Planning Professional Development

Designing Outside the Box - Part II

2008-04-19T10:09:00.018-04:00

The focus of my last Blog was on the Pre-Instructional Phase of instructional design where I referenced Michael W. Allen's article, Designing Outside the Box (http://www.learningcircuits.org/0308_allen.html). Mr Allen categorizes instructional design into three learning phases: Pre-instructional Phase, Instructional Phase and Performance Phase. This Blog's reflections will focus on the Instructional and Performance Phases.

Instruction Phase

When it comes to professional development, it was long ago established that learning by doing is far better than the droning sit and git method. That being said, what makes the most difference is what learners are doing during the learning experience. At Professional Development Support, we are beginning to include job-embedded scenarios in our training designs. Once particpants understand the foundational level of instruction, the most valuable next step would be the application of that knowledge to job-embedded situations. By incorporating work-related scenarios during the instructional phase, participants are immersed in situations where they would need to think critically in order to analyze a situation and determine which performance skills should be used. This job-embedded application of knowledge should not wait for the follow-up activity, but should be written into the design and applied immediately as learning activities.

Performance Phase

The point that Mr. Allen makes about the Performance Phase that resonates with me is that designers need to provide learning experiences for two audiences - one set for the target audiences and another for their supervisors (administrators, principals). As many of us have experienced, untrained supervisors, even if supportive of the change, often are detrimental to that very change because they are unfamiliar with the new process being introduced and the challenges that particular change will bring. Dual designs, for these two audiences can help push change forward and might improve the climate when implementing new initiatives.

Finally, as a last step in the Performance Phase, designers need to consider various ways that participants can collaborate with each other as they transition learning to actual performance.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Designing Outside the Box

2008-03-28T11:42:00.015-04:00

What should be the focus of an instructional designer? Many of us create our designs in a neat box where we adhere to the application of design principles, i.e. define objectives, organize content, select media, determine learning events, and develop evaluation measures and hope for the best. After much research, after many chats with colleagues who value quality instructional design, perhaps the designer's focus should shift to the success of the participants, thus enabling them to perform at higher levels of competency.

Questions I have pondered...If learners have done well on the post-test, does this mean that the course was successful? Does it mean that they will now do well performing that aspect of their job? Do I consider my course successful if the participants learned something they didn’t know before? Does success come from knowing things? Ohhhhh....the angst.

According to an article entitled, Designing Outside the Box (http://www.learningcircuits.org/0308_allen.html), written for Training and Development by Michael W. Allen, instructional designers need to change their focus on the types of activities they create. Although Mr. Allen talks about e-learning, these same principles could be applied to our face-to-face and blended workshops as well. He breaks down instructional design into three learning phases: Pre-instructional Phase, Instructional Phase and Performance Phase.

Pre-Instructional Phase - get them thinking about change
This is the period just preceding the skill-building instruction. It is the time for setting expectations for change. Change is a word that usually resonates negatively in the hearts and minds of many participants who may not want to be plucked out of their comfort zone. As an aside, brain researchers have actually discovered that the brain is wired to avoid change. It senses a sort of pain even when change is being contemplated. And haven't we all experienced painful change sometime in our lives?

The pre-instructional phase should be used to get learners in the mindset of thinking about change by using exercises such as asking them to think about how things could be better and then having them describe how such improvements could occur. Better yet, the designer could present specific problems that ask learners to evaluate possible solutions. This will help them move forward to understand the need for change. According to design guru Bob Pike, “people don’t argue with their own data”. Can you imagine how powerful this type of opener would be? The end result of the pre-instructional phase would be to have the learners see the need and value of the change so that they will be more willing to commit to the concept and to the skill-building exercises that follow in the instructional phase.

When designers create icebreakers instead of openers with cutsey games that have no meaning , when they use statistics for a dramatic effect without making a connection for change, when they neglect to open their design by getting participants to think about the need for change, then they are way off target. The opener provides the perfect opportunity to get the need for change ball rolling. Designers - Instead of opting for pointless games and even less meaningful statistics, don't forego this opportunity to get them in the mindset for change.

