Reflect back on the last professional development you were required to go to. What springs to mind for me is a session where we were talked at, given information with little collaborative discussion time and sent on our way.
Now think about the best professional development experience you have had. I bet it paints a vastly different picture. For me this experience was a good mix of information giving, hands-on learning so we could see the possibilities for application and the opportunity to engage meaningfully with colleagues and the presenter. Teachers DESERVE to be met where they are at in their learning journeys. As a result, educators should be able to experience differentiated professional development experiences that help empower them and build capacity in order to affect change in their pedagogical practice (see an earlier post I wrote on this topic). Katie highlights this when she discusses the digital immigrants and the new Chromebook initiative (pg38). These educators didn't know how or why they needed to integrate this new technology and refused to use it, which can often be seen from onlookers as reluctant to change. What Katie found when she engaged in a professional conversation with them was their concerns and challenges. She could then use these to tailor professional development that suited their needs, stating "Taking the time to meet the teachers where they were and allowing them to be learners and immerse themselves in new learning experiences empowered them to imagine possibilities for students in their own classrooms." As a leader in my school who is required to deliver professional development opportunities to my colleagues, I always keep this at the forefront of my thinking. My soul aim is not to be the keeper of and impart all knowledge, because let's be honest I don't know everything. My soul aim is to help guide my colleagues on their learning journey; to provide them with rich learning experiences that targets their point of need and to engage in professional discussions and feedback about our pedagogical practice. At the end of the day, if we want our students to be life-long learners then we as educators and leaders need to be modelling what that looks like. Great teachers are Great Learners. Discussion Prompts:
3 Comments
8/3/2018 07:02:03 am
Absolutely loved how thoughtful and in depth your response was! I am currently planning out next years PD and trying to ensure we model what we want teachers trying out in the classroom, as well as meet teachers needs vs. the one size fits all!
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26/3/2018 10:02:50 am
Thank you for your response Andrew. Shifting professional development practices to be more hands on is an important part of helping staff see the relevance and application of the learning for their own practice. If we want teachers to make learning for students engaging, meaningful and relevant to where they are in the learning journey then as leaders we need to be modelling that for our colleagues. Good luck with your PD
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30/8/2023 07:58:34 pm
I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation. Your dedication and hard work are truly admirable, and the results are nothing short of outstanding. Thank you for consistently exceeding expectations!
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AuthorHi, I am Alice. I am a primary teacher and leader in New South Wales, Australia. I have been teaching for the past 14 years in both the Public and Catholic school systems. I am passionate about supporting and mentoring colleagues to think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Read more Archives
August 2023
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