TEACHING
Leveraging Collective Brainstorming to Support Teacher Learning Needs
The beginning steps to creating an online professional development learning platform for classroom teachers.
Marisol J. Kevelson and Jamie N. Mikeska
Last month, we welcomed teachers and leaders from school districts in New Jersey and Arizona to our ETS headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. We received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a vision and plan for an online professional development tool that uses digital performance tasks and AI-powered feedback so teachers can practice essential skills with real-time insights. The field of teaching is changing fast, and our end goal is to help teachers practice and learn the most useful and challenging instructional practices at any time and from anywhere. As educational researchers, we know the best way to start is to work directly with the teachers we want to serve.
Codesign thrives on relationships and shared voices, so we began with a three-day, in-person event where we connected as professionals and individuals. This kickoff helped us to identify the essential teaching skills needing support and to engage together in hands-on experiences, including leading a science discussion with simulated elementary student avatars. Through brainstorming activities like think/pair/shares, gallery walks, and reflective discussions, we dove into the greatest challenges facing today’s K–5 math and science teachers. These foundational activities set the stage for creating a vision and a plan for a platform deeply aligned with teachers’ real needs.
Our next steps include refining our vision and plan with insights from educators and experts in math and science teacher learning. Their input will lead us to the refinement of the vision and plan, which we plan to eventually leverage on a future project to develop a flexible online platform teachers can access anytime and from anywhere to strengthen core teaching skills like leading discussions and eliciting student thinking. By integrating real-world feedback, our codesign approach ensures this platform will be practical and closely aligned with the challenges and opportunities elementary math and science teachers face daily.
Stay tuned as we refine and expand this work, ultimately creating tools that empower teachers and enrich classrooms—one insight, collaboration, and breakthrough at a time.