Stay tuned to my next Blog where I will continue with the instructional and performance phases of Thinking Outside the Box.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Who Plans/Designs Professional Development for Your Department or School?

2008-02-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

After the SIP is completed, after the PGP’s are reviewed, after the APPAS are evaluated - what then? In your school/department who are the people creating a professional development plan? What are the conversations taking place within that team? Are you involved in planning your own professional development?

The Broward County Schools Strategic Plan for 2010 states that we believe professional staff development enhances a quality school.
This statement makes NOW a good time to start thinking about the professional development needs of your school/department or IZone. Your professional development team for 2008-2009 should be in place ready to take ownership of the professional development process for your school or department.

Did I hear you say that your PD team is already in place? Great! Do you need assistance creating the plan? The Professional Development Support Team at HRD/Davie looks forward to assisting you. Did I hear that you have been charged with designing some of those professional development events? No sweat. Do you need some pointers on how to deliver your event? Are you wondering how to coach your participants to mastery? Are you struggling with choosing a good evaluative plan? Our team can provide courses in the design, delivery, follow-up/coaching and evaluation of your Professional Development. That is what we are all about and all YOU have to do is ask.

Hold on…the phone is ringing. “Professional Development Support. This is Kyna, how can I help you? Why, yes, we would love to provide Professional Development support to your school."

Gotta go for now. Hope to hear your voice on the other end of the line very soon. 754.321.5006

I'm blogging out of here.
Kyna

Setting Goals

2008-01-06T19:52:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! As I helped ring in the New Year at a party attended by close to 50 people, I overheard many revelers proclaim their New Year’s resolutions proud and loud.

You might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with planning professional development? Glad you asked. While I listened and nodded and smiled, I couldn’t help but ask myself, Are these goals that people are setting for themselves really attainable? Let’s eavesdrop on a few, then you tell me. “I will lose weight.” "I will stop smoking." "I will be kinder to people." "I want world peace" (huh?). "I will be more organized." "I will exercise more." "I will spend more time with my family.” You get the point here.

Setting a goal is not very difficult. You know the results that you want to achieve at the end. Getting back to the New Year’s party, was declaring a resolution or stating a goal enough? No. And why you might ask. Those goals, those resolutions were not specific. They told the what, but not the how or when. A specific goal or a SMART (where have I heard this before?) goal will give you all the information you need to attain the end result. Specific (what do you want to happen), measurable(concrete criteria), attainable (reachable), realistic (doable) and timely (when).

Your New Year’s resolution should be phrased so that you know when you have achieved the goal. The same holds true for planning your professional development, programs and objectives for the year. What do you want to achieve this year? Do you want to learn how to create databases in File Maker Pro? Do you want your leadership team to develop professional learning communities in your school? In your department? Do you want to become a better designer? A better trainer? A better coach? What is your resolution this year? These are great partial goals.

Now that you have a clear picture of what you want to reach, how will you get there? What is the timeframe? What resources have you? It is really possible to achieve this year? Or should your goal be broken down into smaller steps? Goals you set which are too far out of your reach (unattainable) will loose commitment quickly. How will you know you’ve reached your goal? What method of measurement will you choose?

What are your professional development goals? For yourself? For your school? For your department? For your program? Let's work on setting goals, reasonable goals for the professional development in our areas of responsibility.

I’m blogging out of here.

Kyna

The Online Professional Development Catalog Needs Your Input

2007-12-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

Reviewing Your Program Information

Are you aware that BCPS is switching to a new format to display our district-wide professional development? An online catalog will be created that will replace the paper staff development calendar previously used. BE’s (Business Events) with the specific dates and times will no longer be listed. Instead, prospective participants will search the catalog to find the program (BEG) and Event (BET) they are interested in attending. Then they will log into PDSS to find the listing of the event with its specific time and date.

