It is common for educational leaders to ask me to provide a training to their staff on a specific technology platform for an afternoon staff meeting. I think of this format as a “drive-thru PD”. When leaders are looking for a prepackaged meal of professional learning, it is akin to ordering a specific meal which you pick up from a stranger at the drive-thru window. The method is a one and done approach. The learning facilitator is detached from the staff, delivering PD rather than creating an experience after walking amongst them. Educators may be given a choice of strategies to select from, but the learning may feel detached from the context of their classroom, and they are typically not given time to design a lesson. In contrast, it is vital we build the capacity of educators to cook their own meals, to design lessons rather than select from a menu that their leader has chosen for them.

Rather than offer a drive-thru PD, I prefer to first walk amongst those I serve, conduct a needs analysis, and design a personalized, context-based professional learning experience that engages educators in building lesson(s) to be used within the next couple of days. Support from leadership (administrators and or coaches) following the professional learning experience further supports these educators.

But how might we build the capacity of educators when we have no more than a day to provide a professional learning experience?

And what can we do to support educators when we are no longer physically present with them?

While it is may be more advantageous to have a “drive-thru PD”, than to have no professional learning at all, if the learning is not sustained and implemented into classroom practice, we have wasted our valuable financial resources. Over the past few years, I have learned to use a process that promotes sustainability even when leaders request professional learning for merely one single staff meeting. The following tips reflect this process, which has proven to be the most effective method I have yet found for maximizing a couple hours of professional learning.

• Walk without a script: The day I am to facilitate professional learning for a site after school, I arrive as the school day begins. I walk into as many classrooms as possible. I do not have a set agenda, there is no script to guide me. Educators are informed that my role is simply to observe, not to evaluate. As an educational technology consultant, I am sure to send the message that technology use is NOT required. Educators are asked to conduct business as usual in their classrooms. As I walk classrooms, I gain valuable information, identifying trends regarding school culture, instructional practices, and opportunities for technology integration that can enhance student learning.
• Prepare after the walk: After walking classrooms, not before, I begin to design the professional learning experience I will facilitate with educators once the school day concludes and our time together begins. It is at this point that I create a slide-deck presentation and/or website of resources and activities to meet the specific needs of the educators who will be present. Just as a teacher with students in a classroom, I have many strategies and tools available, but I do not prepare one lesson to deliver for years on end. Learning experiences are instead planned to meet the needs of the learners who will engage with the content. If I witness Google Classroom codes on the whiteboards in each classroom, I do not need to prepare a lesson on the basic benefits of the platform. If I witness a 1:1 environment in which many classrooms have the carts closed, I may discuss daily protocols for ensuring these resources are readily available to students during teachable moments. At a school site I was at recently, this was the case. The students were following along with a text and came to an unknown vocabulary word. The teacher asked students if anyone knew what the word meant. There were no responses. If chromebooks would have been available on each desk, a student could have quickly searched for the definition of the word for the benefit of the class. In the professional learning experience that afternoon, I was able to align the learning of a concept (protocols for ensuring constant access to technology) to this personalized, context-based example from the school I was at. A one-size fits all approach is impersonal and gives the message that the learning is more important than the learner.
• Active learning: During the professional learning experience, it is vital to move past a sit and get model of instruction. Rather than telling educators about a strategy, allow them to experience it as learners. At a recent PD, educators created a “thin slide” (an eduprotocol created by Jon Corippo and Marlena Hebern) as an example of how to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms. On a collaborative slide-deck presentation, each educator created one slide with an image and word. They then had 6 seconds to speak to the slide in front of the large group. Afterward, we discussed how this technique engages students in communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Because educators engaged in this learning as students themselves, it was a memorable experience that became the most implemented strategy used in classrooms within the next few days. Following this experience, educators had the opportunity to explore their choice of various resources, according to what they deemed most applicable to the context of their students.
• Design time: Educators need time to immediately design lessons that integrate the professional learning they have experienced. This time should be provided within the professional learning session itself, during which time a facilitator circulates the room providing feedback and support. This design time provides educators with an opportunity to synthesize their learning and prepare for application into their individual contexts. Well-intentioned facilitators often cram strategies and content into a session without providing time for educators to reflect and apply via a lesson design process. The professional learning is then less likely to be implemented. It is tempting as a facilitator to cover a large amount of content into a limited amount of time, particularly when you are only with a group of educators for a couple of hours. However, quality is better than quantity. If educators learn a lot but apply very little, the time has been wasted.
• Sustainability: Follow-up is key, but how can we provide for this when we are at a site for merely a day? Firstly, every educator who attends a professional learning with me is given a sticker that directs them to my website. I inform them that the website contains resources including video tutorials, slide-decks, and quick tips to continue their learning. The website also contains my contact information. “While I may not have all of the answers to support you, I have a network of amazing educators at my fingertips who will offer support,” I say. It is the connections on social media that empower educators including me, to offer unending support to those we serve. Another key component of sustainability is the support of leadership. Any coaches or administrators on campus are asked to attend and participate in the professional learning alongside the educators they serve. This allows them to provide support once I have left the site. Presence with those you serve is underrated. Be with your people. Engage in the work with them.

Let’s dump drive-thru PDs and create professional learning experiences that are personalized and context-based. As we focus on quality rather than quantity, let us guide educators in lesson design and application. A single day at a school site may not be ideal, but it can still be an impactful experience for educators if we take care to design our professional learning to meet the specific needs of those we serve that day.