The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) hosted its third national Micro-Credential Summit on June 18-19, 2019. This year’s forum brought together representation from local, state, and national education organizations to discuss options for using micro-credentials as an integral component of a professional learning ecosystem. Almost 150 participants with representation from about 25 states were in attendance at this year’s summit.
Objectives of the days included understanding the direction of professional learning and educator licensure in various states, gathering information from states regarding the success and lessons learned using micro-credentials, and developing a sense of need for micro-credentials as a personalized professional learning pathway for in-service educators.
Micro-Credentials are a digital form of certification indicating that a person has demonstrated competency in a specific skill, such as data literacy, teacher leadership, or growth mindset.
Rather than learning by watching, reading, or listening alone, micro-credentials are a digital form of certification indicating that a person has demonstrated competency in a specific skill, such as data literacy, teacher leadership, or growth mindset. Educators who earn a micro-credential are awarded a digital badge that they may share that showcases the specific competencies they have demonstrated.
KVEC has been developing micro-credentials in collaboration with Digital Promise and supporting schools in developing systems for personalized professional learning that include micro-credentials. Micro-credentials provide support and job-embedded learning as teachers in our area develop theories of action based upon identified problems of practice within the schools.
Participants of the summit interacted with dynamic speakers that included:
Robert Brown, Lead Policy Analyst/Micro-Credentials of KVEC.
Dr. Jennifer Carroll, Personalized Professional Learning Lead, of KVEC.
Dr. Mary Ann Wolf, Director of the Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative, Friday Institute, NC
Dr. Barnett Berry, CEO Center for Teacher Quality, North Carolina
Dr. Wayne Lewis, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education
Odelia Younge, Sr. Project Director, Educator Micro-Credentials, Digital Promise.
Rob Akers, Associate Commissioner, Office of Educator Effectiveness.
Dr. Marty Park, Chief Digital Officer, Office of Education Technology Kentucky Department of Education.
Sue Beers, Executive Director Impacting Students; Improving Instruction (MISIC) Iowa
Ann Bartelt, Curriculum and Professional Development Designer Impacting Students; Improving Instruction (MISIC) Iowa.
Machel Mills, Director, Talent and Professional Learning Systems Tennessee Department of Education.
Dr. Burak Yilmaz, Program Director, Harmony Public Schools, Houston, TX.
Dr. Robert Hagerman, Director, Teacher Licensure, WVA Department of Education.
Dr. Cynthia Stephens, Executive Director of the Leadership and Education Effectiveness Group (LEEG), Georgia
Latishia Sparks, Programs and Partnerships Coordinator, KY Educational Development Corporations (KEDC)
Jason Lange, President, and Co-Founder, BloomBoard.
Dr. Kyle Ingle, Associate Professor, University of Louisville
Dr. Keith Davis, Superintendent in Residence, Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Louisville
Dr. Harrie Buecker, Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Louisville
Dr. Deborah Powers, Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Louisville
Dr. Thomas Guskey, Senior Research Scholar, University of Louisville
Plans are underway for the National Micro-Credential Summit in the summer of 2020. We hope others will join us as we advance our inclusion of competency-based learning in all aspects of an educator’s professional learning.
