Professional Learning Current Reality

Professional Learning Current Reality

Brandon Garcia
Kennesaw State University

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Abstract
I interviewed Kernesa Wing, principal at Collins Hill High School, on the
components of professional learning at the school and county offices to
determine if it has been effective. I focused on the main components
that make up professional learning in schools today such as what are
the topics, how are they presented, in what setting does the learning
take place, and how is it evaluated to know if it is effective or not. Mrs.
Wing discussed the different types of data that are used to determine
what the topics will be and if students are more successful from having
the professional learning methods implemented in their classes. What I
found was that the leaders at the school and county have been
successful with professional learning opportunities and students have
been more successful from having teachers implement their
knowledge in the classes. I concluded that there should be some minor
adjustments made but that the overall design and scope the school
and county has in place is great.

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Collins Hill High School envisions technology use to be common

and play an essential role in students everyday learning in the future.
Currently, due to resources, funding, and professional development
technology use is not an integral part in students daily learning. The
school leaders aspire to find a way to provide more technology for all
personnel and students at the school through grants, county funding
etc. The vision for technology at Collins Hill High School is that
teachers will use it to connect to each other and the community better
as well as provide an authentic and engaging learning experience
through various innovative technological resources.

Professional learning is essential in developing teachers to

continue being quality instructors and leaders in our school.
Professional development learning opportunities are a big focus at
Collins Hill High School and the opportunities are frequent throughout
the school year. The focus for each opportunity is guided by either
school needs based on what the leaders of school identify or what
Gwinnett County Public School System identifies as a need to be
addressed. All professional learning determined by the school or
county is data driven by common items. Data from teacher surveys,

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parent surveys, student surveys, county surveys, county performance
tests, and state performance tests are used to determine what needs
are to be identified during professional learning opportunities.

When professional learning opportunities occur at the school

they are presented in a variety of ways depending on what needs are
to be addressed. The many options that the school and county provide
allow more flexibility on what is presented and where the learning can
take place. There are times when content areas conduct to examine
student data, work, and surveys and those occurs in a collaborative
study group containing the teachers that are in that area. There are
learning teams especially those focused on technology that attend
professional learning opportunities either at the school or the at the
county Instructional Technology Center. The school will have learning
opportunities for all staff throughout the year in the form of a workshop
to discuss current needs or teach new technology that the county
wants personnel to learn. These meetings occur during the school day
during a teachers planning period. There are opportunities for
individual professional development during the school year and
summer and this takes place at the county ITC. This has been
especially important for those teachers who are involved in many areas
of the school during the year and might need to makeup learning or
add to their knowledge.

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This past school year Collins Hill High School decided to focus
their technology-related professional learning on two areas. Those
areas were Google for Education (apps, Google Classroom, Google
Sites etc.) and Gwinnett Countys learning management system also
known as Eclass. The learning opportunities for Google focused on how
to enhance the student learning experience, organize an online
classroom, use of online tools to help teachers and students, and
assistive technology tools within Google to help students who require
certain accommodations. Eclass is the online learning management
system that all teachers and staff use to keep students and parents
aware of activities that are due, grades, behavior updates, important
dates, and the class schedule. The site allows teachers to
communicate with students and parents more effectively and to have
anything course related in one spot. With the many components of
both areas that were focused on in professional learning, the school
decided to spend their time on the two most important technology
tools this past year instead of covering many technology topics or
tools.

When professional learning topics are discussed and decided on

prior to the school year, the leaders in the school appoint
administrators and teachers to represent as experts for those tools.

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One teacher and one administrator were chosen as leaders for Google
and one administrator and two teachers were chosen as leaders for
Eclass. These personnel have time to familiarize themselves with the
tools, to try out innovative things with them, and to spot potential
problems or questions that teachers might have when using them.
These personnel provide follow up support throughout the year for
teachers and will hold small group learning sessions to extend on new
strategies and content and how to integrate the tools more efficiently
in the classroom.

