Fragmented
Campus-led learning varies widely.
Interview pre-work · Specialist, Professional Learning T2
Designing the Conditions Where Learning Becomes Practice.
A professional learning support plan for Fort Bend ISD - built to shift leaders from arranging sessions to designing, modeling, following through, and learning alongside teachers.
- 06
- connected components
- 04
- observable leader shifts
- 01
- year to build the cycle
THE LEARNING SYSTEMONE CYCLE, NOT SIX INITIATIVES
Practicechanges
- 01Yearlong campus plan
- 02Design review
- 03Delivery rehearsal
- 04Leader follow-through
- 05Campus lead network
- 06Evidence + refinement
Evidence shapes the plan. Review and rehearsal protect quality. Leader follow-through supports transfer. The next plan begins with what the system learned.
01 · Read the signal
The audit points in one direction.
“Teachers just need fun sessions” is not a reason to work around leaders. It is evidence that the leadership practices surrounding professional learning are the thing to change.
Event-based
One-off workshops stand in for a system.
Under-supported
Teachers receive limited feedback and coaching.
Leader-owned
The leadership practices around learning must change.
02 · Build the system
Six structures. One promise.
This plan does not add sessions. It changes how professional learning is designed, delivered, supported, and studied on every campus - and asks leaders to move through those structures first.
01
Yearlong campus plan
One evidence-based plan per campus, co-built with the principal and reviewed twice a year.
PRODUCESA shared direction
02
Design review
A Brain Trust strengthens the need, outcomes, adult-learning design, and follow-through while revision is still possible.
PRODUCESDocumented revisions
03
Delivery rehearsal
A Demo Day tests facilitation, pacing, directions, technology, and the real participant experience before launch.
PRODUCESDelivery readiness
04
Leader follow-through
Walkthroughs, written instructional feedback, and PLC follow-up turn a session into a supported practice.
PRODUCESPractice in motion
05
Campus lead network
Monthly development builds a facilitator and reviewer pool so campuses can run the process without OD in every room.
PRODUCESDistributed capacity
06
Evidence + refinement
Twice-yearly reviews determine what should be repeated, revised, extended, or retired.
PRODUCESA learning system
01Evidence
02Design
03Review
04Rehearse
05Deliver
06Support
07Study
08Refine
03 · Change the practice
Leadership shifts you can observe.
The goal is not agreement with a new idea. The goal is a small set of leader behaviors that teachers can feel and evidence can reveal.
Schedule professional learning
Design it from evidence
Name the practice, the evidence, and the observable behavior change before choosing a topic or presenter.
Deliver a session and move on
Own the follow-through cycle
Attach walkthroughs, feedback, PLC follow-up, and a responsible person to every substantial learning experience.
Give infrequent, evaluative feedback
Give specific, instructional feedback
Practice with video, peer review, and real feedback artifacts until the new behavior is routine.
Exempt leaders from the process
Model the practice they require
OD and principals go through design review and rehearsal as presenters before setting a campus-wide expectation.
THE ROLE CHANGEProfessional learning moves from something leaders arrange for teachers to something leaders participate in, design carefully, and follow through on.
04 · Make it real
One year. Four deliberate phases.
Begin with evidence and volunteers. Build capacity before expanding. Use year-one evidence - not a fresh survey - to design year two.
1
Ground the work in evidence
Build the tools, co-design campus plans, and recruit 8-10 volunteer pilot campuses.
MILESTONE
Every campus names one or two target practices and a follow-through cycle.
2
Pilot and build capacity
Train facilitators, launch the Campus Professional Learning Lead Network, and begin the leadership feedback sequence.
MILESTONE
Pilot campuses complete two full design-and-rehearsal cycles.
3
Expand
Extend the expectations districtwide and embed review dates when sessions are scheduled.
MILESTONE
All campuses use the process; walkthrough and feedback frequency are measured.
4
Study and sustain
Review process, quality, and impact evidence; revise the tools; strengthen the facilitator pipeline.
MILESTONE
Year two plans are built from year one results.
05 · Know what changed
Measure the system at three levels.
Satisfaction tells us whether people enjoyed a session. It does not tell us whether practice changed.
Process
Are the structures being used?Current campus plans, completed reviews, walkthrough and feedback frequency
Quality
Did the learning improve?Relevance, clarity, practice time, design consistency, facilitator readiness
Impact
Did practice change?Walkthrough evidence, teacher reports, movement on the campus improvement goal
06 · See the tools
Two protocols protect quality.
Brain Trusts improve the design. Demo Days improve the delivery. Reviewing only one leaves half the quality question unexamined.
01Design review
Design review
Brain Trust Protocol
A structured, collaborative review while a professional learning session is still in draft. It protects quality at the moment the need, outcomes, practice, and follow-through are decided.
- Three review tiers scaled to reach and stakes
- 45- and 60-minute meeting protocols
- Feedback categories, readiness language, and forms
- Worked example and four-phase implementation guidance
Proposed sample for discussion. This does not represent current FBISD policy or approved practice.
02Delivery rehearsal
Delivery rehearsal
Demo Day Protocol
A rehearsal with an authentic audience after design revisions and before delivery. It moves the discovery of unclear directions, weak pacing, and technology failures into a room where they cost nothing.
- Targeted, standard, and extended rehearsal formats
- Observation rubric grounded in participant experience
- Psychological-safety guardrails and readiness language
- Forms, worked example, and a pause-and-retry option
Proposed sample for discussion. This does not represent current FBISD policy or approved practice.
The complete written response
Professional Learning Support Plan
Seven pages connecting the audit, six-component system, leader behavior change, implementation roadmap, measures, assumptions, and companion protocols.
Original task materials
The plan responds to the published role and the learning-system design task provided for the interview.
View job descriptionAbout Caitlin
Systems thinker · Facilitator · Learning designerI build systems leaders can eventually run without me in the room.
I am an organizational learning leader who turns evidence into usable structures: facilitation protocols, leadership routines, coaching cycles, and measures that make transfer visible. My work is grounded in adult learning, psychological safety, and the belief that leaders should model the practices they ask of others.