Sunday, June 10, 2012
For the week of June 11
While you are working on creating your own professional development experience, you are also reading chapters 11 and 12 about professional developing and guiding change and learning. I have also included in Module 3 the Indiana guidelines for professional development points, as a reference and since teachers who graduate after 1984 have to renew their licenses. Keeping all of this in mind, what do you believe makes for a positive and beneficial professional development experience.
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I feel that to have a positive professional development experience one needs to be able to take something useful away. If a professional development experience is positive you should leave thinking of the different things you have learned and be planning on how you can implement them into your teaching. There have been may times i leave a pd meeting leaving inspired and ready to change the way I'm currently doing things, At the same time, there are also times I leave a pd meeting thinking, "what did I get out of this".
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree there are times I also leave PD feeling frustrated or upset because what we were taught seems out of reach. When things are positive then I feel like I could try this in my own classroom.
DeleteI couldn't agree more leaving PD feeling like you have gained nothing is very disappointing. I think sometimes trying to provide PD to the entire staff at one time makes things impersonal and irrelevant to the majority of the staff.
DeleteI often feel that our monthly professional development meetings are nothing more than writing on a paper. By that I mean that the school has to verify that teachers are doing professional development. Often our meetings are nothing but time that is taken from us. This is not always the case, but it is very disappointing when I leave a meeting not having gained any new knowledge for my classroom.
DeleteI have found myself leaving professional development meetings and asking "What did I get out of this?" It's not a fun feeling, especially when you can reflect on the many positive aspects of what professional development COULD be!
DeleteFor me positive professional development is something that I can use to improve myself in my teaching, or professional relationships with coworkers. We are required to have meetings every Wednesday. I find it very useful that 80% of my hours spent in professional development is used towards renewing my teaching license. Professional development must be valid. Teachers want to go to classes that relate to what they are doing, or what they need to change. No one would like to teach all day, and then sit in a meeting about something they will never use. My favorite meetings are ones in which the staff gets to share things they do in their classrooms that work. Writing workshops, inquiry math, and balanced literacy are some of the experiences that have been positive for me in that I was able to take real strategies away from the meeting, and create a plan for implementation in my classroom. Positive professional development is one in which the teacher can "see" how it would work in her room.
DeleteI couldn not agree more. There is nothing worse than spending two hours in PD and feeling overwhelmed or more confused than you were before. It seems that sometimes, in the past, our PD turns into complaint sessions and little PD actually gets done. Not the way I want to leave a meeting!
DeleteWhen it comes to professional development- we are looking to change (in a positive way) our teachers. Professional development is all about growing into better educators. When keeping this in mind, I think that all professional development needs goals that guide teachers so that they know what to expect in their development and how it will better their own teaching practices. Once the goals have been established, I believe that research on the given topic needs to be presented; the presentation can take on many forms: workshops, power-point presentations, book studies, collaborative meetings, etc.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the actual method in which the development is being performed- the research is a fundamental element in that it shows the why. Why are we making this change? How will this help our students? Both of these questions are ones that go through the minds of most educators during these workshops. Presenting these answers at the beginning will provide for a more positive experience in that they (the educators) understand the ultimate change taking place.
ReplyDeleteI agree that seeing the big picture first and then learning about how to get there is important! As a professional, I want to know what is expected of me and why I need to change what I already believe to be best practices.
DeleteYes, a lot of teachers in my building do not buy in unless there is research to back up what is being presented at the workshop.
DeleteI agree research based professional development is really important for me to buy into new practices. Often times administration says research shows that practice XXX will be effective in our school system, yet administrators often fail to provide the actual research based facts which would help teachers embrace new practices.
DeleteI agree that the "why" needs to be included in presentations, along with research to back it up. This helps everyone accept and understand the need for change.
DeleteIn addition to providing the goals via research, I believe that there are other elements involved in creating a positive professional development experience. One such factor involves providing the opportunity for staff members to collaborate with one another on how the proposed changes will be performed in the classroom. Another important element is to keep the professional development “active”- provide chances for staff members to become involved in their learning. We’ve all sat through meetings where we’ve listened to power-point presentations and despite our best efforts- our minds soon went elsewhere. Keeping the audience engaged in the activity via allowing them the opportunity to try new things out, planning new lessons, etc. will help the engagement level stay high. This, in my opinion, will help to create a more beneficial professional development experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need to engaged like our students! I actually just posted that in my response. If I am bored in a meeting, I'm not going to pay attention.
