Summary
This is the final session in a series of professional learning activities that support a group book study. In this final session, participants summarize their learning, reflect on key insights, and create a plan to put their new knowledge into action.
Essential Questions
Why is the information in this book important to enhancing our work?
How will we implement new practices to drive positive change?
Learning Goals
Participants summarize the main idea and key takeaways of the book.
Participants create an action plan to apply their new knowledge.
Participants generate questions and determine the strengths of their presentations.
Snapshot
Introduction
Participants reflect on their learning, the significance of the learning, and the implications related to their current practices.
Activity
Participants create an action plan using a PowerPoint template.
Wrap-up
In small groups, participants share their action plan with the whole group.
Materials List
Session Slides (attached)
Roadmap to Success (attached, one per small group)
Scrap paper
Pens/Pencil
Introduction
10 Minute(s)
Use the attached Session Slides to guide the session. Display slide 3 and introduce participants to the What? So What? Now What? strategy. Ask participants to write a short summary stating the main idea of the book and three key takeaways. Give participants a few minutes to record their response, then ask for volunteers to share.
Display slide 4 and ask participants:
Why is the information in this book important and why does it matter?
How does this relate to our work?
Ask for a few volunteers to share, then display slide 5 and ask participants:
What implications does this have?
How can we use this new knowledge?
Have a few people share, then review the essential questions and learning goals on slides 6 and 7.
Activity
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 8. Provide participants a copy of the attached Roadmap to Success slide deck template: one per small group.
To the whole group, explain the purpose of this activity is to develop a plan of action to implement new practices based on the knowledge and insights gained from the entire book study series. Participants use the Roadmap to Success template as a guide to create their action plan.
A total of eight slides are provided, but only slide #3 (what’s your goal?) is required. Participants can choose any four of the remaining seven slides to complete.
Display slide 9 to review the activity instructions.
Display slide 10. To help groups brainstorm a goal, ask participants to consider their responses to the Now what? portion of the What? So What? Now What? strategy at the beginning of the session. Let participants know each small group will present their action plan to the whole group.
Display slide 11 as groups work to complete their roadmap. Remind participants the overarching goal is to drive positive change in their classrooms, schools, or community. Provide participants enough time to complete their Roadmap to Success.
Wrap-up
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 12 and go over the Exclaim and Question! strategy. As each small group presents their Roadmap to Success, the other small groups will think about a strength to exclaim and a question to ask.
After each group presents, give the other small groups 2-3 minutes to write down their exclamations and questions. If time permits, ask at least 1-2 small groups to share their exclamations and questions with the whole group. Follow this format until all small groups have shared their Roadmap to Success action plans.
Gather the written exclamations and questions from each small group and provide them to the corresponding presentation group.
Research Rationale
Research advocates for professional learning initiatives aligning with adult learning principles, such as those proposed by Lawler and King (2000), including creating respectful climates, encouraging active participation, building on experiences, employing collaborative inquiry, focusing on actionable learning, and empowering participants.
Within this realm, book studies emerge as potent vehicles for professional learning. Stover and Elston (2020) emphasized that extended-duration book studies enable educators to assimilate content, connect it to their teaching environment, and foster collaborative learning communities. Insights from Blanton et al. (2021) and Stover and Elston (2020) coalesce, underscoring how book studies promote a culture of sharing experiences, reflection, and collective sense-making. Successful book study experiences were characterized by voluntary participation, diverse material choices, active learning of new strategies, equitable participation within trust-filled groups, and extended timeframes.
Resources
Blanton, B. S., Broemmel, A. D., & Rigell, A. (2020). Speaking volumes: Professional development through book studies. American Educational Research Journal, 57(3), 1014-1044.
K20 Center. (n.d.). Canva. Tech tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/612
K20 Center. (n.d.). Exclaim and question. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/94
K20 Center. (n.d.). Genially. Tech Tool. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2445
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google slides. Tech Tool. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2335
K20 Center. (n.d.). What? So what? Now what?. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/95
Lawler, Patricia A. and King, Kathleen P. (2000). "Refocusing Faculty Development: The View from an Adult Learning Perspective," Adult Education Research Confer
Stover, S., & Elston, A. E. An Online Book Study Approach to P-12 Teachers’ Professional Learning Experience. Adaptive and Responsive Educational Renewal, 93.
