Maintain professional development and educator collaboration throughout an edtech pilot¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

A concrete implementation practice for district pilots: provide professional development before and during the pilot and build in educator collaboration. In Cajon Valley, 100 percent of responding educators participated in professional development averaging 2 to 3 hours and nearly 80 percent said it prepared them to pilot the tool; in Vista, over 40 percent reported training under an hour and nearly half said it only slightly prepared them. The report advises districts to "maintain professional development opportunities throughout the pilot and consider opportunities for educator collaboration when designing the pilot."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• District commitment of time and resources for initial training and ongoing support from the product company throughout the pilot

Constraints¶

• Where training was brief (Vista), educators reported feeling unprepared, and coaches struggled to interpret the tool's data

Target Learners¶

• Educators and coaches implementing edtech with English Learners

Target Learning Goals¶

• Effective classroom implementation of piloted edtech tools for English language development

Related Strategies¶

• Conduct ed-tech pilots by articulating the instructional need, setting clear product-review criteria, involving educators in planning, supporting educators throughout, gathering data from all users, deciding from data, negotiating purchasing options, and sharing results
• Four implementation insights for design-centered learning programs: time with technology, extended professional development, intentional instruction, and starting small
• Revise professional learning materials and structure in response to pilot feedback
• Mobilize & Implement: provide professional learning throughout the pilot and use real-time data dashboards to keep usage aligned with dosage requirements
• Provide professional learning opportunities and free tools to support educators in conducting edtech pilot studies
• Work with a coach or peer group, start with one insight, and gather data when applying learning sciences research

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Luke, Christina C.; Gibson, Sierra; Francisco, Aubrey T. (2017). Rapid Cycle Pilots: Using Edtech to Support English Learners. Digital Promise. https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/383e02ba-587a-4192-be68-175543798661. doi:10.51388/20.500.12265/26