DeleteJennifer,
DeleteI agree. Many times we are told to change something, but are nt given the why. I believe it is imperrative for staff to understand why they are making changes in their classroom. Especially if methods being used today are working.
I have to agree Katrina. There have been times when I've thought the information given at some professional developments was completely irrelevant to my classroom/school's needs and I "shut down." It definitely opened my eyes to how our students feel when they see something as unimportant to their lives. We have to be intensely intentional about making our curriculum relevant to our students
DeleteWhen I participate in professional development, I expect to take something from the meeting that is useful and meaningful for my classroom. Two years ago I went to a meeting that discussed the autism spectrum and tools to help the children on that spectrum succeed at school. There were many great ideas that were research-based that could also be used with the general ed classroom. I came back to school excited to share what I had learned and experienced. I incorporated a noise management tool within my own personal classroom that eventually became school-wide this past year. Like last week's post, you need to buy-in to what you are learning!
ReplyDeleteWow, it is so cool that you were able to take something that you learned at a workshop and help implement it school-wide.
DeleteKristine,
DeleteI would really like to see the noise management tool you have used in your classroom if you are willing to share!
Kristine,
DeleteWhat was the noise management tool that you are now using in your classroom? My school is looking to implement something at the start of the school year.
It is an inverted triangle. The bottom is green with a level 0 which means no voice like for during tests, when someone is talking, hallways, etc. The second level is blue which is a level 1. A level 1 means partner talk or in the bathroom. The yellow level 2 is small group talk or in the lunchroom. The orange level 3 is your presentation(teacher) voice for when you are having to talk to the whole class or at gym or outside. The biggest portion of the triangle is a red level 4. This is only for emergencies or cheering at the teacher vs. 6th grade basketball game. It took a little bit for the kids to really understand the need for the new noise levels but eventually most of them took it to heart. It was much easier to implement in the younger grades from my observations in the hallways.
DeleteI also use a similar tool for voice management that I received from a resource teacher. The visual is great for students with autism and ADD/ADHD.
DeleteKristen,
DeleteI did get it from an autism PD. I know I said this before but I was really excited to see so many visuals and hear so many ideas that worked for autistic children that would work for the general ed as well!
I also use the noise level in my classroom. It is a create way to get students to quiet down without speaking, clapping, or making any noise. I simply hold my hand up, this gets student attention because it is not common for the teacher to raise her hand, and show then the number I wish then to be at then the student’s begin to raise their hand showing the same number. Sometimes I have to ask students to show their neighbor their hand. This is much more effective than give me five, clapping, or saying 1, 2, 3, eyes on me.
DeleteProfessional development is crucial to the teaching profession. Fortunately, I work at a school where we have some type of professional development every Monday after school. I have learned so much from those sessions, even though at times they can be overwhelming or a lot of information can be thrown at you. To make this time beneficial, it's important for whoever is presenting to take it seriously and keep in mind that teachers want to change and take something away from the experience. No one likes to go sit in a room for an hour and feel as if it's a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI think the most beneficial experiences I have had are ones where I feel like I can take whatever was just presented and use it immediately in my classroom. Whether that be comprehension strategies and how to teach them, or how to integrate iPads into our assessments and curriculum anyone can take that knowledge and use it quickly. I have led some professional development before and it takes planning and feedback which are two other factors that make it beneficial for everyone.
I actually look forward to professional development now because of the way it's set up in my school and know that I've only become a better educator because of it.
That is really cool that you have professional development every Monday. I agree that for it to be worthwhile, however, it needs to be focused around strategies that teachers can easily implement and incorporate into their classrooms. I too, enjoy professional development that I know makes me a better teacher and helps my students become more successful learners.
DeleteNext school year my elementary school will have PD days in the morning six different times. The students will have a later start which will allow us to meet with each other. We are all really looking forward to this.