During the process of determining what areas professional

learning will focus on the leaders of Collins Hill High School are sure to
make sure that all learning aligns with the schools mission and vision
as well as the school improvement goals. The leaders want the topics
that are being taught to immediately have a positive impact towards
improving the school, and meeting the identified goals is what they
have determined will make that possible. The mission of Collins Hill
High School is to pursue excellence in academic knowledge, skills,
and behavior by providing meaningful and diverse learning
opportunities for preparing students to meet the challenges of the
future as lifelong learners and responsible citizens. The professional
learning opportunities that focus on technology help teachers provide
authentic and engaging learning opportunities for students. The

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learning also helps teachers in content areas who seek ways to meet
the school improvement goals. For example, tools that are in Google
and Eclass will help language arts teachers in 9th grade meet their
goals which were to seek improvement in the areas of reading and
writing scores for 9th grade language arts. The specific goals for the
improvement were a 10% grade increase on the county writing test,
and a 10% gain on the state administered EOC.

The funding for professional learning at Collins Hill High School is

low and that is due to the way its set up. Most of the professional
learning occurs during school hours during teachers planning periods
and is conducted by the administrators that were chosen to teach it
prior to the beginning of the school year. This is to help from pulling
teacher that are assigned to be experts on those tools away from the
classroom which would require a sub assigned and paid for. When
other instructors are pulled in to teach they are usually paid for
through the system or company they work for and the school doesnt
have to fund that. There are times when teachers get pulled and the
county pays for a sub or if there is a need for those experts to teach
outside of school hours they are paid by the county to do so. This is
kept at a minimum as to save as much money as possible that could
be used towards other things such as technology equipment.

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Gwinnett County Schools have a teacher evaluation system that
rates a teachers performance on 10 performance standards. These
standards are scored on a scale of one to four with a one being scored
as ineffective, two scored as a needs improvement, three scored as
proficient, and four scored as exemplary. Teachers must attend the
mandatory learning sessions during their planning period time
throughout the year to keep a proficient score in the standards of
professional knowledge, instructional planning, assessment strategies,
assessment uses, professionalism, and communication. By attending
additional professional learning development or teaching school or
county personnel on different topics, teachers gain the exemplary
score on professional knowledge, instructional planning, assessment
strategies, assessment uses, professionalism, and communication.
There are pay incentives as well when teaching a session outside of
school hours and by sharing your knowledge in certain areas, it helps
your chances at getting a position related to that field in the future if
one should become available.

The professional learning topics that are chosen at Collins Hill

High School are designed to help teachers improve the learning
experience for all students. The leaders understand that they have to
make the most of the teaching opportunities during the school year so
they dont focus on a particular sub-group(s) when holding the

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sessions. The topics and tools that are covered are extremely
important to assisting students with special needs and those of diverse
backgrounds mainly because they improve teacher to student
evaluation and guidance of work as well as teacher to parent
communication. Gwinnett County offers an abundant amount of
additional professional learning sessions outside of the school hours
and school year. The effort is made so that if teachers want to improve
their knowledge in certain areas or need additional guidance on
teaching a particular sub-group they can attend those sessions.

In addition to the collaborative setting for professional

development during teachers planning periods, Collins Hill High School
requires other smaller group setting sessions. Small group learning
teams are divided into two areas; content specific groups, and contentgrade specific groups. For example, a teacher who teaches 9th grade
language arts would attend professional learning meetings with the
language arts vertical team which includes all language arts teachers
and they would attend the 9th grade language arts team meetings.
These are intended to improve content as a whole as well as
addressing goals and progress towards those goals in the grade level
courses a teacher instructs. By designating small group professional
learning meetings, the school is working towards meeting goals in the
SIP. Co-teachers that work primarily in Special Education but assist in

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content classes are required to attend the primary professional
learning meetings, the content meetings for both special education
and the academic core area they assist in as well as the content-grade
level specific meetings. The meetings cover professional learning and
offer a chance for teachers to ask questions and receive assistance on
anything they need.

