Digital Learning Professional Development Strategy for Colleges of Education

In 2018, NCICU and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) entered into an agreement “to develop and implement a comprehensive professional development strategy and solution for teachers and for students in educator preparation programs for the use of technology and digital resources as teaching tools for K-12 students.”  This agreement has been extended a number of times, allowing the NCICU DLI Work Group to continue to meet regularly to collaborate on aspects of the professional development strategy with digital learning partners, DPI, Friday Institute, and The University of North Carolina. 

North Carolina has long been a national leader in the development and promotion of personalized digital learning in its schools and outlined its commitment to this Initiative in the State’s Digital Learning Plan in 2015.  Much of the focus of the State’s Plan had centered on the transition of digital learning in K-12 schools and related professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers.  Full implementation of the State’s vision, however, also included a focus on digital learning within North Carolina’s institutions of higher education.

In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly recognized the need to expand the State’s commitment to digital learning to include a focus on professional development opportunities for faculty at the State’s Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs).  In the State’s FY ’18 budget, the legislature provided DPI with funds for a Digital Learning Initiative. DPI subsequently awarded a grant to North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) to spearhead the initiative.

Denise Adams

“Given the unique role and significant responsibility of North Carolina EPPs in preparing K-12 teachers in the digital-age, it makes sense that the EPP faculty themselves should also be well-versed in digital learning.  NCICU welcomed the opportunity to be involved in creating a professional development strategy for EPP faculty to help achieve this goal,” said Denise Adams, director of Special Projects and the Digital Learning Initiative.

Since 2018, the NCICU Work Group, in collaboration with DPI, the Friday Institute, and the UNC System, has completed five phases of work on the Digital Learning Initiative.  Highlights from each phase of work are outlined below.

For more information on this project, please contact Denise Adams at [email protected].

Phase One (June 2018-October 2018)

During this timeframe

  • NCICU implemented a Work Group with representatives from five of its 31 EPPs and named Denise Adams as work group coordinator. Work Group members are:
    • Jackie Ennis, Barton College
    • Patricia Fecher, Methodist University
    • Betty Liverman, Shaw University
    • Jennifer Russell, William Peace University
    • Hank Weddington, Lenoir-Rhyne University
  • The NCICU Work Group and the Rowan-Salisbury School System (RSS) planned and co-hosted the 2018 Digital Learning Research Symposium, which was held October 25-26, 2018 at the Rowan-Salisbury Schools district office.  The symposium was entitled “The Intersection of Digital Learning and Educator Prep,” and included remarks by Rep. Craig Horn, tours of local schools where faculty and students demonstrated use of instructional technology integrated into lessons, poster sessions from Rowan-Salisbury Schools (RSS) teachers demonstrating their implementation of the NC Digital Learning Competencies for Classroom Teachers, and presentations related to the implementation of the DLCs from veteran educators and beginning teachers in the RSS.  A keynote address was provided by Dr. Lynn Moody, Superintendent of RSS, on the Renewal School System. The Symposium also included Ed Camp sessions facilitated by the NCICU Work Group members, with assistance from some faculty members from UNC EPPs.

Phase Two (November 2018-June 2019)

During this timeframe, the NCICU Work Group

  • Designed and disseminated “Digital Learning Competencies” (DLCs) for North Carolina EPP faculty. The DLCs include four areas of focus: Leadership, Digital Citizenship, Content & Instruction and Data & Assessment, which mirror the same four DLCS as in K-12 schools.
    • Leadership: EPP faculty will demonstrate leadership in accelerating their integration of digital teaching and learning.
    • Digital Citizenship: EPP faculty will model and teach digital citizenship by ethical,
      respectful, and safe use of digital tools and resources that support the creation of a positive digital culture.
    • Content & Instruction: EPP faculty will know and use appropriate digital tools and resources for instruction.
    • Data & Assessment: EPP faculty will use technology to make data more accessible, adjust instruction to better meet the needs of a diverse learning population, and reflect upon their practice through the consistent, effective use of assessment.
  • Developed and delivered, in conjunction with the Friday Institute, a streamlined Digital Learning Progress Rubric for EPPs, which was sent to each NCICU and UNC EPP in February of 2019.
  • Assessed and analyzed the current digital learning practices within North Carolina EPPs utilizing the streamlined Digital Learning Progress Rubric for EPPs.
  • Developed and delivered a professional development strategy (rooted in the DLCs) for faculty in approved EPPs, to support the use of technology and digital resources. NCICU submitted this strategy, entitled “Professional Development Strategy: Digital Learning Competencies for Educator Preparation Programs Through Micro-credentialing” to the State Board of Education on June 14, 2019.

Phase 3 (July 2019-June 2020)

During this timeframe, the NCICU Work Group, in partnership with a similarly-formed UNC Work Group

  • Continued the refinement of the DLCs for EPP faculty and the professional development strategy of micro-credentialing.
  • Planned and co-hosted the second Digital Learning Research Symposium held at Elon University on February 14, 2020. This meeting was entitled the “2020 Digital Learning Research Symposium: Improving Educator Preparation through Empowered Learning with Technology,” and featured an agenda focused on digital learning techniques from EPP faculty members, pre-service teachers, recent EPP graduates, and representatives from K-12 schools.
  • Presented on the DLCs for EPP faculty and the professional development strategy of micro-credentialing at the 2019 Fall NCACTE meeting, as well as at the January 2020 meeting of the State Board of Education.

Phase 4 (January 2021-June 2021)

During this timeframe, the NCICU Work Group, in partnership with a similarly-formed UNC Work Group

  • Disseminated, in conjunction with the Friday Institute, the streamlined Digital Learning Progress Rubric for EPPs, which was sent to each NCICU and UNC EPP in February of 2021. This was the second dissemination of the rubric since the initial dissemination in 2019.
  • Assessed and analyzed the current digital learning practices within North Carolina EPPs utilizing the streamlined Digital Learning Progress Rubric for EPPs. Thirty-two EPPs completed the rubric, and 247 faculty members responded to the STNA during the 2021 cycle.
  • Developed four professional development modules for the library of professional development offerings intended for use by EPP faculty to earn micro-credentials in digital learning. These four modules were created to represent each of the four DLCs:
    • Digital Leadership: Leveraging DLCs for Organizational Change
    • Data and Assessment: Pear Deck for Formative Assessment
    • Digital Citizenship: Copyright for Educators
    • Digital Content and Instruction: Introduction to Selecting and Applying Digital Tools for Student Engagement

Phase 5 (July 2021-June 2022)

During this timeframe, the NCICU Work Group, in partnership with a similarly-formed UNC Work Group

  • Developed a rubric to be used to review and assess the four professional development modules submitted to DPI in Phase 4.
  • Created and implemented a peer-review process wherein non-Work Group NCICU and UNC EPP faculty members were selected to review and assess the four professional development modules submitted in Phase 4.
  • Refined the four professional development modules submitted in Phase 4 based on the feedback received from the peer-review process.
  • Presented on the DLCs for EPP faculty and the professional development strategy of micro-credentialing at the 2021 Fall NCACTE meeting.
  • Created the following five additional professional development modules to be added to the library of professional development offerings intended for use by EPP faculty to earn micro-credentials in digital learning:
    • Digital Leadership: Continuous Improvement Process for EPPs
    • DLC Leadership: Continue Improvement Process for EPP Stakeholders
    • DLC Digital Citizenship: Digital Design for Accessibility: Representation
    • DLC Content and Instruction: Using Technology to Transform Instruction
    • DLC Data and Assessment: Harnessing the Power of Feedback

Phase 6 (July 2022-June 2023)

Currently Pending

Digital Learning Intiative