DeleteWe have a similar situation. We have professional development every Wednesday afternoon. Often times the PD is a fly by the seat of your pants type of deal. Very disappointing. Although, conceptually having PD scheduled after school might sound wonderful, I feel like PD at the end of the day is awful. By the end of the day I am exhausted and often times just ready to zone out. I would rather PD be first thing in the morning so I had a fresh alert brain.
DeleteYour weekly meeting sounds like a great way to build a learning community! I wish we would meet more regularly as a staff.
DeleteThat's great! I'm sure you gain a lot of information from these weekly professional development meetings. We share information, tools, and strategies at monthly staff meetings, but I think this is above and beyond, which is great!
DeleteWho actually does your PD? Is it always something different or do you leave one session with a "...to be continued"? How long are your sessions?
DeleteI agree. It is great to sit in a porfessional development, and be able to go back to the classroom the next day, and use it in the classroom.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading those responses - especially for who has professional development every Monday - what a great opportunity!
ReplyDeleteI believe, in any work environment, that you should want to learn more about your job and how to do it to the best of your ability. I really enjoy learning more, especially if it has to do with reading education and ways I can better my teaching and better the outcome. I really despise when I go to professional development opportunities and I can tell presenters have not prepared.....it is a waste of time for everyone involved. The last PD I attended was a complete waste of time and it actually wasted 3 days of my time - 2 for the actual time I was there and 1 because I went a week early (I was freshly pregnant with my 3rd child and was losing my mind! So at least I have a good story with it!)
Ohio's laws are a bit different - I can apply for tenure this coming school year, which allows me less responsibility with PD. While this is nice because I will have 3 children at home and other responsibilities as well, I will probably do more than expected because I want to gain more knowledge in my area of 'expertise.' These children I am teaching are someone else's children and they are expecting me to do a job that I should do well. I would expect nothing less that that from my own children's teachers.
I can't tell you how many times I feel like PD has been a waste of time. Many times it seems like the PD put on by the state is the worst. They just do and say the same things over and over again! What makes it worse is that it seems to be during the summer months when we have to go to these meetings.
DeleteI like your attitude about wanting to do your best. I think that is why we are so critical of PD. If it's not going to help us be better, then let us leave and find something that is!
DeleteTricia,
DeleteI think it is great that you care about learning. The best teachers are the ones who love learning.
Thanks! I guess I have always felt like there is no point in doing it if you aren't going to go full out! My only struggle with this mentality is that not everyone is like this, and I find it difficult to deal with people who don't operate the same way!!!! Oh well!
DeleteI believe the most positive and beneficial professional development for me has been something that is relevant and real life to my teaching situation. Since I teach in an all Kindergarten building with 18 Kindergarten classes, we have a lot of time to grow and learn from one another. This past year all the teachers in the school were in a professional development group, where each group had to choose one focus. (Their groups actually worked for two years on their topic however, this was my first time teaching Kindergarten this past year so I only was involved in one year of the plan) Each group had to choose a book or source to study together and then develop a final product to help our student’s learning. We each shared what we did at our final staff meetings at the end of this last school year. My group was a science group. In our group we focused on our standards and 21st century skills to create science units and science notebooks to use in our classrooms. Listening and getting materials from each group gave me a lot of great ideas to implement next year into my classroom. This was extremely relevant since we all teach Kindergarten and we all had the same grade to focus on. I know this isn’t the regular situation for everyone though. I also applied for a science course which is a three year commitment and each summer I am trained by Purdue scientists on how to create science lessons which are inquiry based. Even though I have learned from these classes, a lot of what we do isn’t necessarily relevant to my grade level. I find myself spending a lot of time taking what they have taught me and trying to figure out how to make it work for my grade level. This is professional development but not necessarily the best for me.
ReplyDeleteWow! 18 Kindergarten classes, that is amazing! I like the idea of each selecting a topic and then sharing. It sounds interesting.
DeleteI second Katrina's wow. Eighteen kindergarten classes all in one school. It seems like you have a built in professional support group. Everyone at your school has the same goals...but you have so many teachers to draw support from.
DeleteI third that notion. I would love to know more about your building. Are you in Indiana? Does your school filter out into other larger schools? How big are your class sizes?
