Teacher Professional Development – Educational Aspirations

Professional Development Conversations

Yesterday I was able to participate in a SAMRiCamp teacher workshop. Similar to last year, DG58 hosted the event and it was well attended. It’s great to see so many educators and administrators taking time out of their busy schedules to attend this professional development opportunity. There were many sessions available and facilitated by educators and administrators in the area. The sessions provided educators with a variety of options to choose from. For the most part, the facilitators of the sessions had organized presentations displayed on whiteboards that were shared through Google Drive. As usual, the entire conference was paperless. Discussion generally followed the presentation with the audience sharing feedback with the group. The majority of the sessions included a hefty dose of teacher conversation.

I find that this type of teacher development model is different than the norm. This type of model can benefit educators in ways that weren’t possible a few decades ago. My past teacher trainings generally consisted of specific workshops for teachers within a particular district. The presenter spoke for the majority of the time with a handout and limited audience participation. Instead of having one district provide training for their specific teachers, the SAMRiCamp teacher camp model encourages more of the conversation element with participants from multiple districts. Different perspectives, programs and ideas can be heard when participants offer responses in the sessions. Gathering teachers and administrators from the local area/state can reap benefits for all participants.

The conversation and collaborative part of this type of professional development is important. Including time to discuss, ask questions and share ideas can evolve into teacher reflection opportunities. During these teacher-led conversations, teachers can experience affirmation and may also meet constructive feedback from others that they can bring back to their school. Pushback, or asking deeper questions that lead to justifying a response can also play a role during these conversations. Discussions can lead to deeper connections with other teachers outside of their district. This action also provides opportunities for teachers to expand their personal learning networks. Being able to candidly discuss matters related to education with other professionals can improve practices. Since many districts are represented, different instructional models and ideas can be brought to the table for discussion. Since educators are both introverts and extroverts, the discussion doesn’t necessarily have to always be verbal. The conversations and questions could take the form of a shared Google Doc. I believe all teachers have something to share and getting comfortable enough to share can be a positive tipping point in the professional development conversation. Taking the risk to share/present and receive feedback can benefit all stakeholders in the room. At the same time, I think it’s important for teachers to be able to say that they don’t have all the answers. The unanswered questions can often help develop an atmosphere of brainstorming, which inturn helps the group. Reflecting on past practices and sharing/learning from others can lead educators to change their practice for the better. Feel free to review the #SAMRiCamp tag for a brief overview of what was discussed.

Playdates in Education

Connected Through Playdates — Connected Educators

Yesterday I participated in Playdatedg58, a new (at least to me) type of professional development/workshop for interested educators, administrators and technology integration specialists. Playdate stands for People Learning Asking Y: Digital Age Teacher Exploration. This type of conference was different than many that I’ve attended in the past. There were no sponsors, booths, fees, or paper involved in this conference. This is the first conference that I’ve attended that seemed to be paperless. Most of the conference was organized by District 58 teachers and specialists. According to the Playdate site, only a handful of Playdate conferences have occurred in the past. I don’t believe this event would have been possible without teacher and administration support. Based on what I saw, it seemed that the District 58 leadership enthusiastically embraced the idea of having a summer workshop and I believe the superintendent was even in attendance. Overall, I believe around 200 attendees were present from all over the state of Illinois. Many of the participants were from neighboring school districts. I appreciate that the workshop leaders allowed other educators from neighboring school districts to join in on the learning. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case with structured professional development. The schedule was from 8:00 – 12:30 and I attached a screen shot below. Each session had a link that was attached to a live GoogleDoc that anyone could edit. What’s great is that these links will be available so that attendees, or anyone, can access and utilize the information for next school year. Feel free to click the image to be directed to the appropriate link.

Playdates seem to emphasize the notion that professional development doesn’t need to be contained locally. It’s becoming increasingly evident that local school district professional development is changing. Teachers with a variety of talents are seeking out their own professional development through social media and other means. Twitter has allowed opportunities for teachers to connect with other people in the education community. In fact, that is how I was informed on this particular Playdate. Educators and administrators are beginning to notice that learning opportunities exist through our PLNs and some of the best professional development can occur outside of our district walls. Moreover, I was able to meet members of my PLN face to face and make additional connections with people across the state. Making these connections also amplifies the professional learning opportunities that teachers are able to access. I hope that other school districts are able to find opportunities for their staff to participate in similar Playdate models in the future.

photo credit: br1dotcom via photopin cc

Risk and Professional Development

Teacher Professional Development — Is this your teacher professional development?

I recently found some time to reconnect with a few teachers that I haven’t talked to in a while. A group of us were able to meet up and discuss our lives during the past school year. As the conversation extended beyond pleasantries a few common themes emerged: high-stakes testing, new teacher/administration evaluations and district professional development (PD). The last topic took up most of the time and reminded me of how important it is to connect with fellow educators.

