Facilitating Engaging Virtual Professional Learning for Educators

Dr. Brandie Berry, Director of K-12 ELA, Duval County Public Schools

The global shutdown in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus in March of 2020 dramatically shifted teachers and students to online instruction. Amid this rapid transition to virtual teaching platforms, professional learning for educators was also reimagined to adapt to the virtual options available. No longer able to move around the room, read body language, or have materials ready on each table, facilitators of professional learning quickly realized that maintaining the engagement of participants on the other side of a computer screen required careful planning and skillful facilitation. Over the last two years, facilitators of virtual professional learning have honed their skills to deliver meaningful and engaging learning for educators. Along this journey, we identified several key factors to consider when planning virtual professional development:

Organize the digital materials for easy access.

One of the biggest challenges in facilitating virtual professional learning is the wide range of participants’ comfort with technology. A session can quickly be derailed if one or more participants are unable to access the resources. There are several ways to successfully organize the digital materials for your professional learning session, but they all have two things in common: 1) participants navigate to one place to access everything, and 2) items are clearly labeled. Whether you share a Google folder with documents in it, a Word document with links, or create a virtual bulletin board in Padlet, you must collect all your resources in one place. Name each resource clearly and consider numbering them for easy identification. Share the collection of resources with participants at the beginning of the session and ensure everyone has accessed it. For the rest of the learning session, you can simply direct participants back to the same place to locate the next resource.

Decide if cameras and microphones will be used.

Distractions for participants of virtual professional learning sessions are infinite. Whether the participant is at home or logging in from work, other people and technology are vying for their attention. If your group has less than 30 people, consider asking participants to keep their cameras on and use their microphones to speak. This increases the connection between the facilitator(s) and participants by allowing them to see facial expressions and hear the tone of voice of others in the group. It also lowers the likelihood that participants will divert their attention elsewhere. However, the larger the group, the more distracting cameras and microphones will be. In larger sessions, using the chat will be the main form of communication with participants.

"As we settle into a post-pandemic new normal, virtual professional learning is here to stay."

Manage chat for information and engagement.

Whether cameras and microphones are used or not, chat is a vital feature in virtual professional learning. Participants can post questions in chat at any time, allowing the facilitator or a co-facilitator to answer questions as they arise. This helps participants continue moving through the learning without lagging confusion or concerns. Chat can also be used to seek input from participants. Facilitators can ask a question for participants to respond to in chat using text, emoticons, or gifs.

Incorporate tech tools to boost engagement, check for understanding, and build accountability.

Facilitators should resist the urge to do the majority of the talking or plow through a PowerPoint. It’s hard to stare at a screen full of silhouettes who aren’t excited about responding, but adult learning theory applies to virtual learning, too. Expose participants to small chunks of new information, then allow them to process and respond in safe ways. For example, poll participants, share the collective results and then invite participants to comment. Another option is to ask participants to post their thinking anonymously on a digital bulletin board like Padlet and then have them respond to the posts of other participants. Participants can also add their responses to a shared document in Google or SharePoint. Consider checking for understanding through a quiz created in Microsoft Forms, Qualtrics, or Survey Monkey, or play a lively game of Kahoot!. Whatever the activity, allow participants to debrief and share their thinking before moving on to the next agenda item.

Use breakout rooms effectively.

Most platforms used for virtual professional learning include a feature to send participants to breakout rooms. Similar to table talk in an in-person session, breakout rooms allow participants to talk or work together in small groups. To maximize the time spent in breakout rooms, be sure to provide clear directions in the resources so participants can refer back to them while in the breakout room. Provide a timeline for completing the assigned task(s) and have accountability measures for all members of the group. If possible, check in on each group to answer questions and monitor their progress. Upon returning to the whole group, allow group representatives to share the outcomes of their work and debrief the learning before moving on.

Even though students have largely returned to classrooms, we are finding that virtual professional development offers flexibility for our educators that surpass the options for in-person learning. As we settle into a post-pandemic new normal, virtual professional learning is here to stay. Therefore, facilitators must continue to hone their skills to plan and deliver high-quality and engaging virtual professional learning.

Microsoft