HEB ISD’s Creative Approach to Professional Learning Sparks Teacher & Student Success
Success Stories
Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB) Independent School District
Bedford, TX
The instructional technology team at Hurst-Euless Bedford (HEB) Independent School District is on a mission to promote technology that enhances student success in and beyond the classroom. In a large district, this is no small task. But HEB’s team of six dedicated tech coaches gets creative in their professional learning approach and partners with Discovery Education for support.
PD in Your PJs: A Flexible, Engaging Solution to Professional Learning
HEB ISD has over 1600 teachers across 40 campuses, making time, distance, and physical space a challenge for the instructional technology team to do their job. The team took creative action and launched PD in Your PJs, a virtual professional learning series led by tech coaches Sarra Smith and Jeff Blankenship, designed to set educators up for success.
“We decided to bring the training to the teachers,” says Jeff. “In short bursts of learning, teachers get to hear us present and model technology tools, all from the comfort of home or wherever they might be.”
“The great thing about PD in Your PJs is that it becomes a catalyst for our one-on-one coaching,” explains Sarra. “At the end of the day, we just want teachers to feel confident using these tools so that they can engage their students.”
Bringing Discovery Education into the Equation
When the time came to train teachers on Discovery Education Experience, a PK-12 digital learning platform with high-quality content and engaging resources, tech coach Carly Farris went straight to their Discovery Education partner success manager, Tammy Norman, to host a PD in Your PJs session. Their goal was to introduce teachers to the wealth of tools in the platform beyond the videos that they love to use, and how it can enhance their daily instruction.
Tammy collaborated closely with Carly to determine the district’s needs and ensure the PD in Your PJs session was engaging and meaningful. “The role of a partner success manager at Discovery Education,” explains Tammy, “is all about being a thought partner with the district… walking through their challenges and successes and building effective implementations from that.”
The approachable, flexible format of the Discovery Education training made it easy for teachers to jump in and learn quickly how to use the high-quality instructional materials and time-saving tools like Studio and quizzes, leading to the highest participation of any PD in Your PJs session and more consistent use of Experience. “It truly is a team effort between HEB and Discovery Education coming together to have a really successful event,” says Tammy.
The Discovery Education Impact
Since the launch of PD in Your PJs, Discovery Education usage in the district has more than doubled, which the tech coaches attribute in part to the strong partnership with the Discovery Education team.
Teachers have discovered new ways to engage students with Experience using tools like Immersive Reader and ready-to-teach lessons. “Teachers get really excited when you show them what’s available in Experience and how to apply it in their classroom,” explains tech coach Jennifer Pettit. “They’re able to create unique learning experiences for their students.”
Success Through Collaboration
HEB ISD’s tech coaches and Discovery Education’s partner success team continue to collaborate regularly, building on their success with PD in Your PJs to deliver engaging, meaningful, and effective professional learning.
According to Jeff and the team, “we know that we’ve been successful when we see the actual application of technology within the classroom and it’s done with fidelity.” For Discovery Education, success means working in tandem with district leaders to support teachers, and in turn, promote student growth in and beyond the classroom.