6d ago
Scaling Professional Development with E-Learning
In this episode of the podcast, we explore the process of using e-learning to support the growth of professional development learning, through the experience of education non-profit HILL for Literacy. In the most recently completed school year, HILL for Literacy has supported the professional development of more than 8,500 teachers and school administrators, with learning content which helps teachers apply scientifically-grounded literacy instructional techniques in the elementary school classroom. Through this professional development learning, HILL has affected the education of more than 184,000 students.
HILL for Literacy’s professional development programs were developed to be delivered through in-person workshops. Since 2019, HILL has undertaken a transformative initiative to expand their reach through virtual delivery of their content, with a combination of virtual coaching and synchronous and asynchronous virtual delivery (e-learning).
In this episode, we are joined by HILL for Literacy’s director of research and development, Cindy McGurl, and marketing director MarcyKate Connolly.
Cindy McGurl served as a consultant and coach on state, district, and school projects for more than twenty years, including implementing whole district/school literacy change models, using data to drive instruction, adopting instructional practices that support diverse learners, and program evaluation. As the Director of HILL Online, she now drives the process of developing tools and applications to make those projects more efficient, scalable, and sustainable.
MarcyKate Connolly served in marketing roles at several nonprofit arts organizations before landing at HILL for Literacy, where she found a mission she was passionate about—teaching children how to read—that matched with her skillset and dovetailed perfectly with her work as a children’s book author.