Program Managers - The information about your district-based program will be taken directly from the Program Manager’s Database (File Maker Pro shared database BEG3.fp5). This means that your needs assessment, goal, SMART objectives and follow-up support will be showcased. This information will be what prospective participants read when planning their professional development. It is a good idea to review your program(s) now. The catalog is set to go live in January 2008.

Your needs assessment should contain 2 important pieces of information; the tool(s) used to collect the data and the resulting need (gap).
Here are 2 helpful tools from the HRD Trainers and Designers Website that will be useful when evaluating your needs. http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/hrd/trainersdesigners/docs/ProfDevToolbox/Needs%20Assessment%20checklist.pdf
and http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/hrd/trainersdesigners/docs/ProfDevToolbox/Needs%20Assessment%20Rubric.pdf

Please refer to my blog dated November 26 to ensure that your goal encompasses the overall purpose of your program, and that your objectives are written SMART-ly.

A new section has been added called Additional Support and Resources. This portion will give you the opportunity to market your program further by indicating the type of follow-up implementation and evaluation support you are offering in addition to the courses (events). For instance, you might want to tell prospective participants that your program will use on-site coaches, web-based resources, or monthly best practices meetings.

Questions? Comments? Please let me know how I can help.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Let's Get SMART

2007-11-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

Creating quality SMART Objectives for a program or an event seems to elude many of us. As educators, we know that an objective is the outcome that we desire at the end of our lesson. Therefore, an objective must be plausible and have evaluability. As I review our District’s programs and events, I see several avenues of misunderstanding when it comes to goals, objectives and SMART objectives. Too often I see general goal-type statements where objectives should be. According to Joellen Killion, a goal is a statement of the overall purpose of a program. An objective, on the other hand, is a specific statement detailing the desired accomplishments of a program or event.

Taking this thought a step further, program and event objectives should be SMART-ly written. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely and can be broken down as follows:

Specific – The objective denotes one single key result using an action verb such as plan, write, produce, conduct, etc.
Measurable – The objective can be evaluated. Usually we use numbers, percentages, or frequency.
Attainable – The objective is realistic in proportion to the available resources. In other words, if a school does not have wireless carts, you cannot state that 75% of the teachers will use Wireless Carts in their classrooms.
Relevant – The objective supports the goal of the program, or the needs assessment.
Timely – The objective contains a stated timeframe for completion. (i.e. by the end of the session)

Let’s look at a performance gap (need) and an example of an aligned, dissected SMART objective.

Performance Gap (need): A study of 30 random events indicates that a group of designers failed to indicate the formative and summative strategies needed to evaluate participant learning in their course design .

SMART Objective: By the end of the event (timely), designers will be able to use a rubric (attainable) to select (specific) at least 3 methods of evaluating participant learning (measurable). Objective is relevant to the need.

If you require further assistance, please let me know how I can help you create smart SMART objectives for your program (district-based) or event (district or school-based). It would be my pleasure to hear from you.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Using Fairy Tale Story Structure To Increase Retention

2007-10-11T06:16:00.000-04:00

What do the phrases once upon a time and they lived happily ever after have to do with creating a quality design? Everything. Think about those childhood stories we delighted in hearing over and over again. They all had an opening that set us up and made us want to hear the whole story. They also had some sort of contrived closing, usually a happily ever after that drew all the story elements together and had us smiling at the wonderful ending. As designers, we too have to create our enticing openers and fulfilling closers in much the same way.

This important introduction to our design has been referred to as an icebreaker. But its intention should be much more than to break the ice at the beginning of an event. According to Bob Pike, an effective opener is a critical “piece of retention real estate”. We are more likely to remember best what we see and hear first and last. An opener should: break preoccupation (alleviate personal tension), facilitate networking (connect learner to learner and reduce relationship tension), relate to the content (connect learner to content), maintain or enhance self-esteem, be fun for the trainer and participant and create curiosity.

