Evolving Learner: Shifting From Professional Development to Professional Learning From Kids, Peers, and the World

by Lainie Rowell, Kristy J. Andre, Lauren Steinmann

Learn from Kids, Peers, and the World to Transform Professional Learning

One-size-fits-all professional development is no longer effective. PD is evolving into professional learning (PL) by moving away from a factory model approach and tailoring experiences to unique learner needs. The authors present strategies for accomplishing successful PL through

Genres: Education

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2020

About the author

Lainie Rowell is an educator, author, and international speaker who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include online/blended learning, designing innovative learning experiences, professional learning, and community building.

During her 22 years in education, Lainie has taught elementary, secondary, and higher education. She also served in a district-level leadership position supporting 22,000 students and 1,200 teachers at 33 schools.

As a consultant, Lainie's client list ranges from Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Google to school districts and independent schools. Lainie is a TEDx Speaker with more than 15 years of experience presenting at local, regional, and international conferences including Building Learning Communities (BLC) and the Leadership 3.0 Symposium.

Lainie was a contributor to the 2019 National Standards for Quality Online Teaching and on the 2014 Blended Learning Teacher Competency Framework committee.

Since 2014, Lainie has been a consultant for the Orange County Department of Education's Institute for Leadership Development facilitating professional learning for administrators.

From 2010-2014, Lainie served as the Program Coordinator for Leading Edge Certification, a national certification program in educational technology and curriculum innovation created by an Alliance of nonprofits, universities and educational agencies. She led the creation and curation of all four certifications, Online and Blended Teacher, Administrator, Digital Educator, and Professional Learning Leader.

Lainie is honored to be an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google for Education Certified Trainer, and Google for Education Certified Innovator. She has also been recognized as Teacher of the Year and was featured in OC Family Magazine as one of 10 Teachers Making a Difference. In 2011, she was elected to CUE's Board of Directors. During her six years on the CUE Board, she served as Secretary and Member at Large on the Executive Committee.

Reviews

[Mjjohnson1216 · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all evolving in our role as a learner! This book is such a “must-read” for all, and especially those who need assistance in guiding others, from professional development to professional learning. The Twitter chat, #BookCampPD, spent the month of June in an in-depth book study and had an ongoing collaboration with the authors. Teachers were so motivated by strategies, ideas, and discussing the content that some of them began expressing these thoughts in creative sketch notes. As educators, we want to be sure teacher voice and choice are being used when launching off into a professional learning initiative or book study. #EvolvingLearner was the #1 selected book (choice) when almost 3,000 voted during our survey. The three authors have crafted a helpful web site. It has a wealth of resources for you to use when reading, including a free discussion guide. The chapters are organized into the areas of learning with kids, peers, and from the world which can be approached in any order for ease of learning. I highly recommend this book! I hope you will reach out and grab a copy of it for your own professional learning journey!

[Karla Frizler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for educators and those responsible for professional development of educators. The authors detail why the “one size fits all” workshop approach to PD should be replaced by a culture that instead fosters ongoing professional learning (PL) in a variety of ways and from multiple sources—from our students, each other, and the world. As a long-time proponent of collaboration through social media and online communication tools, I’m heartened to see an emphasis on the benefits of having a global network of peers and mentors. Forever grateful to mine!