DeleteBecky,
DeleteI have shared in several courses about my school, and I think you are the first that has topped my thirteen 4th grade classrooms. I am intrigued to know how your teachers are grouped together, and how they collaborate. It seems that collaboration is the most difficult part of teaching with so many classes at the same level. Our school just opened 4 years ago, and our principal worked very hard to make sure that there weren't any "cliques" among the 4th grade and 5th grade teachers, since we combined staff from 4 different elementary schools. He didn't want parents to discuss how some groups were high ability, and some were the LD teachers. As a result, we rarely plan together. I'd be interested to hear how your administration groups teachers, and how these groups work together to plan.
Thanks for the responses! My school is in Indiana, I work in Decatur Township. We are an all K building and then after kindergarten the students will go out to five elementary buildings which have grades 1st through 6th. My class size this last year was 26 kids. It changes from year to year though. I found out that the year before teachers only had 22 to 24 in a class but some years they can be as high as 30! Ideally we would have less than 20 but with funding that isn't feasible. As far as collaboration and grouping, we have PLC groups. Our teachers are divided into groups and we meet once a week as a PLC team. We are divided by hallways, so for instance in my hallway we have six teachers and that is our PLC group. We have four different groups which meet. Then an SLT leader from each PLC meets every two weeks to share out and bring back information from the principal and literacy coach. We all meet together and share once a month at our staff meetings. This next year we are going to take this a step further by having each PLC member meet with a PLC member from another group to share ideas across groups.
DeleteFor a professional development session to be successful and beneficial, I think that the subject or topic has to connect to me as a teacher. I like to go to workshops that not only engage me, but teach me strategies that I can use in my classroom the very next day. These are the types of workshops the excite me the most. One of the most beneficial workshops I ever went to was one on implementing thinking maps in the classroom. I went with a group of 4th grade teachers and the presenter offered us many ways that we could incorporate these maps into our classrooms. The next day all of us teachers had already implemented at least one type of thinking map. This workshop was also great because the information could be applied at any grade level and across my 4th grade curriculum. I enjoy workshops the most when I know the information is going to make me a better teacher and help my students to be more successful learners.
ReplyDeleteI always know I attended a meaningful workshop when I implement something I learned the very next day!
DeleteI have heard so many people rave about the thinking maps. I especially like it when everything you need is handed to you -- all you need to do is laminate and/or copy!
DeleteIn order for professional development to be successful and beneficial it should be based on a needs based assessment. It should focus on what the teachers view they need or want to learn. Teachers would be more willing to participate and learn from it when it relevant to their classrooms. It should also be backed my administration. They need to share the goals with the teachers and support them. To keep professional development positive, engaging the teachers like we do in the classroom is crucial. We like to be engaged and part of the lesson, just like our kids do.
ReplyDeleteYou are right in saying that we don't want a telling! Just like our kids, I get bored and tune out.
DeleteI feel that professional development needs to be useful and practical for the classroom. It is overwhelming when I go to a meeting and so much stuff is presented that I do not have time to sort through it all. Having a clear topic and focus is important. I also think that professional development is a good time to discuss and set goals and work with your grade level team. We did not have hardly any time with our grade level teams last year and that was very difficult for those of us who were new. Just like our students, we all learn in different ways and it is important for our professional development to be done in different ways (not always a "lecture"). I learn better in small groups or with hands-on activities while others may learn best with presentations and PowerPoint. I feel like there needs to be a variety. I would like for teachers to have the opportunity to tell what they want to learn and allow that to be incorporated into the professional development.
ReplyDeleteI love your thought about teachers having the opportunity to tell what they want to learn. If you ask me, it makes sense. Teachers are with their students most of the day. They know what struggles their students have and what areas in which they need to improve. Also, teachers reflect all the time. They know what areas they need to work on, too.
DeleteI think we have all hit on something here and you make mention of it -- teachers need to be able to have a say in what is involved in PD -- but not all teachers want the same things. Allowing people to choose to listen to a lecture or have discussions is important. Just like students, we have our own learning styles.
