Professional Learning
Professional Development Opportunity
The MAST Virtual Teacher Cohort is an opportunity for Montana educators to learn, connect, and deepen their understanding of effective instructional practice through a collaborative professional learning experience.
Throughout the cohort, participants will build relationships with educators from across the state, explore key mindset's that support strategic curriculum design, engage in interactive learning workshops, and apply new ideas through ongoing learning cycles. Participants will also have opportunities to reflect on their practice, examine challenges and misconceptions from the MAST score reports, set intentions for their learning, and share feedback and celebrations with colleagues.
A central focus of the cohort will be strengthening the connection between standards, instruction, and assessment. Effective lesson design begins with a clear understanding of what students are expected to know and be able to do. Participants will consider how standards establish the learning destination, how intentional instructional decisions help students move toward that destination, and how assessments like MAST provide evidence of student understanding that can be used to adjust instruction and determine next steps.
Rather than viewing standards, instruction, and assessment as separate components, educators will explore how they work together as a coherent cycle of teaching and learning. Through collaborative learning and application, participants will strengthen their ability to make purposeful decisions about what they teach, how they teach it, how they know what students have learned, and how they respond to that evidence.
The cohort is designed as a connected learning experience rather than a series of stand-alone sessions. Participants will build on previous learning, revisit their goals, and continue refining their thinking and practice over time.
Join us to connect with Montana educators, strengthen the alignment between standards, instruction, and assessment, and build lessons that support meaningful learning for every student.
Fill out the interest survey here before September 30, 2026.
Questions? Contact Aimee Konzen at Aimee.Konzen@mt.gov
Simply choose your role to get started!
Professional Learning Opportunities for Educators
Welcome to the Montana OPI Professional Learning Page! This page now houses both our live calendar of professional learning events and the educator catalog in one convenient location.
What’s the Difference?
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Professional Learning Calendar: Displays upcoming events in real time. You can view event dates, times, locations, and session details. This is the best tool for staying up to date with live sessions.
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Professional Learning Catalog: A searchable reference of all available asynchronous professional learning offerings, including descriptions, learning objectives, and registration information. The catalog allows you to explore options in detail and plan your professional development over time.
How to Use the Calendar
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Browse events by scrolling through the calendar or switching between month, week, or agenda views. Use the arrows to move to future or past dates.
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Click on an event to view full details, including descriptions and registration links.
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Register for events without logging in to Google. You do not need a Google account to view or register for events.
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Adding events to your own Google Calendar is optional.
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If you choose to add events, you must be logged in to your Google account.
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Add a single event: Open the event and select “Copy to my calendar.”
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Subscribe to the full calendar: Click the “+ Google Calendar” button at the bottom to add all professional learning events.
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Search events in your Google Calendar (optional): Once the calendar is added, you can use Google Calendar’s search bar to find events by title or keyword.
How to Search & Filter the Catalog
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Use the search bar to find courses by subject, grade level, or keyword.
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Apply filters to narrow results by topic, audience, format, or provider.
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Click on any catalog entry to view detailed information about the course or series.
This page is designed to make professional learning more accessible, easier to plan, and fully up to date. Be sure to check back regularly for new events and updates!
If you’d like to receive a monthly email with upcoming professional development opportunities, please fill out our quick 3-question survey to be added to our mailing list!
Request for PD
If you are requesting professional development for your school or district, please complete this short survey. Your responses will help guide planning for locations, dates, and additional stakeholders to include, ensuring a meaningful and productive event.