Measuring Implementation of Professional Learning: An Action Research Plan
Education today is evolving, and in order to prepare teachers for the future, there must be a change in the way teachers learn (Oddone et al., 2019). To prepare students to be successful in the 21st Century, teachers must learn to teach students in new ways (Wei et al., 2009). Traditional professional development does not adequately train teachers to use technology tools (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation & Boston Consulting Group [BCG], 2014). When teachers learn specific skills and how to teach them to students, the students reap the benefits (Wei et al., 2009).
I am going to be instituting a change in professional learning on my campus by beginning a micro-credential, or digital badging, program. In the beginning, the micro-credentials offered will be technology focused. This action research will be conducted throughout the year as the program is implemented. It is important to determine if what teachers learn through earning digital badges impacts student learning by an increased use of assignments that allow student choice and voice.
Fundamental Research Question
The question the research seeks to answer is: Does using micro-credentials in professional learning increase the use of technology tools that emphasize student choice and voice by 7th and 8th grade core academic teachers? Students on my campus are each issued a Chromebook, they have the world at their fingertips. However, students are still being asked to do the same type of work they always have done, just on the Chromebook. Learning has not been transformed. In my role at school, I need to know if changing the way my teachers learn impacts student learning by an increased use of technology tools in the classroom with the express purpose of allowing student choice and voice.
Study Information
The action research will coincide with the initial year of micro-credentials as professional learning and will measure if what teachers learn translates into a change in their classroom to allow for student choice and voice. This plan will detail the research design, research method, method of data collection and analysis and how the results will be shared. In addition, a timeline of implementation will be shared.
Research Design
I will be using two types of quantitative data, survey research and group comparison, to collect data. These two types of design will help me to determine the effectiveness of micro-credentials as a form of professional learning. Survey research will be used to gather information from teachers on their opinions of micro-credentials as a form of professional learning as well as how they implement the skills they used to earn the digital badge into their classrooms. In addition to survey research, group comparisons will be done to compare teacher’s use of choice and voice among teachers who have gone through the process of earning micro-credentials and those who have not.
Research Method
Surveys that utilize a Likert scale will be administered to teachers to gather their opinions. These surveys will be administered throughout the year. I will also compile a list of micro-credentials earned as a data point. In addition, I will conduct classroom walkthroughs with a checklist to observe technology use to encourage choice and voice in classrooms. This data will compare teachers who have earned micro-credentials and those who have not earned them yet.
Data Collection and Analysis
All core academic teachers will complete surveys throughout the year, regardless of how many (if any) of micro-credentials they have earned. In addition, walkthroughs will also occur in all core teachers classrooms at various times during the year. The surveys and classroom walkthroughs will produce quantitative data that will be analyzed using statistical formulas in Excel. This will be done to determine if a relationship exists between teachers who earn micro-credentials and those who use technology tools to give students a choice and voice in their learning.
Sharing and Communicating Results
The results of the action research will be shared with my campus administration and school leaders in a cabinet meeting. Prior to the meeting, I will compile the data and create graphics to show the results in a visual form. In addition, this information will be shared with my teachers during a faculty meeting. I will also share a summary of the results as well as the graphics with my district leaders.
Time-Line
Due to COVID-19, there has been a delay in implementing my professional learning plan of using micro-credentials as a form of profession learning. Therefore, the timeline of my action research is different from what I would prefer. I will introduce micro-credentials as a form of professional learning at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. Due to the scope of my action research, this study will take place during the full 2021-2022 school year. Surveys data on badges will be collected at the end of the grading cycle, twice in the fall and twice in the spring. This is so that teachers have a chance to earn badges and implement learning. Walkthroughs will occur in every classroom at least monthly.
Data will be analyzed after each collection point and will be compiled at the end of the research. Results of the research will be shared at the end of the school year, as well as the beginning of the next school year. The results of the research will lead to a plan of action that is developed in the summer of 2022. Reflection throughout the process will be key, but a more formal reflection will occur in the summer of 2022.
Final Reflection
My ultimate goals are: teachers use technology tools that allow students choice and voice in their classrooms; change professional development into professional learning that has an impact on student learning. To that end, the results of this action research will be used to drive professional learning that leads to that goal. At this time, the study will focus on core teachers, but if a positive impact is found, elective teachers will be added the next year and the research plan will be repeated.
References
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, & Boston Consulting Group (BCG). (2014). Teachers know best: Teachers’ views on professional development. In Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED576976
Oddone, K., Hughes, H., & Lupton, M. (2019). Teachers as connected professionals: A model to support professional learning through personal learning networks. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 20(3), 102–120. https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ1223631
Wei, R. C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., & Orphanos,S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Dallas, TX. National Staff Development Council. https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/status-of-professional-learning-phase-1-technical-report.pdf
Sandra Negro 