Design and Evaluation of Training Programs - Week 5

Introduction: Hello and welcome to week five of the course Design and Evaluation of Training Progams and Workshops. Today we will do several activities to explore the topics of desconstructing lesson plan templates and classroom observation protocols as a professional development strategy, discuss the KASA framework for identifying training needs, and work with a partner to share our progress with our course project and ask for feedback and suggestions. 

Warm Up: What is my shape?

First CLICK HERE to go to our Jamboard and find your assigned page. Then click on your assigned link below to access your shape. Take turns describing your shape to your partners with as many details as possible and they will try to follow your instructions to draw an exact copy of your shape.

• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE
• Student D: CLICK HERE

Now, think about the way that your typically plan your classes. What shape do your lessons follow? Draw your lesson shape and be ready to share what it means with your partners.

Task 1: Deconstructing Lesson Plan Templates and Classroom Observation Protocols

In your professional development tips reading last week you explored several topics including creating an observation form and anlayzing lesson plans. Let's explore how we could use these two documents as tools to support teacher development.

• Comparing and analyzing specific lesson plans
• Evaluating and improving specific lesson plans
• Comparison of lesson planning templates
• Co-creation of new lesson planning template, experimentation, and analysis
• Independent or co-creation of observation protocols, experimentation, and analysis
• Guided observation protocols for novice teachers
• Ideas for working with video observation protocols

Task 2: Sharing your PD Journal

Let's take a moment to share one of the entries you made in your PD Journal in either Week 3 or 4. Quickly skim through your recent posts and choose the highlight you would like to share. We can use the RACE framework to facilitate our discussion. 

Click to see full sized image.

Task 3: Critical Incidents

Baecher and Farrell (2017) define critical incidents as "any unplanned and unanticipated event, vividly remembered, which occurs during class, outside class, or anytime during a teacher's career. Incidents really become critical only when they are subjected to this conscious reflection, through which teachers can uncover new understandings in their practice." 

Richards (2017, p. 34) suggests considering the following questions when facing a critical incident.

• Why was this incident significant?
• What were your thoughts or beliefs prior to this incident?
• How did you react at the time?
• What is your understanding of the reasons for the incident?
• What assumptions about teaching / learning does this incident raise?
• Would you react any differently if it happened again? Why or why not?

Click to see full sized image.

As the diagram above illustrates, unexpected occurences in the teaching/learning process have the potential to motivate us to pause and reflect on our beliefs and practices and whcih can serve as a catalyst for change. In response to a critical incident, the teacher must choose between continuing on his/her trajectory or initiating a change. 

• Can you think of a critical incident from your own experience that initiated a change in your beliefs and/or practices? Remember that critical incidents can come from both positive and negative events. Use Richards' questions above to comment on your example. 

This article by Joshi (2018) provides a great summary of the research about critical incidents in education if you would like to read more (CLICK HERE).  

 

Task 4: Reading Response

Last week you completed the first part of your assigned Linkedin Learning course which looks at the design of training programs from a corporate training perspective. Respond to the following prompts with your partners.

• What did you think about the first section of this course?
• What aspects of the course did you find applicable to context of teacher training?
• What did you not find to be applicable?

Now review some of your ideas from the reading response task and share them with your partners.

• Describe in your own words how you can determine if employee training is needed. Can you give an example from a teaching context in which employee training might not be the appropriate solution?
• Think about the training scenario for our course (prepare new teachers to give effective online lessons) or the particular scenario that you have chosen for your project. What specific Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, and Abilities might a teacher need to possess in order to give effective online lessons or to address the particular focus of your project?
• What did you think about the ABCD framework for perfromance objectives? Do you think this could be a helpful way of articulating the objectives for your trainees? Why or why not? 

Task 5: Project Check-In

Take the remainder of class time to share your progress, ideas, and concerns about the project for this course. The following prompts might guide your conversation.

• What is the specific focus of your project?
• What modifications did you make to your data collection instrument(s)?
• Have you already applied them? If so, what were the results? If not, when do you intend to apply them?
• Have you begun thinking about potential content, tasks, organization or any other aspect of your proposal?
• What are you concerned about?

References

Farrell, T. & Baecher, L. (2017). Reflecting on Critical Incidents in Language Education. Bloomsbury. 

Joshi, K. (2018). Critical Incidents for Teachers’ Professional Development. Journal of NELTA Surkhet, 5, 82-88. https://doi.org/10.3126/jns.v5i0.19493

Richards, J. (2017). Jack C Richard's 50 Tips for Teacher Development. Cambridge University Press.