The leaders at Collins Hill High School evaluate the impact of

professional learning when they conduct walk-through and formative
evaluations. They look to see if what they have been teaching is being
used and if it is effective in student learning. The tech tools that were
taught over the past school year were simple enough to for the leaders
to check and see that they were being implemented in the classroom.
During the walkthroughs and formative evaluations the leaders will
determine if the tools that have been taught are helping students and
that they are using them correctly. Based on a observation and student
work the leaders can determine if the professional learning has had a
positive impact on student improvement and if adjustments need to be
made. Teachers understand that what is covered in professional
learning is immediately applicable to use in their classes and are
expected to implement it in order to gain a positive score on the
performance standards and improve student success and engagement.

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References:
Kerensa Wing. Principal: Collins Hill High School

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GAPSCStandards

ProfessionalLearningStandard1:Alignsprofessionallearningwithneedsidentifiedthroughanalysisofa
Level4

XExemplary
Professionallearningneedsare
identifiedanddifferentiated
throughacollaborativeanalysis
processusingavarietyofdata
(e.g.,studentachievementdata,
examinationofstudentwork,
processdata,teacherandleader
effectivenessdata,action
researchdata,perceptiondata
fromstudents,staff,and
families).Ongoingsupportis
providedthroughdifferentiated
professionallearning.

Level3
Operational
Professionallearningneedsare
identifiedthrougha
collaborativeanalysisprocess
usingavarietyofdata(e.g.,
studentachievementdata,
examinationofstudentwork,
processdata,teacherandleader
effectivenessdata,action
researchdata,perceptiondata
fromstudents,staff,and
families).

Level2
Emerging

Professionallearningneedsare Profes
identifiedusinglimitedsources identi
ofdata.
data.

EVIDENCE: Collins Hill High School using many sources of data to identify professional lear
professional learning meetings take place, there is consistent support throughout the year
school personnel are having their needs met and to continuously strategize on how to mak
engaging and authentic. Student achievement data and surveys that include information fr
as well as the community help determine the focus of all professional learning opportunitie

RECOMMENDATIONS: The data helps identify needs and the professional learning topics th
addressed have been crucial to the success of staff and students at CHHS. CHHS needs to
same plan to help determine professional learning opportunities as it has been successful t

ProfessionalLearningStandard2:Establishesacultureofcollaborationamongadministratorsandstaffto
collectiveperformance

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Level4
XExemplary
Administratorsandstaff,asa
foundationalpractice,
consistentlycollaborateto
supportleadershipandpersonal
accountabilityandtoenhance
individualandcollective
performance(e.g.,construct
knowledge,acquireskills,
refinepractice,provide
feedback).
Teachersconductaction
researchandassumeownership
ofprofessionallearning
processes.

Level3
Operational
Administratorsandstaff
routinelycollaborateto
improveindividualand
collectiveperformance(e.g.,
constructknowledge,acquire
skills,refinepractice,provide
feedback).

Level2
Emerging
Administratorsandstaff
routinelycollaborateto
improveindividualand
collectiveperformance(e.g.,
constructknowledge,acquire
skills,refinepractice,provide
feedback).

Admin
routin
impro
collec
constr
skills,
feedba

EVIDENCE: Through teacher surveys, the collaboration on professional learning has been w
only does the professional learning take place in a collaborative setting, there are also sma
hold frequent meetings throughout the year to enhance individual and collective performan
researched by teachers throughout the year to determine if SIP goals are being met, how t
learning is helping student success, and if adjustments need to be made.

RECOMMENDATIONS: CHHS needs to continue with the same professional learning plan tha
time. Teachers enjoy the collaborative settings, small group settings, and the support they
leaders in the school. Teachers also are able to apply what they have learned when they re
and goals and they enjoy taking ownership of those tasks.

