by Anne Perez, Senior Professional Learning Specialist for Michigan Virtual

The following blog was originally published by Michigan Virtual (https://michiganvirtual.org/blog/street-data-and-empathy/)

What do educators actually WANT out of their professional learning experiences? This is a question my colleague Danielle, who contributed significantly to this study and the writing of these blogs, and I tackle most days. We are Professional Learning Specialists at Michigan Virtual. In a nutshell, we lead professional learning, we collaborate with educators and other educational organizations nationally and across the state, and we build online courses that count towards SCECHs.

Last summer, I read Street Data. Besides changing my entire perspective on data, it opened my eyes to something even more important—the need for empathy.

What is Street Data? In its simplest definition, it offers “deep insight into the student and educator experience.” You can only gain this insight when you speak directly to students and teachers.

Using insight and inspiration from the book, my colleague Danielle and I decided to truly get to know our audience. We knew this was going to mean more than simply asking the usual questions or making some thoughtful assumptions about what educators want and need from professional learning. We were committing to a process.

So, we started with a survey and asked some big questions about professional learning preferences:

• Who’s presenting the content?
• How are you learning and interacting with others and the material?
• What is your ideal topic?

The survey included both multiple-choice and several open-ended responses, which asked for specific wants, needs, and ideals. The open-response questions were not required; however, over 80% of respondents answered these questions throughout the survey. 

In an effort to gain deeper insight into the data, we also scheduled 1:1 interviews with educators who opted to participate in an hour-long conversation. Our review of the survey results and the stories we heard taught us that educators have much to say about their wants and needs for professional learning.

Here’s what our street data helped us uncover:

Educators definitely have a preference for when and where they learn as well as who is leading the learning.

Flexibility Through Online Learning

More than half of the participants surveyed prefer some form of online, asynchronous learning as their ideal learning experience vs. a fully in-person session. Based on extended conversations, this is mainly because educators enjoy being able to learn at times that best fit their schedule and to have the ability to start and stop learning as needed.

Online learning also increases accessibility to professional learning that educators are seeking out on their own. Given the demands of any educator’s schedule, the flexibility of online learning directly connects to an increased sense of effectiveness.

Learning from an Expert

Though several participants mentioned the need for having content presented in a manner that is specific and relevant to their context, 77.3% mentioned they prefer a Subject Matter Expert or External Facilitator for their learning.

When digging deeper into this question, many participants said that learning from someone extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject increased the overall effectiveness of the professional learning experience. While educators also explained the value of learning with and from each other or other staff, it was clear that regardless of the presenter’s official role or title, learning from an expert is extremely important.

Every educator we interviewed shared a strong desire for more choice in professional learning.

Though choice was often referenced in terms of topic selection, it should also be noted that educators showed a desire for more variety and consideration around how they interacted with each other and the content.

Choice in Content Interaction

As expected, when we asked participants to share their ideal topic for professional learning, no two people answered exactly the same way. More surprising, however, was that in comparing conversation notes, even if individuals shared a similar topic of interest, their reason or context for wanting that learning was not the same.

This connects to the need for offering more choice in how learners interact with content. Educators have varying degrees of knowledge around any given topic as well as certain preferences for what helps them truly learn and apply the knowledge. Some prefer to “listen and learn” or collaborate in a synchronous or face-to-face event; others prefer online and fully asynchronous experiences. Offering choice in how educators can interact with content increases overall agency and autonomy.

Choice in Content Application

We noted that 206 learners strongly preferred listening and learning from a lecture-based PD. Though this surprised us at first, given the desire for choice we heard in responses, we also saw the alignment of this preference with educators’ desire to learn from an expert. Part of learning from someone extremely knowledgeable is to listen to what they have to share—but the preference for learning doesn’t end there.

After listening to a knowledgeable presenter, educators shared a strong desire to apply the knowledge through collaboration, more hands-on activities, or independent exploration. Including choices around content application aligns with an increased sense of relevance to one’s specific context as well as meeting their varied learning needs.

Something that became crystal clear in the common themes and preferences that emerged was a shared desire for greater relevance, realistic application, and clarity in professional learning.

Relevance

After reviewing and sorting individual responses, four key topics surfaced. It’s clear from our survey and conversations that educators want to learn and use Research-based Strategies. This topic, out of the other three that emerged, seemed to make sense as to why our audience preferred to learn from an expert.

It also makes sense that educators want to grow professionally in the field and in their craft, which aligns with staying current on what other educational experts are sharing in terms of effective practices that can be taken back and immediately used in the classroom.