DeleteProfessional development looks quite different today compared to the past. As I was reading chapter 11, the author stated the only element of professional development was a conference or presentation every now and then. Just by looking at the Indiana guidelines for professional growth, there are eleven options for professional development points. I believe a positive and beneficial professional development experience is one that is on-going and meaningful to the teacher and students. It needs to also involve collaboration among teachers, coaches, administrators, and professional development presenters. For example, one of the opportunities I have each year is creating a Professional Growth Plan (PGP). Last year, my grade level team and I designed our plan around writing improvement. We met weekly at our PLC meetings to discuss data, review student writing samples, and share ideas and strategies we were implementing in our classrooms. We wrote two on-going summaries about our PGP throughout the year and our final PGP with a reflection and student data. We also had the opportunity for our instructional coach to come in our classrooms to model different writing lessons. A literacy consultant from Smekens Education came in twice last year for two full-day workshops. I found these experiences extremely positive and beneficial because I was able to assess my teaching and students’ work all year with my colleagues. I could use a strategy or idea I learned from one of my team members that day if I wanted. I learned new ideas about literacy all year that I could implement in my classroom which made me feel like I was becoming a better teacher and my students’ work was improving.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
DeleteThat is awesome that you work so closely with your cooperating teachers. We had the opportunity to have Smekens come to our school 2 years ago. Kristina is definitely the best presenter I have ever seen. I have attended every conference and the Literacy Retreat the past 4 years, have you ever attended one?
I would love to have a Smekens consultant come to our school. The fact that many of them are still teaching is a lot more meaningful to me.
DeleteI have never attended the Literacy Retreat, but I have attended three of her conferences. Kristina Smekens is a great presenter. I have learned so much from her. I bet the Literacy Retreat is wonderful!
DeleteFor me, the most positive and beneficial professional development experiences center on information that is relevant and can impact me professionally immediately. I love to leave the meeting ready to implement what I have learned, but on the other hand I hate to leave a meeting feeling that it was a waste of my time. I know that many times I leave my classroom to go to PD with other items I can work on, like papers to grade and my lesson book. I appreciate that my school provides us with a 30 minute PD every Monday morning, but too often these meeting consist of the principal’s to do’s which leads me to my own. I think these meetings start the year very strong, but as the year progresses they lose their strength. If we had a strong focus for these meetings that remains consistent it would be more beneficial for all teachers. This consistent focus would allow teachers to know what they are going to be doing, giving us a drive instead of bouncing around all the time. This time also needs to focus on the biggest needs of the school, like how to use informational text in the classroom 50% of the time in alignment with Common Core.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could mention to your principal the idea that you would like him to focus some of the PD on using informational text? I'm sure, if he/she is always in charge of the PD, he/she would welcome an idea.
DeleteProfessional development needs to be practical and applicable to the teachers that are participating. It's important that teachers and others involved feel that their time is being well spent. A variety of activities used to present the information would be beneficial as well. The mix-up will help keep the audience's attention. Also, I think building in hands-on for the participants would be helpful, too. I have often been in workshops thinking the information is wonderful, but when do I have time to get started on another project. Allowing time to find a way to implement the new ideas or strategies with direct access to the presenter could be very positive experience. Obviously, this idea would lend itself to some topics ideas more easily than others. Evaluating the needs of the school will be necessary in finding the best possible professional development for the building or corporation.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, professional development is only effective if it pertains to the teacher's needs and desire for learning. It also has to include as many hands-on opportunities for the participants to fully engage and practice the tools that are being taught. Just as in teaching, lectures are least effective and should be avoided whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with the idea that there needs to be hands-on in a practices PD. I do like to go to a PD once in a while that is theory that backs up practices. It sort of gives me time to reflect on myself and make sure that my mind-set is in the right place. It sort of makes me think about scrambling to try the newest, latest, greatest -- is this really something that matches what my philosophies are? And, if not, should I be changing my philosophies or not using the latest, greatest!
DeleteI believe what makes for a positive and beneficial professional development experience is the quality of PD. We have PD every Tuesday. The students are dismissed an hour early so PD does not go into personnal time, which is very nice. But since we have it every week it can get mundane and boring. Our literacy coach most often runs PD for our school but sometimes it a district wide PD, as in the case of the RISE model being introduced. A goal and objectives need to be set for the PD. I believe teachers need to be engaged in the PD with activies and discussions. It needs to pertain to what we are doing in the classroom to make us better teachers.