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ProfessionalLearningStandard3:Definesexpectationsforimplementingprofessionallearning
Level4
Exemplary
Administrators,teacherleaders,
orbothconsistentlydefine
expectationsforthe
implementationofprofessional
learning,includingdetails
regardingthestagesof
implementationandhow
monitoringwilloccuras
implementationprogresses.

Level3
XOperational
Administrators,teacherleaders,
orbothregularlydefine
expectationsforthe
implementationofprofessional
learning.

Level2
Emerging
Administrators,teacherleaders,
orbothoccasionallydefine
expectationsforthe
implementationofprofessional
learning.

Admin
orbot
expec
implem
learnin

EVIDENCE: Professional learning is regularly defined throughout the year as are the expec
implementation. Though most teachers implement what they learn in professional learning
to be reminded that implementation will be monitored.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Leaders need to continue to define professional learning and what it
it in the classroom. The leaders need to define the details and stages of the process for all
those that are new to the profession or are stubborn to change the way they teach.

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ProfessionalLearningStandard4:Usesmultipleprofessionallearningdesignstosupportthevariouslearn
Level4
XExemplary
Staffmembersactively
participateinjobembedded
professionallearningthat
engagescollaborativeteamsin
avarietyofappropriate
learningdesigns(e.g.,
collaborativelessonstudy,
analysisofstudentwork,
problemsolvingsessions,
curriculumdevelopment,
coursework,actionresearch,
classroomobservations,online
networks).Professional
learningincludesextensive
followupwithdescriptive
feedbackandcoaching.

Level3
Operational
Staffmembersactively
participateinprofessional
learning,mostofwhichisjob
embedded,whichincludes
multipledesigns(e.g.,
collaborativelessonstudy,
analysisofstudentwork,
problemsolvingsessions,
curriculumdevelopment,
coursework,actionresearch,
classroomobservations,online
networks)tosupporttheir
variouslearningneeds.
Professionallearningincludes
followupwithfeedbackand
coaching.

Level2
Emerging
Somestaffmembersare
engagedinprofessional
learningthatmakesuseof
morethanonelearningdesign
toaddresstheiridentified
needs.

Staffm
standa
learnin
inform
group

EVIDENCE: CHHS personnel engage in professional learning in the collaborative setting wh

participate and learn in a variety of ways. In addition to the large collaborative setting, pro
also takes place in small group settings. Vertical teams are designed for content and conte
specific teachers to meet, learn, and collaborate on how to improve their classes based on
work, observations, surveys, and research.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The school needs to continue with this set up for professional learnin
surveys that they enjoy the small group settings to reinforce what they have learned in the
meetings. In addition, the feedback and coaching they receive in small group allows for ne
and questions answered that at times might not be possible in the large group settings.

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ProfessionalLearningStandard5:Allocatesresourcesandestablishessystemstosupportandsustaineffec
Level4
Exemplary
Extensiveresources(e.g.,
substituteteachers,materials,
handouts,tools,stipends,
facilitators,technology)and
systems(e.g.,conducive
schedules,adequate
collaborativetime,model
classrooms)areallocatedto
supportandsustaineffective
professionallearning.
Opportunitiestopracticeskills,
receivefollowup,feedback,
andcoachingareprovidedto
supporttheeffectivenessof
professionallearning.

Level3
XOperational
Adequateresources(e.g.,
substituteteachers,materials,
handouts,tools,stipends,
facilitators,technology)and
systems(e.g.,conducive
schedules,adequate
collaborativetime,model
classrooms)areinplaceto
supportandsustain
professionallearning.

Level2
Emerging
Someresourcesandsystems
areallocatedtosupportand
sustainprofessionallearning.

