In my research I use professional learning, often referred to as professional development, to build educator’s capacity as well as the expectation for iterative implementation of what has been learned. inform the research, design, and practice. Professional learning opportunities build an educator’s capacity with a product or program designed to solve the problem at hand. I often use the teaching method of problem-based learning (PBL) in designing and implementing professional learning programs. Problem-based learning focuses on real-world problems, the activation of prior knowledge, group collaboration, and the process of learning (e.g., self-directed learning, engagement, motivation). PBL provides a structure to concentrate on problems while employing a student-centered approach to teaching and learning. I use the principles from PBL to structure and implement professional learning opportunities with educators to model PBL activities such as introducing and using a real-world problem, group collaboration, and the process of learning, such as self-directed learning, so the educators experience it as a student.
In my research, grounding professional learning in a real-world problem is important for engagement and implementation. Using student-centered structures from problem-based learning is also helpful. For example, in my recent manuscript (Leary et al., 2021), my colleagues and I studied educators who participated in a collaboratively designed professional learning program focused on a particular problem of practice they were facing. The professional learning program was delivered using PBL student-centered structures. My colleagues and I examined the educator’s capacity and implementation activities with the digital planning tool they were introduced to. We found specific contextual contingencies and variations in their capacity and implementation activities with the tool, which informed the next iteration of design with the tool and the professional learning program. Having the professional learning grounded in a problem they were actively trying to solve made a difference in their engagement with the program and tool.