ReplyDeleteA positive and beneficial professional development experience occurs when those attending are able to take new ideas and put them into use in the classroom. Unfortunately, I have not been to very many professional development conferences which doesn't allow me to have much experience with them. However, we do have professional development with our own grade levels at my school twice a month. I feel like these types of meetings are best when we are given a say in the changes or ideas that will affect our students.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think you can learn the most from the teachers you work with.
DeleteKristen,
DeleteI completely agree. I have learned the most from the teachers I have worked with over the last four years. I have been very fortunate to work with some ladies who have much more experience than I do and are willing to share it.
One thing that makes PD positive is when teachers are allowed to decide what they would like to learn more about or observe to improve instruction. In our building, we can e-mail our ideas to our building leader or reading coach regarding topics we would learn more about. Also, this past year, we completed a survey on what we needed the most help with. In our building, we have professional development every Wednesday morning and one way that helps us maintain a positive PD environment is different teachers get an opportunity to present what they are experts on. I find PD is most beneficial when it is not just a lecture and when the teachers can share ideas and contribute to the PD in some way. Professional development is also beneficial when we, as teachers, are able to focus on a book study or a topic for a length of time before we move onto to something new.
ReplyDeleteI think professional development opportunities are important because they provide teachers with new and current ideas. For me, anything that I can immediately use in my classroom that is engaging and meaningful is a beneficial professional development experience. My corporation has had many professional development opportunities this last school year since we adopted a new math textbook and just had new promethean board technology installed in our classrooms. I think anything that is shared that can be used to promote student learning is a beneficial professional development experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that for a PD to be beneficial it needs to be something that extends what teachers are already working on, rather than throw a brand new piece into the middle of the school year. For example, we had Professional Development this year that extended our reading series into what sort of online resources we had and could use in the computer lab with the kids. This was great for all grades, we weren't having to make anything else and we already had the background knowledge that made the PD beneficial to all of our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful! Much better than our PD on our new "Envision math" -- you know you are in trouble when the presenter can't find what he's looking for and says, "oh, it's like Ragu, it's in there somewhere" -- and this very statement was made several times throughout a 3-hour training. Obviously not much help!!
DeleteWe just adopted Envision Math also and it was the same way with their presenters. Luckily we had the PD in the room of a teacher who was piloting the program and she was able to fill in those gaps. It would have been better if she just ran the meeting.
DeleteI believe that being able to be an active part of the professional development is essential for making a positive and beneficial professional development experience. I also feel that you should be able to immediately use what you have just learned from the professional development. If you have to want a few weeks or even until the next year, you are not likely to use the material you just used. The topic should also be relevant to the grade level and subject(s) you teach; if you attend a conference on how to improve higher level writing and you teach kindergarten, what good is that for you? I also feel that for the professional development to be a positive and beneficial experience, you must want to learn about it/be interested in the topic. If I was sent to a course that I was not interested in, I know I would eventually tune out and I would not take away much from that course.
ReplyDeleteAs a former kindergarten teacher, I have attended several PDs in which the presenter had no idea how to help us apply things for kindergarten. The phase "this would look different in kindergarten" became a bit of inside joke for our grade level. We would also hear that statement, but no one could tell us how it would be different or how to make it work. It was frustrating.
DeleteThat is very interesting, I thought I was the only one who ever heard that! We heard that at over 80% of our PDs but then I was lucky enough to get to attend Kindergarten only or Early Childhood PDs and WOW! did that make a world of difference. I feel I learned more in my two day Kindergarten conference then I did in all my previous PDs combined!
DeleteFor me, the most positive and beneficial professional development experience is one that is focused on my needs. I don’t want to sound uppity, but as a recent undergrad, I received most of the instruction that my school is doing as PD time. We have spent countless hours studying RtI, balanced literacy, and the workshop models. Frankly, I didn’t know how else to teach but under these guidelines. I often felt like I was wasting my time. As an instructional coach, I would like to have multiple PD experiences on different days and teachers can choose which experience would be best for them; or even having multiple resources and teachers can choose which book club to be a part of. I understand it would be additional work for me, but I also feel like it would help the school climate and hopefully get away from the complaints of “another meeting.”