An effective closer is also a must have for content retention. Not only do we usually remember what we see and hear first, we also remember what we see and hear last. In that case, a good closer should be designed to provide these purposes: tie things together (revisit content, highlight and reinforce the key concepts), form a basis for making action plans (allow for reflection) and celebrate the close of the event.

Of course designers are not writing fairy tales and the content that you stuff in between the opener and closer is the meat of the design. Just think how much tastier your design will be with the addition of that delicious once upon a time and happily ever after.

Have you used an opener or closer that was especially effective? Please share your successes with us.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Untangling the BEG Process

2007-03-18T21:38:00.000-04:00

Stop snarling and start smoothing out the tangles of your program

BCPS has taken the leading edge when it comes to creating quality programs that meet the needs of all stakeholders. Being one of the foot soldiers helping to implement this change, I have heard this task described as arduous, impossible, sensible, dumb, doable and time-consuming. Michael Fullan, who wrote about the change process in From Staff Room to Classroom, summed it up well. “Some will anticipate the best possible scenario, others the worst. Some are eager to see the plan unfold; others dread the effort it will take. The signal to all concerned is that things are going to change.” That being said, let’s get down to brass tacks and look at the steps needed to create a quality program.

In order to create a Program (BEG) , you need to have “need”. A good needs assessment is data-driven and identifies the gaps that your program and its subsequent events will fill. They can come from focus groups, interviews, trusted print media, records, reports, rubrics, tests, assessments, competencies, shadowing, observing, suggestions, surveys and work samples. A needs assessment will also involve the stakeholders. To quote the BCPS Strategic Plan for 2010, our belief as a district: “Stakeholder involvement is a valuable tool for decision-making.”

The next logical step is to create the program goal. A program has just one goal and is based on the needs assessment. The goal then is the generalized, overall statement depicting the outcome of the program.

Program objectives should be SMART, like you. These SMART objectives should also contain evidence of KASABs. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. SMART objectives: can be evaluated, define levels of training (foundation, application and accomplished), contain evidence of KASABs – Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Aspirations, and Behavior (the changes you want to see in your learners). These program objectives are part of your BEG and identify what your program will cover over time.

Tick, tick, tick. It’s time to create a theory of change. First, brainstorm the activities needed to reach the goal. Within your theory of change, you should be able to identify the Florida Evaluation Protocol’s 4 strands: Planning, Delivery, Follow-up and Evaluation and explain how its goal and objectives are logically related to its activities. Then line them up sequentially keeping in mind that the theory of change will read like a roadmap of the possible steps necessary to accomplish the program’s goal and will include an idea of what will be used to measure progress along the way.

Last but not least, create a logic model. What’s that you ask? Simply put, a logic model is a flow chart that sequences the critical components of a program. It is a useful tool, and can help clarify the goal and communicate the basics of how a program works to others. Professional Development Support has created a logic model with five components, each related to the next. They are the inputs, activities, initial outcomes, intermediate outcomes and the intended results. The activities in the logic model were once the steps outlined in the theory of change. A program’s inputs and activities are directly related to the outcomes they will produce, and the initial and intermediate outcomes containing KASABs are directly related to the program’s desired results.

I’m blogging out of here. Ya’ll come back now…ya hear?

BEGs, BETs and BEs …Oh My!

2007-02-24T08:57:00.000-05:00

Acronyms…what are they good for? Absolutely everything!

I love them. Really. I learned to love them and use them to my benefit many years ago. I had a great teacher who told me if I could create acronyms for major categories or lists that needed memorizing, I would have a painless time recalling information. How right he was. Thanks, Mr. Weisbrod!

