1. Presenters: Drs. Thomas Koballa, Jr. & Tracy Linderholm
Digital Badges, Community Engagement to Support Teacher Professional Growth and Certificate Renewal
Presenters: Drs. Thomas Koballa, Jr. & Tracy Linderholm
AACTE Annual Meeting 2017
Tampa, FL
1. Decide on instructional model 2. Must demonstrate effectiveness for them to be of worth to schools 3. Badges that could be bundles for course credits and graduate degrees

2. Digital Badging Project The Context
The State of Georgia adopted a new teacher evaluation system, the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES)
Teachers are expected to have an individualized professional development plan
Depending on the school district, some may limit teacher pay for advanced degrees, limiting professional development opportunities for teachers

3. Project Goals
To develop professional learning for Georgia teachers (and eventually leaders) to provide them with an opportunity to be successful on the new evaluation system
To develop content in a low cost, flexible format that produces observable results
To create competency-based modules to allow an efficient, targeted form of learning

4. Process: Collecting information
Gathered a team of faculty, administrators, and technology staff to create online modules
Created an Advisory Board made up of teachers, curriculum leaders, and school administrators to advise the team
Team attended a competency-based learning conference and attended regional meetings pertaining to TKES

5. Process: Developing guiding principles
A sample of guiding principles used:
Modules should emphasize the recalibration of teaching practices relative to the standards rather than changing teaching practices.
Modules should be suitable for induction teachers as well as veteran teachers.
Modules will be most instructive when they support the expectations of teaching and learning in public schools.

6. Modules – Reimagined!
Two modules were drafted, placed in Folio (learning management system) and reviewed by the team
The team hired a consultant to move the project forward and refine the product
Consultant suggested the content was better packaged in the form of digital badges

7. What is a digital badge?
A way of showing, electronically, competencies learners are able to perform
Learners collect badges and select the competencies they need to build
Why not certificates? Digital badges allow for evidence to be efficiently stored so that others may view it and allows for learners to select very specific competencies to develop

8. What is a Digital Badge?
Badge Issuer, Badge Earner, Badge Consumer

9. Benefits of digital badges
Begins with a problem of practice that is conveyed in the form of a “problem statement”
Evidence that one has gained competence is easily stored in the digital badge
Employers easily view pieces of evidence to show competency
Badges can be collected and tailored to unique professional development needs

10. Teacher Evaluation (TKES) Performance Standards
Understanding, Execution, Leadership Parallel continuum of TKES performance standards – ineffective, needs development, proficient, exemplary
3-5 badges for each standard. We’re starting with Standard 4: differentiated instruction and Standard 8: academically challenging environment

11. Standard 4: Differentiated Instruction Badges
Module 1 – Communicating
Your Rationale for
Differentiating Instruction (Knowledge)
Module 2 – Using Your Students’ Assessment Data to Differentiate (Execution)
Module 3 – Remediating,
Enriching, Accelerating to
Further Your Students’ Learning (Execution)
Badging Continuum - Understanding, Execution, Leadership
Module 4 –Grouping Your Students to Maximize Their Learning (Execution)
Module 5 – Supporting Other Teachers to Differentiate Instruction (Leadership)

12. Project Model of Instruction
Problem of Practice
Sets Context For Learning
Assessment & Rubric
Interact With Assessment Samples (Learner & Compare w/Expert)
Diagnosis for Interacting With Instructional Materials
Instructional Materials
Menu of Learning Experiences
Demonstration of Competence
Assessed With Rubric
In Learner's Classroom Context

13. Field Test Results

14. Field Test
9 practicing K-12 teachers participated in a 5-week long online session to complete the content for the differentiated instruction digital badge
Final evidence of competency was a video teachers produced showing how they would explain the practice of differentiation to parents, teachers
Faculty members evaluated if teachers had demonstrated competencies to earn the badge
Digital badges were awarded electronically through Credly accounts; teachers could choose with whom to share the badge that included their videos

15. Field Test Results: Strengths
Based on the results of a focus group and individual interviews with teachers, the following was learned:
Most teachers found the digital badge experience to be convenient, time-efficient and appreciated the ability to learn at their own pace
The format of the digital badges allowed teachers to balance work and family obligations
The content of the digital badges seemed to be more relevant to teachers’ work than other professional development opportunities
Concentrated effort on one topic allowed for deeper reflection and connection to classroom teaching
Facilitated independent problem-solving on how to apply content to one’s situation (content not “one size fits all”)

16. Field Test Results: Weaknesses
Too tailored to higher grades (e.g., high school level); in future provide video examples from many grades
Video (final evidence of competency) was overwhelming to participants due to lack of experience with technology; would have preferred more choices of format for final project
Final project needed clearer expectations
Preferred to have a loose set of benchmarks, such as a weekly deadline, to keep on track

17. Demonstration of digital badge prototype
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