Sign In

Professional learning insights, from the field

Filter Posts:

  • Actionable Data
  • Client Stories
  • News + Announcements
  • Tools + Tips
    • Pencil

    The Future of Professional Learning: 8 takeaways on innovation in PD

    By Julia Ramsey

    ESSA’s emphasis on evidence-based professional learning has spurred too much new and potent thinking to ignore. The trick is understanding where innovation can inform and improve the best practices we already know work. We sat down with Diane Lauer, Assistant Superintendent of Priority Programs at St. Vrain Valley Schools, for a chat on where the next steps are and how they connect to what we've been doing all along.
    Pencil

    Implementing Evidence-Based Programs with Fidelity [Part 2]

    By Julia Ramsey

    The story of the last decade of professional learning has been around the idea of “evidence for practice.” With ESSA’s definition of professional learning, it’s clear that programs have to be linked to research that shows impact on students. But choosing a research-backed framework is the easy part. Translating it into practice — also known as “implementing with fidelity” — is a taller order. Find out how two real-life practitioners optimize these drivers in a school district setting, track implementation success in real time, and understand what works and why.
    Pencil

    Actionable data: Building momentum with consistent data checks

    By Julia Ramsey

    A good foundation is critical to your professional learning plan's success — but all the value alignment, calendar coordination and guiding philosophy in the world won’t guarantee a good outcome. Without clear intention for what the final product will actually do, the people it's serving won’t be able to make sense of the “why do we have this?,” let alone the “how do we use this?” Today: simplifying data presentations for accessibility, understanding and buy-in.
    Pencil

    Implementing Evidence-Based Programs with Fidelity [Part 1]

    By Julia Ramsey

    The story of the last decade of professional learning has been around the idea of “evidence for practice.” With ESSA’s definition of professional learning, it’s clear that programs have to be linked to research that shows impact on students. But choosing a research-backed framework is the easy part. Translating it into practice — also known as “implementing with fidelity” — is a taller order. Find out how two real-life practitioners optimize these drivers in a school district setting, track implementation success in real time, and understand what works and why.
    Pencil

    Actionable data: Helping your team understand and use data

    By Julia Ramsey

    A good foundation is critical to your professional learning plan's success — but all the value alignment, calendar coordination and guiding philosophy in the world won’t guarantee a good outcome. Without clear intention for what the final product will actually do, the people it's serving won’t be able to make sense of the “why do we have this?,” let alone the “how do we use this?” Today: simplifying data presentations for accessibility, understanding and buy-in.
    Pencil

    Actionable data: How to clarify, consolidate, and centralize collection systems

    By Julia Ramsey

    The secret to maintaining any routine is making it easy for yourself. Want to squeeze in more early-morning workouts? Pack your gym clothes the night before. Trying to keep the mail from piling up? Keep a wastebin next to the mail table. And if you're trying to build a habit among a group of people — like consistently and thoroughly responding to feedback surveys, for example — the trick is to simplify and streamline wherever possible, for both the audience and yourself. Today in our Actionable Data series: running large-scale data projects while respecting your teachers' time — and your own.
    Pencil

    Actionable data: Plotting robust but realistic timeframes for PD data collection

    By Julia Ramsey

    Short, intermediate and long-term change can look very different in both pace and types of indicator — not to mention the the complex task of balancing the existing demands of the school year with your program's data needs. Let’s explore how to build robust yet flexible calendars for data accountability:
    Pencil

    Will we meet you in St. Louis? Ways to connect with KickUp at Learning Forward 2019

    By Julia Ramsey

    2019's Learning Forward Annual Conference is almost here! KickUp is thrilled to once again power the conference evaluation and present sessions with our innovative K-12 PD partners from across the country. Check out all the ways to connect with us over four days of building capacity and changing practice.
    Pencil

    Putting PD Feedback Data to Work: Takeaways from Texas

    By Julia Ramsey

    Professional development feedback gets a bad rap. District leaders and PD directors often consider it subjective and shallow, focusing on verifiable metrics instead: hours clocked, attendances logged and sessions completed. But participant feedback can be an untapped treasure trove of actionable data, and innovative PD leaders are using it to formatively evaluate programs for in-the-moment success. We recently talked to the directors of two Texas districts about the ways they’re listening to — and using — post-PD feedback.
    Pencil

    Actionable data: Turning subjective goals to concrete outcomes

    By Julia Ramsey

    How do you balance maintaining compliance, hitting district goals, and doing the real work of inspiring your teacher-leaders to achieve? It’s not by defaulting to the safety of easily-measurable but shallow metrics — it’s by sharpening the focus of the qualitative changes.