Q: “How can we ensure effective training for the classroom workplace on professional learning days?”
Signed, A pre-service teaching professor
A: Professional learning (PL) days are invaluable opportunities to refine skills, explore innovations, and foster collaboration. Yet, without thoughtful planning, these sessions risk becoming passive lectures that fail to translate into improvements in the classroom or workplace. Unfortunately, this happens often. Sometimes, when school cultures haven’t required educators to take an active role, things become stagnant, and when the expectation shifts, there is additional pushback. There are ways to ensure that professional learning is practical, though, and as leaders, we must make it a priority to know what teachers need and how best to provide it for them. Here’s how to design PL to inspire lasting impact.
Align learning with real needs
PL should address gaps identified by both educators and administrators. For example, if standardized data reveals students struggle with analytical writing, focus PL on scaffolding writing instruction. One school surveyed revealed that 70% of teachers felt unprepared to teach digital literacy. Their PL day featured hands-on workshops on tools like Google Classroom and the ethical use of AI, followed by collaborative lesson planning time. Other ways to ensure that you’re meeting real needs are to conduct a needs assessment with your staff, being intentional about aligning questions with strategic plan goals, and then setting smaller goals based on what is learned. What we want to avoid doing is adding more to teachers’ plates without removing anything or providing learning opportunities that are redundant or not differentiated for adult learners.
Prioritize active learning
When I first took my first leadership position, it was evident that my team wasn’t used to actively engaging in their meetings, learning, etc. And when I expected them to participate, it was met with groans. I knew I had to make the meetings meaningful, as I had so little time with them as a group. It felt unproductive and disrespectful to have meetings where I shared information that could have been written in an email.
And let’s face it, adults learn best by doing. We must replace sit-and-get sessions with interactive strategies, such as micro-teaching, which allows teachers to visit each other’s classrooms, observe a particular strategy, and then debrief on it. Suppose teachers can’t cover each other’s classrooms. In that case, you can create a library of best-practice videos that can be used with micro-teaching protocols to promote appreciative inquiry and continue fostering a collaborative environment.
Another active learning strategy is developing case studies that focus on real challenges that your teachers are experiencing. Teams analyze real classroom issues, such as managing conflict in teams, and brainstorm solutions that they try together. They then address these solutions in their PLC meetings.
Creating an Ed-Tech Sandbox is another way teachers can actively engage in their professional learning. Teachers explore apps like Kahoot! or Padlet by designing activities that they can use the next day. This can also be an opportunity for colleagues to share which tools are working for them by sharing insight and providing demos that allow others to try already validated applications with help from colleagues.
Embed follow-up support
One-off PL rarely sticks, so we need to build mechanisms that allow for follow-up on the most meaningful learning. Whether we offer peer coaching through instructional coaches or pair colleagues to observe each other’s classrooms or workplaces and debrief, this method allows for one-on-one feedback on specific strategies. It facilitates the more useful implementation of new learning. Sometimes we can’t see all the things happening around us; a peer coach offers fresh eyes.
Professional learning communities (PLCs) also offer a more regular place for follow-up, with dedicated monthly time to revisit PL topics, such as “How have you implemented formative assessment?” You also have the benefit of group collaboration and collective efficacy, ensuring that new learning is applied effectively.
If you don’t have structures like these in place, you can also use apps like Slack or Voxer as a space to have asynchronous conversations and the ability to provide resources and feedback.
Leverage expertise wisely
Invite practitioners — not just theorists — to lead sessions. A teacher who successfully flipped the classroom can offer actionable insights beyond someone who only knows theory. As someone who works with schools and teams regularly, my value is my classroom expertise in assessment. Practitioners appreciate that I do what I’m suggesting they do. Plus, I can solve problems with them based on what I’ve learned from working with many other educators over the years on these topics. Educators appreciate practical, usable professional learning that they can apply immediately, and many of them have expertise that often goes overlooked.
One example of how this can work is by creating an Edcamp-style professional learning where folks from the district sign up to share expertise, and other teachers choose which sessions they want to attend. This way, there is a choice, and you’re leveraging in-house folks to spread best practices. Another example is if a district invited a teacher with high English learner growth to demo scaffolded questioning techniques, sparking immediate classroom experimentation.
Measure impact
PL success isn’t just about satisfaction surveys. We need to track progress through measurable actions. We can see this with noticeable behavioral changes based on the new learning, such as whether our teachers are applying the strategies, such as through classroom walkthroughs or project audits. Or through student/team outcomes. Did math scores rise after PL on problem-solving? Did workflow efficiency improve?
Respect time and autonomy
Avoid overwhelming participants with packed agendas by offering choice through workshop tracks. We can let teachers select sessions that align with their needs and interests, just like we do with students. This also includes flexible formats for different kinds of learners. Blend in-person and on-demand video tutorials for self-paced learning.
Effective PL bridges theory and practice. By focusing on relevance, interaction, and follow-through, we ensure these days aren’t just a break from routine, but also a catalyst for growth.
Have a question that you’d like Career Confidential to answer? Email ssackstein@educatorsrising.org. All names and schools will remain confidential. No identifying information will be included in the published questions and answers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Starr Sackstein
Starr Sackstein is the Massachusetts state coordinator for PDK’s Educators Rising program, COO of Mastery Portfolio, an education consultant, instructional coach, and author. She was a high school English and journalism teacher and school district curriculum leader. She is the author of more than 15 educational books, including Hacking Assessment (Times 10, 2015), Making an Impact Outside of the Classroom (Routledge, 2024), and Actionable Assessment (Routledge, 2026).
Visit their website at: https://www.mssackstein.com/