Realistic Application

We also noticed that the other three emerging topics have elements that seem to intertwine with each other. In conversations, learners expressed the need for support in classroom management; yet, while digging deeper, it also became clear that technology, and its international use, played a factor in some of the classroom management-related issues.

Similarly, a consistent request to continue prioritizing Social and Emotional Health or Mental Health seemed to connect to the other topics at various points in terms of supporting an effective practice, promoting a healthy school or classroom culture, or appropriately using technology in and out of the classroom.

Clarity

Other common themes regarding what educators do not want from professional learning sometimes gave us conflicting information. For example, the same survey that told us educators want to learn from listening and lecturing also indicated that a lecture-based PD experience could make the overall experience less effective. But, because we leaned into these contradictions, we gleaned a more important takeaway: the need for clarity.

From the survey results to the longer conversations, what made a professional learning experience ineffective was its lack of clarity. This lack of clarity could result from the presenter not making direct connections for their learners, collaboration opportunities without real purpose, or sensing unrealistic expectations or applications of the PD content to the educator’s specific subject-area context.

Throughout this process, we leaned into the numbers and sought deeper understanding to inform our thinking. We are grateful to the many educators who shared their knowledge, stories, and hopes for professional learning so we may continue to provide high-quality learning experiences to those who entrust us with their professional growth.

To learn more about the framework we used to create and conduct our survey and to read about ideas for implementing this framework in your own context, we invite you to read A Framework for Empathy, Part 2 of this blog series. 

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About Michigan Virtual:

Michigan Virtual is a founding member of the VLLA and serves as a supplemental online course provider for students and offer extensive online professional development programming for educators in Michigan. They also operate the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute which has launched an AI Lab to help school leaders leverage AI to support teaching, learning and business operations. As a 25-year-old nonprofit organization, Michigan Virtual also provides quality school consulting services nationwide for organizations who want a collaborative partner with strategic planning, micro school creation, AI implementation, systemwide transformation, and other innovations to personalize education. To learn more about their consulting services, please visit https://michiganvirtual.org/consulting/

North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) is the largest state-led virtual school in the country. Each year, there are 55,000+ student enrollments across North Carolina that take advantage of NCVPS to ensure they have access to an unprecedented set of choices. Through online, and blended courses, students are discovering the “virtual advantage” that will prepare them to excel now, and be ready for college and/or a career. 

In Spring 2022, NCVPS launched a new statewide initiative designed to offer students an additional resource. The NCVPS Edvantage Tutoring Program offers virtual statewide wraparound support to middle and high school students in high-needs NC public and private schools, as well as homeschool coalitions. Tutoring through this program is available in Math, Science and ELA and is offered via a personalized partnership with district/school leadership to best meet the needs of selected students each semester. The overall mission of Edvantage Tutoring is to offer personalized support to impact and increase student growth in identified Math, Science and ELA standards, each academic year.

What does personalized support look like in a tutoring model? Before students can participate in the Edvantage Tutoring program, the administration and/or point person within each district or school provides a pacing guide and 10-14 identified standards students find most challenging, per grade level, per curriculum area. The Edvantage Tutoring team then builds content centered around those specific standards. 

All of the Edvantage tutors are NC-licensed NCVPS teachers. And they have undergone targeted professional development suited to help them implement the High Impact Tutoring (HIT) model to the fullest extent possible. HIT is a strategic method that focuses on personalized support for each student, aims to stay within small groups whenever group support is warranted, and encourages building a tutor-student relationship throughout each tutoring session. Students are encouraged to sign up repeatedly with the same tutor. That tutor is then able to guide them according to the progress being made. There are many repeat students, as well as students who sign up for tutoring in several curriculum areas. And, daytime tutoring is offered multiple days per week.

Students across the state of North Carolina do not need to be enrolled in any NCVPS courses to participate with Edvantage Tutoring. Districts, public and private schools, and even homeschool students and co-ops across NC are welcome to participate. Why do they participate? Data is key! And increased understanding is the goal! A partnership created between participating schools and Edvantage Tutoring is the glue for helping students and districts meet their goals… with the overall intention of progressing students toward mastery. 

Like most tutoring platforms, students register via a calendar system that allows them to schedule tutoring slots within 30-minute increments. Students may also register for weekly “Review Sessions” that demonstrate the standards (previously identified by school leadership) in a virtual group setting.

