04.19.2016
According to a recent study, the average eighth grader spends between 20 and 25 hours a year taking standardized tests. Although every state has mandates like this in place to assess students’ learning, they don’t necessarily address the learning curve as it’s happening throughout the year. Enter Professional Learning Communities (PLC).
About 160,000 school districts in the United States have adopted the PLC structure to better collaborate as a team of teachers ensuring student success. When there are students who haven’t learned the expected material by the end of the year, rather than retaining them, PLCs allow schools to be proactive and address problems before a student falls too far behind.
Although PLCs are an effective way for teachers to collaborate on their students’ success, Solution Tree found that many schools still needed help carrying out the model with fidelity. Global PD, their new professional development software, is now in about 125 school districts across the country and enables job-embedded professional development grounded in day-to-day teaching practice to enhance instructional skills and improve student learning.
“Global PD sets the foundation for staff to collaborate about students’ learning through the development of common formative assessments, to have rich discussions, ask critical questions, and share strategies so that all students are getting what they need,” former administrator at Piedmont Elementary (Duluth, Minn.), Becky Gerdes said. “I saw it constantly evolve our staff’s mindset about learning and teaching, which resulted in high student motivation and achievement.”
“Global PD is a comprehensive solution that educators can rely on daily to improve school wide practices,” said Solution Tree CEO Jeffrey C. Jones. “We’re excited to introduce new features that teams can use to enhance their skills, collaborate more effectively, and ultimately increase student achievement.”
Global PD is a finalist in the 2016 SIIA CODiE awards for Best Professional Learning Solution for K-20 Faculty and Administrative Staff and a finalist for EdTechDigest’s best Professional Development Learning Solution.
solutiontree.com/globalpd