Some stories about PD were positive and some negative. I listened to a few less than stellar stories of districts that dictate all PD needs. These top-down, one-size-fits-all PD sessions help certain staff members, but not all. One of the teachers at our table insisted that school districts need to be able to differentiate their PD opportunities . Just as teachers differentiate for their students, districts should also differentiate their PD for their staff. I’m encouraged to hear that other educators like Ellen (@sneakyfritz) have similar thoughts about PD being more aligned to teachers’ needs. Teachers learn at different paces and have a variety of strengths, therefore different opportunities should exist for them. I find that the second model in the image below is used frequently in some districts.

photo credit: superkimbo via photopin cc

Another teacher in our group thought that educators should be able to choose their own PD sessions, even if they’re located out of the district. By not mentioning PD opportunities outside of the district (Edcamp, Twitter chats, conferences, workshops, MOOCS) teachers’ professional growth can be limited. Administrators that aren’t connected may not be aware of the PD options that are available online and outside of their school. Discouraging teachers or omitting opportunities outside of the district also infers that a district doesn’t trust the professional judgement of its teachers. Obviously, not all districts are like this. I believe that teacher ownership plays a role in increasing the effectiveness of PD. This terrific post by Dean (shareski) sheds some light on some of the important issues of PD and teacher ownership.

When teachers share what they’ve learned with each other the district often benefits. I applaud districts that encourage teachers to be part of the PD process by having them lead district training sessions, similar to an edcamp model. That seems like one way to encourage teacher ownership and solidify a mutual trust between teachers and administration

Sometimes the one-size-fits-all model of traditional PD is mandatory, as regulated by the state. I’ve found that districts that have total control (top-down) of the PD often informally discourage sharing and innovation. Not all sessions have to be this way. Districts can encourage teachers to grow professionally by taking a risk and trusting their teachers to pick and choose the PD that meets their specific needs. Districts should advocate for their employees to attend the most effective PD sessions. Many of the teachers in our discussion stated that some of their best professional development came from outside of their school district boundaries.

Another teacher in our group stated that many educators are already taking ownership of their professional growth through a Personal Learning Network (PLN). In many cases, they take ownership because the district might not providing opportunities for the growth that they need. Regardless of a districts financial situation, many beneficial PD opportunities exist and are found through Twitter and other social networking sites. These sites are generally free to join. It’s truly unfortunate that some districts decide to rely on traditional PD and expect it to dramatically change teachers’ skills. By omitting the use of technology for PD opportunities, districts are actually limiting their effectiveness and devaluing the educators that are already utilizing these outlets for PD.

Despite the lackluster view on the process of PD in some locations, the group that I sat with agreed that there’s good news. The good news is that teachers aren’t depending on school districts to provide adequate PD. They’re seeking out their own PD and bringing back innovative ideas to the classroom. Teachers can bring these ideas to other connected educators around the world. Teachers are connecting with other educators across the world through Twitter and other social media avenues. This connection has many benefits. Being a connected educator often gives teachers opportunities to learn more from other educators and bring back practical ideas to the classroom. These teachers are using ideas found through their PLN to better their students’ learning experiences. Often times they are enhancing their students’ learning experience without the district even knowing. Districts need to be able to identify and celebrate theses succeses. I’m optimistic that school districts will adapt their current PD practices. My optimism is rooted in the fact school districts are listening to the staff and increasingly adopting non-traditional PD approaches to meet the professional needs of their teachers. These teachers are taking risks to better their own classroom/school and I believe school districts have the opportunity to do the same. I’m going to end this post with a Tweet that assisted in inspiring this post:

photo credit: mikecogh via photopin cc

Transforming Professional Development for Teachers

Image by: David Dominici

I recently was looking for some space in my closet and found a book from my graduate school days. The book Transformational Leadership & Decision Making in Schools by Brower and Balch fell out of my closet.

After flipping through the some tabbed pages, a few memories emerged. One of the chapter topics explained how ed. leaders often understand and create effective professional development opportunities for their staff. Understanding what is considered “effective” is key. So I ask, what is needed for effective staff development?

Three (non-exhaustive) Ideas for Staff Development:

1.) Eliminate fear – As discussed in David’s post, teachers shouldn’t feel as though someone will steal or reject their innovative ideas. Competition, although beneficial in some scenarios, may instill in teachers a sense of fear and distrust. Administrators that advocate for their staff members by creating an atmosphere of trust and collaboration often improve student learning over time. The idea that all of the students in a school are everyone’s responsibility should be prevalent and community building activities indicating that concept should be evident.

2.) Research Based PD – Often, staff development may meet the current needs of the staff, but not necessarily be research based. Many PD sessions are more “training” focused, rather than “best practice” focused. This point is explained in more detail in Neil’s post. Teachers need to be able to understand that the PD sessions, when implemented appropriately will result in an improved organization.

3.) Follow up – Ask any educator … it’s fulfilling to participate in an effective PD session. The question that many people have after the session is … Now What? Allowing time for teachers to collaborate and discuss methods to implement ideas will benefit all stakeholders. Also, it may be important to receive feedback from the audience (teachers) in order to measure the effectiveness of the PD and set goals for planning additional sessions.

Disclaimer (unfortunate but necessary) : The thoughts and opinions expressed in these pages are my own, and not necessarily the opinions of my employers.