What teacher training looks like at PSUSD

As schools prepare for distance learning at the start of the new school year, teacher training at Palm Springs Unified School District is underway. The district is holding dozens of sessions ahead of the August 5th start date, which include beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

"This series of training-- so the beginning, intermediate and advanced, really builds on what they worked on in the spring," Palm Springs Unified School District English Learner Programs Coordinator, Mandy Gonzales said.

The real test has become how teachers can optimize the learning experience for students through a computer screen.

"It all comes back to building relationships. You have to establish that and even though we're not physically in front of each other I still think those are things you can establish in an online setting," Gonzales said.

The curriculum and standards will stay the same. However, the approach will require more creativity to engage students.

On Wednesday, the district held one of its sessions. More than 70 educators were in attendance.

The session ranged from security settings, to teaching instructors how to create breakout sessions while toggling between groups.

Organizers also introduced a video that teachers could show their students at the beginning of the year. The video demonstrated what to do and what not to do in terms of lighting, presentation and a general overview to set clear expectations for students from the very beginning.

Teachers engaged in breakout sessions as they worked together to iron out details such as what to do when a teacher and student are using two different forms of technology.

In some cases, teachers will have to redirect students to another platform if they want participation on a virtual white board-- that's if, for example, a teacher is working from a Mac computer and a student is working from a Chromebook.

Gauging social emotional learning has also become a focus of online teaching amid the pandemic. Teachers can ask students to draw how they're feeling.

Trainings are not mandated because the school year has not officially started, however, participation among teachers was extremely high as of Wednesday.

"Even though it's voluntary, I would say 99 percent of our staff has taken advantage of the opportunity," Gonzales said.

More training will continue during the year.

"We’re taking all of the feedback and needs of our staff to create the next round of professional development. So it’s really for us, enhanced skills but also to assess where everybody’s at and what we need to do internally to move forward to make sure people are ready to go live on Wednesday."