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Speaker Notes:

Slide 1: Title-Alternate Professional Learning (PL) - Call to Action

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Slide 2: Breaking the Cycle: A Call for Alternative Professional Learning

Speaker Notes:

Introduction: “Good [morning/afternoon], everyone. Thank you for joining me today. My name is [Your Name], and I’m excited to discuss a critical topic that impacts all of us in higher education: the need for alternative professional learning models. Our current ‘sit and get’ approach to professional learning is no longer effective. As Gulamhussein (2013) points out, this traditional method fails to engage and inspire real change. Today, I’ll share why we need to shift to more adaptive and innovative PL models that promote active engagement and real transformation.”

 

Slide 3: The Cost of Inaction

Speaker Notes:

Opportunities We’ll Miss: “Let’s consider the cost of inaction. If we continue with our current PL practices, we risk missing out on several key opportunities. First, enhanced student outcomes and engagement. Research shows that when instructors are more engaged and better trained, their students perform better. Second, improved instructor satisfaction and retention. Happy, well-supported instructors are more likely to stay with our institution. Third, institutional innovation and competitiveness. To stay ahead, we need to continuously innovate. Finally, alignment with evolving educational technologies. As technology advances, our teaching methods must evolve too.”

 

Slide 4: 5 Key Principles of Effective PL

Speaker Notes:

Principles: "To create effective professional learning, we need to focus on five key principles. According to Wei et al. (2009), these are:

  1. Significant and ongoing duration: Professional learning should be continuous and sustained over time.

  2. Support during implementation: Instructors need support as they implement new practices.

  3. Active engagement in learning: Learning should be interactive and engaging.

  4. Effective modeling of new practices: Instructors should see new practices in action.

  5. Discipline-specific content: Professional learning should be relevant to the instructor’s specific field."

 

Slide 5: Beyond Active Learning

Speaker Notes:

Key Points: “Simply adding active components to our PL isn’t enough. Andrews et al. (2011) found that active learning alone doesn’t necessarily lead to better student outcomes. We need to fully embrace constructivist principles, which means creating learning experiences where instructors construct their own understanding. We should model the practices we want to see in our classrooms and create a culture of continuous improvement.”

 

Slide 6: The Path Forward

Speaker Notes:

Next Steps: "So, what’s the path forward? Here are the next steps we should take:

  1. Assess current PL practices: Evaluate what’s working and what’s not.

  2. Develop a tailored alternative PL plan: Create a plan that meets the specific needs of our instructors.

  3. Pilot new approaches and gather feedback: Test new methods on a small scale and collect feedback.

  4. Scale successful models across departments: Once we know what works, implement it across the institution."

 

Slide: 7 A Call to Action

Speaker Notes:

Who we are: “Texas A&M stands for Respect- we all will learn, regardless of learning styles & abilities, Leadership- We will the pave the way in new PL, Loyalty- No one will be left behind in the learning process , Integrity-We will use transparency in learning and teaching, Excellence- We will create environments for everyone to succeed and Selfless Service- We will put the needs of our learners first.  Let’s bring these valves we hold true into our professional learning every day.”

 

Slide 8: References

Speaker Notes:

Citations: "Here are the key sources that informed today’s presentation:

  • Andrews, T. M., Leonard, M. J., Colgrove, C. A., & Kalinowski, S. T. (2011). Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses. CBE Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 394-405. http://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-07-0061

  • Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the teachers: Effective professional development in an era of high stakes accountability. Center for Public Education.

  • 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 U.S. and abroad. National Staff Development Council."

 

Slide 9: Ending- Bush.Tamu.Edu

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