Curriculum expansion with Edvantage Tutoring continues each semester. Tutoring was initially offered in a few curriculum areas. With an increase in identified needs and district/school requests, students may now sign-up for tutoring in Math 1, Biology, and 8th grade ELA, Math and Science. The next expansion will include 7th grade curriculum areas as well. The Edvantage program has remained free from the onset but will move to a fee-based model during the 2023-24 school year. 

Edvantage Tutoring is an exciting endeavor and yet one more way for NCVPS to support students across North Carolina. That list of support continues to grow! Over the years, NCVPS has also continued to offer peer tutoring to students who are enrolled in NCVPS classes. That form of tutoring has remained successful as well. NCVPS also supports students with virtual clubs, various CTE internships, career-exploration opportunities and a Culture Café Speaker Series that hopes to inspire students to travel abroad. With the virtual advantage from NCVPS, the sky’s the limit!

If you are a North Carolina school administrator (public, private, or charter) interested in partnering with Edvantage Tutoring, please take a few moments to share how Edvantage Tutoring can form a beneficial partnership with your district/school by completing the questionnaire found on the Edvantage Tutoring website.

For general information about NCVPS or Edvantage Tutoring, please visit the website or send an email to [email protected]. 

7 tips to ignite quality, online learning partnerships

The country’s most popular fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and pizza delivery services all have them. But did you know that an increasing number of states across the U.S. have plugged into the franchise model for online learning?

Franchises for quality, state-based online programs geared especially to K-12 rural school districts are seeing a boon. Even as the pandemic slowly fades into history, the franchise model expands a district’s course curriculum to be customizable for its students. This is welcome news for rural districts as they can now offer, literally, a world of courses to their students.

Several state-based programs – all Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance members – are blazing the trail in partnering with schools using what is termed a franchise model. Specifically, VLLA members provide the foundation, honed through years of experience, to help districts start their own programs.

The following VLLA members offer franchise models:

• ACCESS Virtual Learning
• Capital Area Online Learning Association (CAOLA)
• Colorado Digital Learning Solution
• Georgia Virtual School
• Indiana Online
• Michigan Virtual
• Montana Digital Academy
• NC Virtual
• Virtual SC
• Virtual Arkansas
• Virtual Virginia
• Wisconsin Virtual

“The plan is simple,” said Mia Murphy, Ed.D., executive director of North Carolina Virtual Public School. “Our Partnership Courses Program provides the technology, content, training, and support while districts provide their own teachers. This allows them to focus on their most important stakeholders in the education continuum, the students.”

While the pandemic certainly boosted the popularity and necessity for the franchise model of quality virtual learning, early advocates know it’s here to stay. Sara Rotureau, student and school services team leader for VirtualSC, stands out among these leaders. Following significant growth in the 2020-21 school year, she anticipates positive growth ahead.

“In our experience, schools and students benefit from this model of virtual learning due to the level of flexibility,” she said. “Schools can build their virtual learning programs to meet the individual needs of their student populations which is unique to each district.”

Flexibility, along with opportunity, solutions, and support, form the cornerstones for successful online learning partnerships. State online programs provide the infrastructure and standards-based curriculum, while districts expand their online courses to address the unique challenges and needs using their own teachers.

7 tips for successful online learning partnerships

Just as Harland Sanders had to perfect his trademark chicken to replicate at KFC franchises across the South in the early 1930s, so, too, have state-based online franchise programs. VLLA members who have emerged as leaders in the franchise model have learned through their experiences.

To help other VLLA members enjoy success in their franchise partnerships, they offer the following observations:

1. Transparency, communications, and collaboration are key.
2. State your expectations, mission, and program values up front.
3. Each decision is made for the partnership’s benefit.
4. Cooperation and understanding. Remember, many districts are setting up a virtual program for the very first time.
5. Alleviate “known” barriers (e.g., technology, content, support, training, etc.) by providing them through the partnership.
6. Allow districts to structure curriculum based on their schools’ and students’ needs.
7. Continuous support and resources.

NCVirtual is a testament to creating successful franchise models. With enrollment tripling in its inaugural year, the state program sees the most continued growth with district-based virtual academies. Their partner districts’ successes are their successes.

“One of our partnership schools which has been a part of the Partnership Courses program since its inception in 2020 continues to increase its enrollment every semester and actually had enrollments in five courses they never used before this past semester,” said Murphy. “Another partnership school now is fully staffed to build their own courses based on the successful outcomes, support, and training we provided to them.”

Similar successes, coupled with an ever-increasing demand for online and hybrid learning, promise to secure the franchise model as a standard bearer for the future of K-12 education. VLLA and its members have emerged as leaders, setting the stage for others to follow.

