Late into the evening last night, I carried on a text conversation with our district PDC chairperson. We were discussing feedback from our all district PreK-12th grade professional development day on Monday. She is easily the most passionate, dedicated, and innovative champion for transforming professional development that I have ever met. I will share her Twitter later for those of you who might be interested in following her.
Our district professional development committee has led our teachers into the new millennium with finesse when it comes to how we offer staff in-service and professional growth. Tonight I will share some of the points I love about what we do.
1. We pay our teachers for one flexible day of learning off contract time. This allows them to seek and learn when, where, and how they prefer. The parameters are that they spend 6 hours of learning and 1 hour of reflection and/or sharing of their newfound knowledge.
I love this because it really supports educators who spend so much time outside of their regular school day reading, collaborating, searching, attending, and seeking out new ways to help students learn. It sends the message that we promote this practice and value it so much, that we increased your salary so you could be paid for at least one day of personal learning. (We know they spend much more than that!)
2. We organize EdCamp style PD for all teachers on district in-service days. If you have never participated or heard of the EdCamp model, look it up! It is a phenomenal way for educators to connect and share on topics that are most meaningful to them at the moment.
I love this model in our district because it gives teachers a chance to seek information from a variety of sources-experts, novices, and every stage in between. We all learn from each other. I even love it that the groups are often mixed between all levels. I learn so much from listening and talking to middle school and high school teachers' perspectives on student learning.
3. Our district days offer inspiration, choice-based guided topics, in addition to the EdCamp sessions. Students and teachers shared their passions for topics and talked about those who inspire them and why. Guided topics covered several concepts relevant to PBL-a new venture for our district.
I love that we showcase students at our district professional development. They are the reason that we do what we do! It is great to listen to them appreciate the teachers who have supported them. I will admit, I often shed tears of joy and pride when these young people speak. I love that the PD committee tries so hard to begin in-servicing our teachers on parts of a VERY big transformation without overwhelming them. There were so many choices and most of my staff wished that they could have gone to more than one of these, but time only allowed for one session.
I am the kind of person that can find something to learn from almost any other person by listening or talking to them. I go to all sorts of "staff development" opportunities that don't necessarily fall under the category of being specifically for elementary principals in my demographic, etc. But I listen...and I reflect...I sort through the material and information shared and synthesize...I evaluate the points and determine MY take-aways. And you know what? At the end of that day, it is really like a beginning for me-when I walk out of the door and drive home, I am planning my next steps to learn more and put something new into practice!
I would love to know what your thoughts are on all district PD. What's working in your district? What dreams of transforming teacher learning do you have?
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
---Robert John Meehan
Check out @MNebel on Twitter! Remarkable stuff!
Our district professional development committee has led our teachers into the new millennium with finesse when it comes to how we offer staff in-service and professional growth. Tonight I will share some of the points I love about what we do.
1. We pay our teachers for one flexible day of learning off contract time. This allows them to seek and learn when, where, and how they prefer. The parameters are that they spend 6 hours of learning and 1 hour of reflection and/or sharing of their newfound knowledge.
I love this because it really supports educators who spend so much time outside of their regular school day reading, collaborating, searching, attending, and seeking out new ways to help students learn. It sends the message that we promote this practice and value it so much, that we increased your salary so you could be paid for at least one day of personal learning. (We know they spend much more than that!)
2. We organize EdCamp style PD for all teachers on district in-service days. If you have never participated or heard of the EdCamp model, look it up! It is a phenomenal way for educators to connect and share on topics that are most meaningful to them at the moment.
I love this model in our district because it gives teachers a chance to seek information from a variety of sources-experts, novices, and every stage in between. We all learn from each other. I even love it that the groups are often mixed between all levels. I learn so much from listening and talking to middle school and high school teachers' perspectives on student learning.
3. Our district days offer inspiration, choice-based guided topics, in addition to the EdCamp sessions. Students and teachers shared their passions for topics and talked about those who inspire them and why. Guided topics covered several concepts relevant to PBL-a new venture for our district.
I love that we showcase students at our district professional development. They are the reason that we do what we do! It is great to listen to them appreciate the teachers who have supported them. I will admit, I often shed tears of joy and pride when these young people speak. I love that the PD committee tries so hard to begin in-servicing our teachers on parts of a VERY big transformation without overwhelming them. There were so many choices and most of my staff wished that they could have gone to more than one of these, but time only allowed for one session.
I am the kind of person that can find something to learn from almost any other person by listening or talking to them. I go to all sorts of "staff development" opportunities that don't necessarily fall under the category of being specifically for elementary principals in my demographic, etc. But I listen...and I reflect...I sort through the material and information shared and synthesize...I evaluate the points and determine MY take-aways. And you know what? At the end of that day, it is really like a beginning for me-when I walk out of the door and drive home, I am planning my next steps to learn more and put something new into practice!
I would love to know what your thoughts are on all district PD. What's working in your district? What dreams of transforming teacher learning do you have?
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
---Robert John Meehan
Check out @MNebel on Twitter! Remarkable stuff!