Introduction
The why in education is so important, especially when it comes to teacher development. My professional learning is empathy and immersing our students into the best practices and behaviors when teaching and learning in a digital environment. Why create professional knowledge for compassion? Teachers need the best direction on handling students when change is happening to their students. Providing opportunities for educators to help themselves and their students become more than what they (students) think of themselves. Creating a road map that is detailed in directions and modeling certain behaviors is also a way to ensure that students get the best lessons.
Call to Action
The Call to the Action plan is what makes the why understood. Planning is essential and must be detailed to the point of a proper understanding of the mission. Creating and impending the plan must creat within the learners the desire to move in the direction to fully complete the goals and task to really help with cultivating empathy in students. Middle School teachers are so essential in teaching this demographic of learners. Teachers are being pulled in directions that they, too, need help with empathy.
https://techinnovator17.tech/call-to-action-edld-5389-part-one/
https://techinnovator17.tech/call-to-action-edld-5389-part-two-the-visual/
Professional Learning Blueprint
The outline is a timestamp of what needs to be done to successfully help teachers and students with the Call to the Action plan. Outlining the dates for professional learning is crucial. Teachers can see when and where we will meet and what is the topic for the meeting. Having a detailed outline must include the who will lead and the time for the professional development. Having different activities to keep the engagement flowing is crucial. The blueprint should highlight the teacher’s learning intention, which will foster the success criteria. Doing outlines will keep in mind the five principles and showcasing which key is being met during the development. Ensuring collaboration across the correct disciplines is essential to keep in mind for teachers to understand the best practices for themselves.
https://techinnovator17.tech/planning-the-alternative-pl/
Audience
My whole organization is my targeted audience. Professional development is a Call to Action for every staff and student our the schools. The audience requires straight points of intention and real ways to meet the needs of our learners. Learning needs have to be fulfilled to be on the right side of getting to the hearts and minds of everyone involved. They need clear visuals and activities to allow creativity to flow. The influencers must be willing to stay versatile when modeling the best practices.
Fostering Collaboration
Collaboration is a must to be successful in education. Teachers have toolboxes. Each teacher has specific ways of understanding what needs to be understood with that tool. Creating norms and having them shared for every professional development should be routine. Keep a parking lot available to park questions and sharing ideas. Collaboration can also be useful in our virtual world, in the chat box. When teachers share out ideas, the glow and help grow their teaching family. Creating Professional Learning should always have collaboration time. I have embedded Flipgrid so teachers and students can make their thought and information FUN!!
Fostering Self-Directed Learning
Self-efficacy has to be the front of self-directed learning. When teachers look for ways to better the learning environment and experience, they must do some side research. I look for ways to bring a better understanding of my teachers during Professional development and for my students. I look at videos and share them—my Call to Action welcomes the ideas from all involved, even the students. There is absolutely no one way of teaching and learning.
Toikkanen, T. (2016, June 30). Learning Despite School. Retrieved August 1, 2016, from https://medium.com/lifelearn/learning-despite-school-d0879be9464f#.f6roydrfs
Pope, C., Beal, C., Long, S., & McCammon, L. (2011). They teach us how to teach them: Teacher preparation for the 21st century. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 11(4), 324-349. Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/v11i4languagearts1.pdf
Peter Gray: Mother Nature’s Pedagogy: Insights from Evolutionary Psychology – https://youtu.be/G2BAJ_svbhA
Professional Learning Instructors
During each Professional learning, different leaders will facilitate the meeting. This is very important to break up who is leading because each section has a different meaning. The opening and closing will be held by myself. This has to happen because the story must be given by the creator ( myself) so that the need for action is understood.
Each month teachers who are part of the influencers will help with the current professional development agenda. Moving into the meat of the training, student leaders and peer group leaders will help with presenting and collaborating to get the learning intention to where it is understood.
5 Key Principles of Effective Professional Learning.
Principle One: The duration of the PL must be significant and ongoing to allow time for teachers to learn a new strategy and grapple with the implementation. Showing videos and my actual work in the initial meeting is essential. Sending reminder notices via email or school website helps the timing for teachers to reach the goal.
Principle Two: There must be support for a teacher during the implementation stage that addresses the specific challenge of changing the classroom practice. Having a focus on this principle early in training helps to foster relationships with the coaches and the students. Kowing, you have someone to help you creates real relationships to meet the desired goal.
Principle Three: Teacher’s initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but rather should engage teachers through varied approaches to participate in multiple activities to make sense with all the new information.
Principle Four: Modeling has been proven and found to be very useful in helping the teacher understand a new practice. Modeling will be either video from comfortable teachers, and teachers will be welcomed into my learning environment to see the best approach for cultivating the need for empathy.
Principle Five: The content presented to teachers should be tailored to their specific discipline and not generic. Each influencer will be from the different core classes and elective classes. They are the leaders in their disciple to actually help teachers, and student leaders make sense of the lessons and the need for empathy.
Timeline
Every activity will be married to the time professional development is being held. The disclaimer will be that teachers and students will have to complete the exit ticket during or after the meeting. The way the Action Plan is designed and the new way instruction has to be delivered will be adjusted to fit all involved in the learning. The timeline is eventful because of the way our educational model is frequently begin redesigned, COVID, and this new model of virtual teaching.
Resources and Media
Literature for middle school readers concerning Empathy:
Students should always have books. The book I will use are picture books and written for the age group I am targeting.
Video library:
https://lifehacker.com/the-importance-of-empathy-in-everyday-life-1791961488
The videos are short, colorful, and hit the point right on. I have used these videos and Ted Talk for years, and they help with understanding why you have to keep kindness in everything you do when using digital platforms.
Summary
My goal is to help reach the hearts and minds of my teachers. Everyone will learn just not the same way and not the same way. I desire more from my students, and since I have this opportunity to spend time with teachers, I can help them make better humans.
I would never try and change a person from who they are to be, but I will make sure that the exposure was there to try to be the best person when using technology. I plan to allow my students and organization feel the need to be and to change how we administer digital citizenship. Why not go back to project-based learning. Why not allow students to create and share their thoughts in a kind way. What is wrong with helping teachers become aware that they can shift things back to when children were considerate. Since the world view teachers with such high regards. We should do what’s best, help cultivate empathy. Thank you!
Techinnovator17 
You must be logged in to post a comment.