Few,
system
suppo
profes

EVIDENCE: Adequate resources are provided to help teachers with their professional learn
resources are available, CHHS does its best to have meetings take place during school hou
year to keep costs low and to not heavily use such resources as substitutes or additional st
leaders and county would like to keep costs low, they never discourage one from seeking m
opportunities so if a teacher truly wants to learn more there are additional meetings they c
regular school hours and to teach others.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The leaders at CHHS and Gwinnett County should continue to increas
professional learning opportunities and the quality of the meetings. Resources should incre
meet the goals set forth by the leaders in the school of implementing technology in the cla

ProfessionalLearningStandard6:Monitorsandevaluatestheimpactofprofessionallearningonstaffprac
learning
Level4
XExemplary
Monitoringandevaluatingthe
impactofprofessionallearning
onstaffpracticesandincreases
instudentlearningoccurs
extensively.Evaluationresults

Level3
Operational
Monitoringandevaluatingthe
impactofprofessionallearning
onstaffpracticesandstudent
learningoccursroutinely.

Level2
Emerging
Monitoringandevaluatingthe
impactofprofessionallearning
onstaffpracticesoccurs
sporadically.

Monit
impac
onsta
ifeve

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areusedtoidentifyand
implementprocessestoextend
studentlearning.

EVIDENCE: Monitoring on how professional learning impacts student learning occurs exten
the year. The most common way this is done is through walk-through and formative evalua
department heads and school administration. The professional learning that is taught is de
implemented immediately by teachers to help support student learning so not only is the im
implementation encouraged by the leaders, teachers understand that in order to meet cert
performance evaluations the leaders should be able to see that they are practicing what th
information that is gathered through observations and evaluations are used to determine w
need to be made.

RECOMMENDATIONS: CHHS needs to continue with this follow up routine. From recent surv
observations, it is clear that the implementation of what is being learned in the professiona
is occurring much more often then when these practices werent put into place. If the scho
true measure of the effectiveness of professional learning, then they need to hold teachers
implementing what is being taught.

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KSUITECProfessionalLearningStandard:Professionallearningreinforceseducatorsunderstandingand
promotingequityandhighexpectationsforallstudents,applicationofresearchbasedteachingstrategiesand
andinvolvementoffamiliesandotherstakeholdersinpromotingstudentlearning.
Level4
Exemplary
Classroom practices (e.g.,
considering interests,
backgrounds, strengths, and
preferences to provide
meaningful, relevant lessons
and assess student progress,
differentiating instruction,
and nurturing student
capacity for selfmanagement) of all teachers
reflect an emotionally and
physically safe environment
where respect and
appreciation for a diverse
population is evident. There
are high achievement
expectations for all students
and teachers. The principal
and other leaders provide
professional learning for
teachers lacking
understanding of the impact
that attitudes regarding
race, disabilities,
background, culture, high
expectations, and social
class of both students and
teachers have on the
teaching and learning
process.

Level3
XOperational
Classroom practices of
most teachers reflect skill
in communicating high
expectations for each
student and adjusting
classroom activities to
meet student needs.
Respect for students
cultures and life
experiences is evident
through the emotionally
and physically safe
learning environment
where students of diverse
backgrounds and
experiences are taught the
school code of conduct
(customs) to help them be
successful in the school
context.

Level2
Emerging
Classroom practices of
some
teachers reflect evidence
of teachers training in
understanding the impact
that attitudes regarding
race, disabilities,
background, culture, high
expectations, and social
class of both students and
teachers have on the
teaching and learning
process.

Classr
littleo
teache
under
attitud
disabi
cultur
social
andte
teachi

EVIDENCE: There is a high level of respect for the diversity of the student population at CH
this is what makes the learning experiences of their students unique from most school syst
learning environment has always scored in the exemplary category on student and parent
majority of them are thankful for the policies and strategies that are in place to help them
future. Most teachers classroom practices reflect skill in communicating high expectations
activities to meet needs but the percentage needs to be higher. This also needs to increase
learning experience and not just core academic classes.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Increase the percentage of teachers that practice good communicati

students and who meet the needs of their students. Include additional professional learning
aspect or address the issue more on evaluations and one-on-one-performance evaluation m
to foster a safe learning environment that helps students prepare for their future in school.

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