Alternative
Professional Learning
Professional learning sessions are in desparate need of an update. Let's explore why traditional PLs are ineffective, the 5 prinicples of effective PLs, and the PL I am creating for the teachers on my campus regaurding student ePortfolios.
The Why
Imagine this, it's summer break, and you are preparing to take your weekly trip to Target to browse all the pretty things, and there it is the back-to-school setup! (insert dramatic telenovela music) It always stops me in my tracks; I suddenly remember that I'm a teacher, and soon I have to go back to work. Most would assume that the disappointing thing about returning to school is the daily hustle and bustle, grading, lesson plans, and the students. But really, it's those annoying, redundant, boring, and unavoidable professional development sessions. It's the same thing every year, never anything new, and honestly, after several years, you tune it all out. On my campus, we meet corporately to discuss items such as classroom management, CHAMPS, etc. As a department, we meet to discuss items like field trip requests, graduation plans, and areas of study. Seldom are we separated by years of experience, content areas, or even personal growth goals These are some of the most critical reasons why traditional workshop model PDs are ineffective. In an Edutopia article titled, Why Don’t We Differentiate Professional Development?, author Pauline Zdonek asks a simple question. Why aren't PDs developed in the same manner as teachers are expected to develop lesson plans? Teachers must differentiate their lessons to appeal to different types of learners and students with different levels of prior knowledge, and the same should be done for PDs. If polled a random group of teachers right now, most would say their greatest concern is time. Teachers don't have time to waste between their in-class instruction, preparation, meetings, parent communication, etc.; their time is limited. If I had a dollar for every time a teacher noted something else more important they could be doing besides sitting in a PD, I could retire!
The PL I am developing is for teachers to learn about student ePs and how they can incorporate them into their classrooms. The approach I found most interesting, as well as most effective for my PL, is the classroom model. The classroom model aligns with the fourth principle in the Five Principles of Professional Development. By the time I roll this PL out to my colleagues, my students will have already developed and shared the ePs they created in my class. I believe the best way to convince teachers to use this new tool is to have them see it in action. This way, they can begin to think about how they would incorporate specific aspects of the eP into their content area.
The What
Before the teachers enter my classroom, they will participate in a Padlet that asks them to execute a simple task. Post an image of something new you've recently tried or post an image of something you've tried that you never thought you would. Getting the teachers to think about how they have tried something new or overcome a fear of something new will put them in the mood to experience and be open to something new. Give it a try, post your image in the Padlet but clicking the button below.
The How
I will use familiar online tools like Padlet, Google Classroom, and Screencastify in my PL presentation. Although the goal of my PL is to get my colleagues to incorporate ePs into their classrooms and lessons, I know the most important thing to do is to make the incorporation easy. I will provide continued support and ask for reflections and feedback to ensure the PL and program run optimally. The last thing I want to do is confuse, convolute, and/or discourage my colleagues from using ePs, as I know how transformative they are to a student's learning, growth, and overall academic success.
Resources
Burns, M. (2014). Five models of teacher-centered professional development. Globalpartnership.org. https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/five-models-teacher-centered-professional-development
Sterling, S. (2018, May 21). 5 principles of professional development for teachers. Blog.edmentum.com. https://blog.edmentum.com/5-principles-professional-development-teachers
Tate, M. L. (2015). Worksheets Don′t Grow Dendrites (3rd ed.). Corwin Press. (Original work published 2023)
Zdonek, P. (2016, January 15). Why don’t we differentiate professional development? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-dont-we-differentiate-pd-pauline-zdonek