Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Schools aren’t perfect places and I certainly don’t ever what to sound like I have the best ideas out there. I have no desire to run a school or become an administrator, but as a college has been telling me for years, I do need to step out of the shadows and begin sharing my voice, becoming the teacher-leader that I should be.
Often during my career, I have sat through professional development that doesn’t meet my needs—or the needs of my students. I’ve participated in reading groups about how my cheese could be moved and making deposits in emotional bank accounts. I’ve learned how to use my email account—nineteen times. I’ve sat through Blackboard training that I could have taught—and provided better classroom applications for.
In short, I’m growing tired of PD that misses the mark.
One session stands out. Years ago, an administration that I worked for deemed it valuable for the entire staff to explore Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Immediately, the overwhelming majority of my colleagues claimed the training was going to be a waste of time. I went into the training thinking, “I really am not an expert in this area. Maybe I can better myself and my teaching from hearing this.”
I was the only one with this high moral compass bearing as we began our training. At the end the nine-hour, three-day marathon, I realized that I’d learned nothing that would effectively add to my teaching or aid in students’ understanding.
Should I have been at this training? Should I have started a revolt? Should I have talked to the administration afterwards? I wonder what my role is in planning professional development. We are highly accomplished educators and we should have the power to plan our personal growth to fit the needs of our learning teams.
For what it’s worth here is my plan: PLTs should sit down—with DuFour’s book in hand—and develop a personal PD plan for the year. This will give the PLT members ownership and by in. Chosen training will be meaningful and in the long run more advantageous to the school and student success because teachers are engaged in addressing true needs that they see in their instruction.
Our PLT is well down the road of collaboration and I feel that we are involved enough to truly look at professional development as an opportunity, not a duty. For example, our current administration has given us a day with little statute to it. Together, our team has developed a very workable and exciting plan for what we want to accomplish and discuss while out of school.
I would hope that this is the first small step in allowing the teams to design their own professional development plans. Think about the headaches the administration would eliminate in both their heads and the heads of the staff that feel handcuffed by one-size-fits-all professional development that does little to address the needs and desires of individual Professional Learning Teams.
Often during my career, I have sat through professional development that doesn’t meet my needs—or the needs of my students. I’ve participated in reading groups about how my cheese could be moved and making deposits in emotional bank accounts. I’ve learned how to use my email account—nineteen times. I’ve sat through Blackboard training that I could have taught—and provided better classroom applications for.
In short, I’m growing tired of PD that misses the mark.
One session stands out. Years ago, an administration that I worked for deemed it valuable for the entire staff to explore Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Immediately, the overwhelming majority of my colleagues claimed the training was going to be a waste of time. I went into the training thinking, “I really am not an expert in this area. Maybe I can better myself and my teaching from hearing this.”
I was the only one with this high moral compass bearing as we began our training. At the end the nine-hour, three-day marathon, I realized that I’d learned nothing that would effectively add to my teaching or aid in students’ understanding.
Should I have been at this training? Should I have started a revolt? Should I have talked to the administration afterwards? I wonder what my role is in planning professional development. We are highly accomplished educators and we should have the power to plan our personal growth to fit the needs of our learning teams.
For what it’s worth here is my plan: PLTs should sit down—with DuFour’s book in hand—and develop a personal PD plan for the year. This will give the PLT members ownership and by in. Chosen training will be meaningful and in the long run more advantageous to the school and student success because teachers are engaged in addressing true needs that they see in their instruction.
Our PLT is well down the road of collaboration and I feel that we are involved enough to truly look at professional development as an opportunity, not a duty. For example, our current administration has given us a day with little statute to it. Together, our team has developed a very workable and exciting plan for what we want to accomplish and discuss while out of school.
I would hope that this is the first small step in allowing the teams to design their own professional development plans. Think about the headaches the administration would eliminate in both their heads and the heads of the staff that feel handcuffed by one-size-fits-all professional development that does little to address the needs and desires of individual Professional Learning Teams.
4 comments:
Mike,
I think your central idea -- that, through PLT work, teachers are in the best position to take responsibility for their own professional development -- is an interesting one. Can I pose a question with a slightly different spin on that topic?
If I am an administrator in a school and a decision is made for teachers to be in charge of making their own professional development decisions, using PLTs as the vehicle for professional development, how do I ensure accountability? How do I know that teachers are making growth over the course of the year (which is the purpose of professional development)? How do I make sure that this doesn't become a cover for getting out of the formal professional development work that teachers are typically responsible for?
Parry asked:
How do I know that teachers are making growth over the course of the year (which is the purpose of professional development)?
Parry...
In the reality of schools, is traditional professional development really designed to encourage teacher growth over the course of the year?
I only ask because I've sat through countless professional development programs that were chosen by others with little knowledge of my skill set and that had no impact whatsoever on my growth as a teacher.
I can remember one particular session that I was forced to sit through where the presenter was using materials that I'd created. When I mentioned this, I was told, "You'll be there because everyone is required to be there."
I think that professional development, in the eyes of some administrators--and teachers--is nothing more than a requirement that gets checked off rather than a tool for continual growth.
As far as holding teams accountable for their work, I know that our team could document the new instructional practices that we've tried together and the impact that we've had on one another's growth---if we were ever asked.
How about the adminstration schedules a meeting with each learning team at the beginning of the year to learn about the direction that they are planning to head in, a meeting in the middle of the year to get an update on progress, and a meeting at the end of the year to reflect on growth?
Bill
Parry said: "If I am an administrator in a school and a decision is made for teachers to be in charge of making their own professional development decisions, using PLTs as the vehicle for professional development, how do I ensure accountability?"
Great question. From my experience (and it seems others as well) NO professional development I had previous to working in a PLT can touch the professional development,knowledge,and growth that I have achieved through working in a learning community. My experiences, similar to Mike and Bill's, were always a waste of time. I never walked away a better teacher or with a better understanding of the profession.
So I guess to answer your question about accountability I would have to say...What accountability?? How is PD measured for an "all staff" training? What is the difference in measuring accountability for an administration selected PD and that of a professional learning team?
I believe whole heartedly that no one knows what teachers need better then the teachers that are working, analyzing, reviewing, learning, teaching, and reflecting together.
For accountability purposes, can't teachers submit an agenda for their PD and the outcomes that result from thier PD experience?
Does it really look that different? (traditional measures of PD vs. measuring PLT PD)
Bill and Corrina both make a good point -- what current accountability system is in place for professional development? Unfortunately, I think that most pd opportunities are assessed based on seat time -- i.e., how much time did the participant devote to the pd by simply attending -- rather than by outcomes.
I like Bill's idea of having team's create team growth plans. But how do you account for individual differences? For a first or second year teacher, a growth plan should look different and focus on different topics than the growth plan of a 10-year veteran. And what about those teachers who are less self-motivated to improve? How do we hold those teachers accountable for continuously attempting to improve?
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