August 22, 2024

Dear Educator,

As the new year starts, there is a common challenge I see leaders wrestle with: How do I ensure our people are ready to lead the right work at the school and classroom level? This question is often answered with a list of things we need to tell people. But what I find to be true, time and time again, is that sharing content doesn’t change behavior.

When you are in charge of professional learning days, especially at the beginning of the year, there is always “so much to cover, so little time.” It is tempting to cram it all in through sit-and-get information transfer instead of modeling the desired learning and teaching we hope to see throughout the year. Let's take a look at how we can design personal and action-oriented professional learning experiences that shift our practices to match what we hope to see.

With Gratitude,

P.S. My colleague Meg just published this article on the importance of mindset when it comes to learner-centered change. This is a great pre-read for any professional learning design process.

How to Create Meaningful Professional Learning Experiences

I’m inspired by leaders who have carefully created back-to-school professional learning that empowers people closest to the work—creating the space to co-design, implement, reflect, and revise their ideas and evolve their practices. When there are clear goals and action-oriented cycles of learning to put ideas into practice or structures to share learning with peers, it inspires accountability and encourages change in practice.

To shift practices, the best experiences:

• Build on what individuals know and can do
• Empower learners to explore questions or challenges that directly impact them and their unique context
• Create opportunities to get explore, learn, make meaning and do something
• Engage in ongoing opportunities to reflect, refine, and improve in a community of learners

If we really think about this notion that content does not change behavior, we have to move beyond opportunities to share content and create structures for learners to do something. Deep, meaningful learning—whether it’s for administrators, teachers, or students—takes time, ownership, and an investment. If you want to create a culture of rich learning, you have to invest in the process.

What has been your best professional learning experience? What made it so special? Share your story here.

Resources to advance your learner-centered practice

📖 Why Mindset Matters in Cultivating Learner-Centered Change.
"If we don’t give learners the chance to try and (potentially) fail because we’re afraid, they will never learn that we trust them and that they can trust themselves." Let's get past our fear.

🛠️ Enabling Conditions & Culture Self-Study. "This self-study tool helps you evaluate and enhance the key conditions that drive success in learning environments. By assessing your current state and identifying areas for growth, you can take concrete steps towards creating a learner-centered ecosystem." Access the self-study.

🎥 Amplifying Student and Community Voices to Transform Learning and District Decision Making. "During the 2023–2024 academic school year, Digital Promise collaborated with Learner-Centered Collaborative to conduct equity-centered listening tours in Traverse City Area Public Schools (Michigan) and Lynwood Unified School District (California)." Check out this insightful webinar to learn from the transformative findings.