CHOICE Overview
Virginia Ed Strategies was awarded a FY2020 Education Innovation and Research (EIR) early-phase grant from the US Department of Education to develop the Professional Learning by Choice Community (CHOICE). This 5-year, $10.8M research and development project seeks to build the sustainable teacher effectiveness capacity of up to 1,600 secondary science, mathematics, computer science, and career and technical (CTE) teachers across the Commonwealth of Virginia through teacher-directed selection of professional learning experiences within a virtual professional learning community (PLC) comprised of multiple Communities of Practice (CoP).
As one of the first deliverables, the project team developed a self-assessment tool that allows teachers participating in the project to self-reflect on their own professional learning needs relative to their specific context and aligned with Virginia's Uniform Performance Standards for Teachers. This, in turn, provides the sense of agency for individual teachers to select training experiences that align with their professional learning needs. During the pilot year, the project team developed and implemented a custom online professional learning dashboard, known as the CHOICE Dashboard. Teachers access the CHOICE Dashboard via the CHOICE Portal. The Portal houses the overall CHOICE PLC as well as the individual CoPs, and includes the CHOICE Professional Learning (PL) Menu, a menu of high-quality training opportunities offered by both state and national providers. The CHOICE PL Menu enables participating teachers to self-select the professional learning experiences that meet their own individual needs within the local context of their schools and communities. The professional learning selected by teachers will be paid for by grant funds and will count toward relicensure. In addition, teachers will be supported by CoP Facilitators as well as Content Specialists and will collaborate with peers in within their CoP as well as with peers in the larger professional learning community during their two years in CHOICE. School administrators will have the opportunity to participate in their own CoP for training and support as well. All of these project elements are critical to meet the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement for high-need students.
KEY PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Teacher Choice
CHOICE Teachers complete a self-assessment that assists in identifying areas of strength and growth. Teachers utilize their assessment results coupled with their professional aspirations to write an annual professional learning goal (PLG). Their PLG guides their search and selection of PL that hey choose to attend. PL selected by teachers, as well as associated costs of travel and materials, will be paid for by grant funds.
Customized Dashboard
One critical deliverable of the project is the CHOICE Dashboard, a customized and adaptive integrated platform teachers access through the CHOICE Portal. The Portal serves as the gateway to the overall CHOICE PLC as well as all of the Communities of Practice. It also hosts the CHOICE PL Menu which features professional learning opportunities from both Virginia and national providers. The Menu enables teachers to self-select the learning experiences that best meet their individual needs. The CHOICE Portal also connects CHOICE teachers to their peers while offering a means to interact with CHOICE Facilitators and Content Specialists.
Building Capacity
The ultimate goal of the CHOICE community is to produce a cadre of highly-effective teachers, the vast majority of whom teach in rural school settings, who will build school-, division-, region-, and state-level capacity in a variety of learning environments (traditional, virtual, hybrid, etc.) and demonstrate a positive, sustained impact on student learning and achievement.
Facilitators & Specialists
CHOICE offers teachers two forms of project support: CoP Facilitators and Content Specialists. CoP Facilitators are available to assist teachers with various CHOICE activities and engage with teachers through quarterly CoP meetings, open office hours, individual appointments, discussion forums, emails, and strategic feedback. Content Specialists provide support specific to their designated content area (e.g. math, science, computer science, or CTE) through open office hours, individual appointments, guided discussions, and monthly content-focused events.
An Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $10.8 million over the next five years.
An Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $10.8 million over the next five years.
CHOICE will allow for teacher-directed professional learning opportunities for up to 1,000 high school teachers across the Commonwealth.
CHOICE will allow for teacher self-selected professional learning opportunities for high school teachers in the following four content areas: science, mathematics, computer science, and CTE.