While good ’ole Mr. Sanders may not have ever fathomed the proliferation of his iconic chain, education leaders like those noted above, definitely understand and embrace the future of franchise partnerships.

Every teacher in Virginia’s public schools is now able to host virtual classes on the Virginia Department of Education’s Virtual Virginia online learning system throughout the 2020–2021 school year. The expanded access to Virtual Virginia is available at no cost to school divisions through $3.45 million in support from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.

“This expansion provides additional options for school divisions that are reopening with limitations on in-person instruction and for school divisions that may have to revert to distance learning during the year because of a COVID-19 outbreak,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane.

The expansion of Virtual Virginia also includes the creation of digital content for grades K–8. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the online learning program focused primarily on providing high school credit-bearing courses in core, elective, and world language subject areas.

“With the likelihood of most of our school divisions offering some version of virtual instruction for the upcoming school year, we wanted to leverage the capacity of our platform to provide content aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning in grades K–8,” Lane said. “This expansion is the first time Virtual Virginia has offered content below middle grades.”

Virtual Virginia content can be loaded onto devices for offline use by students in homes without internet access. VDOE is also using CARES Act funding to double — from 6,000 to 12,000 — the number of free student enrollments available to divisions in Virtual Virginia-instructed courses in 2020–2021.

The expansion also allows school divisions to integrate local student information systems with the Virtual Virginia learning management system to roster classes and transfer grades at no cost. In addition, Virtual Virginia provides a dedicated space within the platform for school divisions to curate, create, edit, and share course content.

More than 90 percent of Virginia’s 132 school divisions either use the Virtual Virginia platform or enroll students in Virtual Virginia-instructed courses. Virtual Virginia, the Virginia Department of Education, and the Virginia Society of Technology in Education are collaborating to offer training and support for teachers and staff of participating divisions.

For more information, visit the Virtual Virginia website.

 

The fifteen members of the Virtual School Leadership Alliance have hundreds of years of collective experience delivering high-quality, engaging instruction to students across the United States and beyond.  In a time where so many schools and districts are relying on moving to blended or virtual environments to support remote teaching, VLLA members have come forward with a trove of resources to help teachers and school leaders to focus on quality.

While remote teaching and traditional distance learning models can differ, they share a focus on technology-driven instruction and fostering positive connections between teachers and students.

 

Resources from VLLA Member Programs

VLLA member Georgia Virtual offers an extensive content library at no cost to any user, released under a Creative Commons BY license.  It includes thousands of lessons and learning objects, through 120-course titles.

VLLA members in Michigan and Montana have developed planning resources for schools that look to use virtual learning to help provide continuity of service.  Michigan Virtual offers a School Closure Learning Continuity Readiness Rubric that schools can use as a planning tool to spark thoughtful discussion.  Montana Digital Academy has developed a document detailing Distance Learning Options for Districts (text only version) matrix that details options available to districts looking to move quickly to remote instruction.

The Idaho Digital Learning Alliance, also a VLLA member, provided live and recorded webinars on topics ranging from “A Day in the Life of a Remote Teacher” to “Remote Teaching Special Education.”  Any educator can sign up to attend, or access the recorded webinar later.

A full list of resources from VLLA member organizations appears below.

 

Resources from VLLA Partners

The VLLA is honored to partner with other outstanding organizations that provide guidance and technical assistance to teachers, schools, and districts to best use technology to engage in remote teaching and learning.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association, or SETDA, has launched its eLearning Coalition, which provides resources and a professional learning community for school administrators and educational leaders to help adopt best practices for adopting and implementing elearning strategies.  SETDA also recently hosted a webinar on “Supporting Students with IEPs During eLearning Days.”

Quality Matters (QM) partnered with the VLLA to author and release the National Standards for Quality, providing excellent guidance to organize high-quality distance learning environments with a specific focus on teachers, programs, and course design.  QM has also Emergency Remote Instruction checklists designed to provide a framework for moving to remote teaching quickly in extraordinary circumstances.

 

Additional Resources from VLLA Members

Organizations across the Alliance have worked tirelessly to provide resources to schools.  Some are available to schools just in their state, other resources are available to all.

