Differentiating PD - Skill Checklists

In a previous blog post, I shared three areas where I want to improve when designing and leading PD sessions. One of those goals was the following:

Try new strategies to differentiate and support individualized progression

I want to share one new way I am trying to address this goal in an upcoming PD session for a group of first-year teachers. One of the things I was asked to do in this session was to help teachers learn and practice Google for Workspace skills that they will need in order to effectively plan for the first few weeks of school. As I began to plan for this PD, I reflected on the following challenges:

These are brand-new teachers and I don't know what level of Google Workspace skills they already have
I want to make sure the learning is meaningful, regardless of their current skill level
I do not have enough time to show them everything they might need to know, so I want to leave them with a resource they can revisit when they need it

I decided to create leveled "skills checklists" that include Google Workspace skills that support each of our three themes: access, efficiency, and collaboration. This is an example of the checklist I created for "access" skills. For each level, I included four specific skills along with a how-to video and a link to directions in the Google Support Center.

My plan is to provide time during our session when they can work on some of these skills while I am there to answer questions or provide additional support. They can choose which skills to learn/practice based on their individual needs.

This is the first time I have tried a strategy like this during a PD, so I will definitely get some feedback from this group on what worked and what could be improved.

How do you differentiate PD for adult learners?

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