How many times have we heard teachers audibly sign when presented with their professional development options for the year? Next, come the complaints that they never have enough time to set up their room, meet with colleagues, talk about students, or grade papers. While many administrators chalk up the complaints to poor sports, maybe we need to examine the possibility that teachers are being provided with sub-par professional development: presenters that read their Power Point, initiatives that last for only a year, or complex concepts that would require hours of training and materials to learn, let alone implement. Really, who can blame teachers for tuning out, acting out, or not showing up?
Imagine a professional development workshop that is fresh and designed to provide teachers with usable information. Maybe even tools and tricks that they can implement in their classroom right away! Shouldn’t that be the goal of good professional development? The creation of a presentation that provides teachable moments and inspires your educators to want to branch out and try new things.
So how do you do it?
- First, survey your teachers on what they really want to learn. Most teachers are lifelong learners that soak up new and useful information. Find out what they need to be successful. Just asking includes them in the process and can go a long way in garnering interest in the PD.
- Then, plan (or hire out) for a PD that provides bite-size, implementable information. Don’t overwhelm the group with a huge initiative that won’t be funded or take off for months, people will forget. Tie the PD to the classroom by making sure that teachers can use what they’ve learned the next day. That means making sure that the materials are ready to go and the technology is compatible with other technologies.
- Make sure that the PD is differentiated and not a one-size fits all course. You would never allow your teachers to get away with a boring lecture, so why subject them to one! If technology is your focus, divide into groups of beginners, intermediate and advanced users. If you are working on Danielson implementation, pick out leaders that understand the concept and have them lead mini-groups.
- Make it interesting—take surveys, play games, provide sharing time. Whatever you do, don’t talk and make others listen. Just as we tell kids that they learn better when they contribute to conversations, so do teachers!
- Finally, make sure to survey attendees after the PD. Find out what went well and where changes need to be made. Don’t take the feedback personally, but do use it to change up future presentations to make them even better. Remember, we can always learn how to improve, so make sure you are asking your audience what you can do to be better!
By providing meaningful and engaging professional development, everyone in education wins, from the presenter that delivers, to the teachers that learn to the kids that gain!
Brandon Lutz has been in education for 16 years, first in K-8 and then various Instructional Technology roles. Brandon founded 60in60®, is the president of PAECT, and serves on the board of PETE&C. You can follow him on Twitter @blutz01.