• Colorado Digital Learning Solutions is offering its courses to participating schools at a discount rate to help provide access in critical need areas.
• As mentioned above, Georgia Virtual has a comprehensive library of open-access course materials in 120 courses.
• In addition to its webinar series, the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance has content available to schools in Idaho that need emergency assistance.
• Indiana Online has started a Facebook Group, Keep Indiana Learning, with resources.
• Michigan Virtual has released a series of school planning resources for all schools, as well as access to content to schools in Michigan.
• Montana Digital Academy has posted a series of Online Learning Resources for Schools, including planning resources and access to its Very Good Online Teaching framework and training.
• North Carolina Virtual Public School is offering a series of webinars for those looking to move online, and has adapted enrollment policies for North Carolina students.
• Virtual Arkansas has opened up its learning object repository to give access to content, along with providing access to its online teaching gateway for teachers.
• Massachusetts-based nonprofit VHS Learning offers links to helpful resources for schools transitioning to online learning, including free guides on online teaching best practices.
• Virtual Virginia is giving access to course content to schools in Virginia, and hosting a webinar series.

 

The number of K-12 students enrolled in online courses has risen dramatically over the last decade, giving more students the flexibility to learn from home or pursue areas of study not available at their schools. But the growth has also prompted criticism from educators and others that online learning lacks high standards or accountability.

To address concerns about quality and try to improve online learning, the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance and Quality Matters recently unveiled newly revised standards for virtual education—one set each for online teaching, programs, and courses. Representatives from the two organizations spent two years combing through the existing standards from the Aurora Institute (formerly known as the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, or iNACOL) and soliciting feedback from the field to shape the new standards.  It has been nearly a decade since those standards were updated.

Cindy Hamblin, the director of the alliance, led the effort alongside Christine Voelker, K-12 program director for Quality Matters. In a phone interview, Hamblin explained why the standards needed a refresh and how that process worked.

How are these standards used?

“As an online teacher, I can use those in self-reflecting on my own practice and seeing what areas I need professional learning on,” Hamblin said. “We also have programs that are beginning to use those as an evaluation tool, and state departments that utilize them on approving quality online programs.”

They’re also cited in the process of certifying some courses and programs. When districts issue requests for proposals for online program providers, they often refer to the iNACOL standards, Hamblin said. A handful of states—including Florida, Ohio, and Texas—require by law that certification processes for online courses and programs use the standards as a benchmark.

In what ways did the standards need to be updated?

More than 320,000 students are enrolled in statewide online schools, and another 420,000 are enrolled in state-supported virtual schools, according to data from the Digital Learning Collaborative. Growing numbers like those raised the stakes for online education quality, Hamblin said.

The standards “were widely used, but not considered as far as updates in practice and where we are with courses and teaching. What we’ve learned in the last ten years weren’t reflected in the standards.”

The topic of accessibility was mentioned only briefly in the 2011 version; now it’s a separate standard. The teaching standards now feature a deep-dive into the definition of student engagement and the value of communication between students and instructors.

Structurally, the 2011 standards mainly dealt in abstracts. Now, each of the 52 indicators that help clarify the eight standards also includes a real-life example from the field.

How did the revision process work?

“The process of updating it took a year from the initial survey that went out in the field. Then it went through another review chain. Another set of volunteers came in and made comments to the revisions. Then [Christine] and I made sure there was consistency in the standard sets.”

“The community involvement was very key. We had researchers, we had practitioners, higher ed, state departments of ed, K-12 practitioners, even representation outside of the U.S.”

What were the most challenging topics to address?

Accessibility was a big one, she said. “Making sure that that was where we wanted it to be and yet still respect the individual state requirements, yet not so specific that a state coudn’t add their own pieces.”

Accounting for the wide variety of online programs also took some fine-tuning, Hamblin said. “We wanted to make them flexible, whether you were a small program within a district or a large program. In a small school, a lot of times the teacher is designing that course. In a larger program, the teacher doesn’t even touch that course—there’s an instructional design staff to build that course.”

Where is there still room for improvement?

“The online program standards, those were the oldest ones—we feel like maybe that needs another round. I feel like there’s still room for improvement in that area. That’s getting to governance, that’s getting to program evaluation, staffing, all of those kinds of issues. That might be our next round of revisiting that to make sure we’ve got everything covered.

“But what we don’t want people to think is there’s going to be a startling change. We’re massaging, enhancing, refreshing, looking at the field on what needs to be added, or in some cases removed.”

What’s the overarching goal?

“We want to ensure that as we see the field being populated with a lot of different groups, we’re trying to push people to see what a quality course is, this is what it means to be a quality online teacher. As we’re developing programs, this is a great framework to build that quality program.”

 

source: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2019/12/online_learning_standards_revised.html