Learning Objectives

• Develop training and professional development about INFOhio using best practices and consistent messaging.

Delivering training or professional development to your peers requires planning and using research-based practices, including the principles of adult learning, attributes of high-quality professional development, and communities of practice. This lesson provides resources to help you learn more about each of these key components of professional development.

Principles of Adult Learning

There are five principles of adult learning that are important to consider when preparing to deliver training or professional development. The handout Facilitating Adult Learning from Michigan State University's Organizational Development team outlines the principles as follows:

• Adult learners must see a personal benefit in learning. They are more motivated to learn if it solves a problem or provides an opportunity for personal or professional growth. 
• Adult learners each have a unique experience and body of knowledge. They will be motivated to learn if asked to share what they know, if the learning builds on what they know, and if it validates their experience.
• Adult learners are self-directed. They like to have control over what they learn by taking charge and having choices, contributing to the learning of their peers, and having some independence.
• Adult learners learn best by doing. They want to apply their learning immediately with active participation, including practicing new skills before leaving the learning session.
• Adult learners have preferred styles for learning and providing a variety of means to present information is helpful. 

Review the handout and the suggested techniques to facilitate learning to find two or three you could implement in a training or professional development for peers.

If you prefer a video explanation on the way adults learn, watch the lesson Adult Learning Theory and Teachers as Learners presented by Jody Waltman.

 High-Quality Professional Development

Using research, adult learning theory, the Ohio Standards for Professional Development, and ESSA's criteria for Building Systems of Support for Excellent Teaching and Learning, the Ohio Department of Education's online class High-Quality Professional Development outlines the key attributes to affect educator growth and crucial attitude changes. An overview of essential features of high-quality professional development follow.

Ohio Standards for Professional Development

Indicators of what should be included in high-quality professional development are

• Standard 1: Learning Communities
• Standard 2: Leadership
• Standard 3: Resources
• Standard 4: Data
• Standard 5: Learning Designs
• Standard 6: Implementation
• Standard 7: Outcomes

ESSA Criteria

ESSA defines high-quality professional development using these criteria:

• Sustained
• Intensive
• Collaborative
• Job-Embedded
• Data-Driven
• Classroom-Focused

Read more about high-quality professional development in the Teach With INFOhio Blog post Educator's Guide to Self-Directed, High-Quality PD with INFOhio. This post provides an overview of the class and highlights the features of high-quality professional development found in INFOhio's Learning Pathways and Learn With INFOhio webinars. It will also be helpful when you are preparing to deliver professional development to your peers.

Communities of Practice

When a group of people with a common concern, problem, or interest come together to fulfill goals, it is called a community of practice. These communities can be in-person or online and focus on sharing best practices and building new knowledge to advance their professional practice (Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium). The INFOhio ICoach Open Space group is an example of a community of practice. You will continue to contribute to this online community even after your training is complete.

Watch the video to learn more about communities of practice. 

Take some time to browse the website to learn why these communities are important and how you can cultivate a similar environment with your peers.

Communities of practice are an important component of educator growth to impact student learning. The United States Department of Education, Office of Technology released Exploratory Research on Designing Online Communities of Practice for Educators to Create Value with details on exploratory research about designing and managing these groups.

Reflecting on Your Learning

Read Key Questions for Community Designers in the document from the United States Department of Education linked above to learn more about how you can create a community of practice in your school or district. Consider the INFOhio resources, web tools, and initiatives you have learned about in this training. Reflect on what you have learned in this class about providing training and professional development for your peers. Using this information, write a short summary that answers these questions:

• What Is the Community’s Purpose? What problem is it trying to solve? What opportunity is it intended to take advantage of? Why is this significant?
• Who Is the Core Audience? Which educators will need to become active in the community for it to achieve its purpose? Will the focus be on a role-alike group or a more heterogeneous collection of educators?
• How Will Users Participate? What kinds of activities and interactions do you envision? Where, when, and by what means will members connect with each other?
• What Value Does Your Community Add to Educators’ Practices? What will motivate educators to participate actively in the community? What areas of their practices that they are motivated to improve will it address and how?
• Who Are the Community’s Leaders? Will staff of the sponsoring organization lead the community? Will members of the community itself serve as leaders?
• What Role Will Resources Play in Your Community? Are they a means for members to learn from each other or is access to or the production of resources an end in itself?
• How Will Resources Align With Your Community’s Focus? What kinds of resources align with the community’s objectives and values? Which are likely to be useful to the community’s intended audience? What genres and media are likely to be most accessible?
• How Can Technology Be Leveraged to Support Your Vision? What needs for communication, resource exchange, collaboration, and relationship building can technology help fulfill?
• How Do You Encourage Members to Participate? What kinds of communication will you continue beyond initial recruitment? What incentives for participation can you offer? 
• How Do You Sustain Engagement? What will motivate members to participate regularly across time? How can activities be designed to encourage regular and substantive contributions from members?
• How Do You Support Members in Achieving the Community’s Goals? What tools and services do you need to provide to members to enable their collaborations to bear fruit? How will you work to clarify and modify the community’s purpose across time?
• How Do You Engage Users Who Vary Widely in the Time Available to Commit? What are reasonable expectations about how often and for how long members will be able to participate? How do you ensure a high-value-to-time ratio for that participation?

 Post your summary in the ICoach 2024-2025 Post 11: Reflecting on Your Learning.