I’m sharing this jog down memory lane with you because it occurs to me that much of the information needed when planning and designing programs involves many acronyms. A few that come to mind are: BEG, BET and BE, SMART, KASAB, ALP, SAP, HRMS, ERP, NSDC, FPDSEP, PDFE, DOE and more…much more. Did you recognize some of them? All of them? If you know them all, then you too are a Program Planning Geek (PPG), or the more formal Program Design Guru (PDG).

The focus of this blog will be on the Broward County Public School’s (BCPS) district-wide goal to generate a professional development system that creates quality programs that align with the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) and Florida's Professional Development System Evaluation Protocol (FPDSEP). That is a mouthful. As we incorporate the standards of quality for professional development - planning, delivery, follow-up and evaluation (PDFE) into our program design, we will have quality programs district-wide.

`Nuff said…Let’s head right to the “B’s” as we wade through the big three of our alphabet soup - BEG, BET and BE. (By the way, this was the most asked question during the Program Development 101 workshop)

A BEG, Business Event Group, is the name of the program for which you are designing, or writing training. An example of a BEG is the Professional Developer’s Program.

After your BEG is created, you will need to follow with a BET, Business Event Type. A BET is the event or training that you or your designers are creating. It will link to the Business Event Group (BEG) and fall under its umbrella. You can have many related BETs under one BEG. An example of a BET is Program Development 101, one of the events in the Professional Developer’s Program.

Last in this progression is the BE, Business Event. The BE is the specific date, time and location of a Business Event Type (BET). An example then would be, Program Development 101/Tuesday March 13/ 8:30AM - 11:30AM/HRD Professional Development & Training.

I’m blogging out of here for now. Get out your combs for the next topic, Untangling the BEG Process.

Worst Practices - Design No-No's

2007-09-07T15:27:00.000-04:00

What? Focusing on the negative? Well...yes and no. While wading through stacks of research on creating a quality design, I began compiling a list of instructional design no-no's. Many tips seemed like common sense ideas, and others, food for thought. The more information I plowed through, the more workshops I attended, the more trainer notes I read, the more convinced I became that some of these no-no's might have a positive effect or an aha moment if brought to the surface.

No-no #1 Stating objectives of the event and then not meeting them

Create the learning you promise. Write into your trainer notes a mid-event recap of the objectives, reviewing what you have covered and what you will cover by the end of the session. Then at the end of the session, include a quick check of the objectives again and a reminder of how each was covered. Another way to keep participants in the loop is through your agenda. Create an agenda and ensure that your event follows the agenda. Participants like to know how the session will move along.

No-no #2 Writing the training first and then writing the objectives

Begin with the end in mind. What knowledge, skills, behaviors, attitudes and/or aspirations would you like your participants to achieve as a result of your event? When you have that answer, write your SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely) objectives which are always based on a stated need. Then, design your training around those objectives.

No-no #3 Creating trainer notes with unmanageable learning portions

Trainer notes should be designed with information in digestible chunks. Each portion will have a beginning, an ending and a smooth transition in between. Participants tend to remember beginnings and endings, but get hazy on the middle stuff. So chunk your content into manageable sections.

No-no #4 Content activities that are not scaffolded

Scaffolding learning boils down to I do, we do, you do. When designing training notes, ensure that you include a modeling explanation of the content/activity portion, then a section for participant and trainer practice and finally allowing the participants to do the activity on their own. This practice also covers all learning styles (visual, auditory and kinesthetic).

No-no #5 Creating a PowerPoint handout with all information included

If you use your PowerPoint presentation as one of your handouts, be sure to include lots of fill in the blanks in your particpant's copy. I always create a separate participant PowerPoint and take out much of the "answer" content. This allows participants to take notes and keeps them actively engaged in the session. Also, the actual act of listening then summarizing the information on their PowerPoint notes helps aid information retention.

No-no #6 Using know-it-all/judgmental/preachy language

The event should be designed as a resource for participant learning. If the designer creates an event with the message that he/she knows the right way, then even with the most skilled facilitator, that preachy-type message will come through to participants. Instead, think of your content as a guide to participant discovery.

