Dive Brief:

• The growing popularity of short-term microcredentials give teachers a platform to master specific skills in more engaging and individualized environments than traditional professional development.
• District Administration reports teachers must perform self-assessments on the way to earning a microcredential and incorporate examples of student work, turning their own mastery into the end goal, rather than a number of hours of professional learning.
• School districts in Tennessee and Wisconsin are among those incorporating microcredentials into the pay raise and promotion structure, and administrators recommend implementing a microcredential plan with a pilot group of teachers first and expanding from there.

Dive Insight:

Microcredentials have become a popular way to get credit for lifelong learning. Many people seek out informal learning opportunities for personal and professional gain. With microcredentials, the credential is generally awarded as a digital badge that teachers can display on social media profiles and digital resumes.

Importantly, these courses are structured in a competency-based format. Participants move at their own pace and get the credential as soon as they display mastery. With so many teachers complaining about the quality of professional development opportunities through their schools or the lack of good training in specific areas like ed tech, microcredentials could be a path forward for at least some types of professional learning.