Alicia Edwards shares how Teaching Lab’s Teacher Advisory Board brings educators into the design process — so professional learning tools actually work in classrooms.
When educators receive a new tool or resource, they rarely see the behind-the-scenes work that shaped it. And according to Alicia Edwards, that’s exactly how it should be.
“The more work that teachers don’t see is probably better,” Alicia explains. “So that when they get it, they have a product that they themselves — or someone like them — has helped shape and develop.”
Alicia, a PhD student at Old Dominion studying community college leadership, served on Teaching Lab’s Teacher Advisory Board, where educators, coaches, and developers come together to design professional learning tools that actually work in classrooms.
What makes the advisory board unique is the mix of perspectives in the room. Coaches see the tools differently than principals. Developers are building software that needs to make sense for non-technical users. Former teachers bring real classroom experience to the table.
“It gave me an appreciation for all of the nuts and bolts that go behind these tools,” Alicia says. “And they can help teachers save time, so they can do what they do best — delivering information, answering questions, being more in the moment.”
The result? Professional learning designed by educators, for educators.