Reflecting on this experience it is important to see how at my school district, we must establish specific goals that we intend to achieve by initiating a BYOD program at Valhalla Middle High School.  One interesting component that Eric mentioned is that part of the New Milford outlook is that cooperative learning is stressed, and that devices should be connecting students together.

I really appreciated the opportunity that Eric arranged for me to spend time together and demonstrate the educational climate at New Milford. I hope that I am able to use this experience to influence the teachers and students at my school in similar ways. I look forward to meeting Eric again soon and definitely at Edscape in October!

Steve D’Ascoli is a 5th year educator at Valhalla Middle High School in Valhalla, NY.  He has dual NYS certification in Secondary Social Studies and as an Educational Technology Specialist- daily utilizing both skill sets. As part of Valhalla’s Technology Committee, he is one of the leaders in driving the vision for  the District.  Steve is also currently leading Educational Technology instruction as an Adjunct Professor at Pace University and is obtaining a degree in School District Leadership.