No-no #7 Using the same activity again and again

While imitation is supposedly the sincerest form of flattery, it surely can get overdone. Some may disagree with my thinking, but when related events are presented to basically the same group of people, repetition of activities can cause boredom. For example, should every related event contain a nonlinguistic representation activity when there are many other types of graphic organizers one might use? If one event has an activity that groups people according to how they interact with others, should a related event include a very similar activity? There are a plethora of activity ideas out there. Try Ashmore Media Center, the Internet, or any bookstore. Using a variety of activities can help increase retention and increase the good buzz about your event.

These examples are just some of the yin and yang of worst design practices and possible solutions. I invite comment and additions to this list. If you are interested in learning more about design, please check PDSS for PD Design Essentials, PD Design Applications and PD Design Essentials Online events offered this fall and winter.

See ya next time.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna

Are You Made Of The Right Stuff To Be A Design Guru?

2007-05-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

Just answer these survey questions to find out

Do you enjoy investigative work, asking questions, studying and mapping processes, creating blueprints or outlines and the necessary documents for guiding a process?

Do you enjoy developing the training design using learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal thus ensuring the accomplishment of the objectives?

Do you enjoy developing job-embedded follow-up activities that will assist others to implement the knowledge and skills learned?

Do you enjoy researching a project to measure its viability and whether it improved participant performance or behavior?

Do you mind going back to the “drawing board” whenever necessary?

If you answered with a resounding YES! to all of the above, then you are made of the right stuff to be a design guru. If you’ve answered yes to some of the questions, then perhaps I can help you see the light.

Professional Development Design Essentials, a foundation-level course, both face-to-face and online will be offered Fall/Winter 2007. Also in the fall, there will be a Professional Development Design application-level course offered to all those who are interested in moving to the next level in design.

Does that mean I would love to see you there? You betcha.

Please go to PDSS (http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/pdss/default3.htm) to find the dates, times and locations of Design Essentials. Registration is easy – from any computer, anytime, anywhere.

I'm blogging out of here. See you in Design.

Kyna

Get Your Ducks in a Row - Planning Your Design

2007-07-25T14:27:00.000-04:00

Welcome back from Summer break! I am so excited to see that my blogging neighbors have moved in - Bill Hazen, Anamarie Root and Diana Silberman. We work together, and now we blog together. It doesn't get much better than that.

My blog's focus will continue to be planning and designing training - and all of the glorious steps one needs to take in order to create a quality instructional design. You may wonder why this great honor has been bestowed upon me. My passion is writing, I just love words, love manipulating and molding them into my personal style. Imagine getting paid to do something you really enjoy. And enjoy I do. Just the other day, my granddaughter, the brilliant and beautiful Kristen, informed me that she is creating a family newsletter (chip off the old block perhaps?) and wants me to be the editor/advisor. Another great honor, but for that one I work for free.

Enough of a reintroduction. Let's get back on track; the planning track to be exact. What does planning have to do with creating an instructional design? Everything. Without planning, there will be no quality, and quality is the name of the design game. Before you allow your fingers to fly across the keyboard, before you create your first activity, before you think about your very clever opening, your pre-writing checklist should include these questions:

Why are you designing? (needs assessment)

Will this be a professional development event or an information session?

Who are your participants? (audience)

What will be your your participant outcomes? (Start with the end in mind - SMART Objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely)

How will you initiate the transfer of new knowledge or skills to the workplace/classroom? (job-embedded follow-up activity)

How will you know your learners have "gotten it"? (evaluation strategies)

If you can answer the above questions, then indeed your ducks are all in a row and you can begin my favorite part - write away.

I would love to hear from you. If you have read an article or a book about designing, if you have an idea or an experience that might benefit our readers or perhaps a burning question that I can answer, please address it on this blog.

See you again soon.

I'm blogging out of here.

Kyna