ReplyDeleteI believe that a positive and beneficial professional development experience should not only motivate, but inspire teachers to incorporate change in the methods and strategies they use. Some of the most beneficial professional development presentations I have been to have been multilayered. By incorporating a variety of activities, I am often able to gain a much better grasp on the concept presented and a true understanding of how to incorporate it in the classroom. Unfortunately, I feel as though few of the professional development presentations I have attended have provided me with the follow-up up modeling, co-teaching, and observation components mentioned in the text. I feel that this is a very important and necessary component for professional development to really benefit teachers as they implement change in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIn order for professional development to be beneficial, it has to meet teachers where they are and be timely. Just yesterday, I spent all morning in PD for a new system our school will be implementing in the fall called Moodle. Some of you might be familiar with this program. My majority of my faculty is in the latter half of their careers and going through computer training all together as a group can be extremely frustrating for those of us who are more skilled and versed with different computer programs. AS to the timeliness, I'm not sure why the school chose the end of the year to provide training when none of us will enter this program again for 2 months and much of what was introduced will be forgotten. I liked that our book suggested training in technology should take place individually, rather than in a large group setting. I agree!
ReplyDeleteWe have used Moodle as a PD presentation tool for teachers in our district. We had to watch several segments of videos in groups and take quizzes when we finished watching each one. Many of the teachers graded papers or had side-bar conversations during the presentations. I did not find it to be very effective for professional development, but many teachers like to use it with their students.
DeleteAt my current school many of our PD days have been born from an administrator going to a workshop or reading and book and determining our entire school needs to implement this new idea into our classrooms. I think the best professional development experiences are those that are based on a needs assessment. A needs assessment, which utilizes teacher surveys, may result in teachers buying into PD. Individualized professional development goals for each teacher seem to be more useful than a general school goal. I think professional development completed in small group settings and a comfortable atmosphere (rather than the large cafeteria with horrible chairs) lends itself to teachers deriving more value out PD. I also think the concept of sustained professional development (Vogt & Shearer) makes sense. I hate having one day of PD and being expected to implement and curriculum wide change after 1 hour of in-service. PD with a clear goal, agenda activities and a wrap up work nicely. PD needs to have the opportunity for application of new concepts in a guided manner.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. When it comes to technology training in our system we are usually never really trained in it and if we are it is usually in a whole group setting and will be soon forgotten. Is a Moodle like a white board? Never heard of it before. I wish that when we are given new technology in our building that we could have time to actually practice with it, before we actually have to use it. If I don't get the proper training it will usually just sit in my room for months until I have time to practice, because during the school year I don't have time to learn new things easily since I am always so busy! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSame thing with my school district...we adopt new programs or kits and never have training in them. However, I would LOVE to have technology in my classroom! This is something my school in particular is not up-to-date with! We are just now getting all teachers dukanes.....I wish I had a smartboard or even a student computer or 2 in my room!
DeleteTo me professional development is very important. At my school we have very little PD offered within the building, our principal is very open to letting us attend any conference that we would like to go to, so I try to attend something every year. I believe that great professional development needs to have several qualities. First, the presenter must be a great speaker or he will lose me right away. Also, I enjoy having master handouts to follow along with during the presentation to write down any notes that I need. Whatever is being discussed needs to be backed with research and tried in real classrooms. I really enjoy seeing work samples from students on how the strategy was implemented. Also, I think great presenters allow time for turn and talks with our colleagues just like we expect our students to turn and talk and share what they are learning. To me, there is no greater feeling than leaving PD almost feeling overwhelmed by all the great ideas that I have learned and I want to start implementing right away!
ReplyDeleteThat is nice that your principal allows you to attend conferences that interest you. That way you can choose topics that are relevant to you and your classroom. With budget cuts, our PD has turned into mostly within the district training.
DeleteI also think it's great that you get to choose. As Kristen said, when your PD is within district training, you don't always get what you need. There is nothing worse than being away from your classroom to sit through something that you are already doing because some people aren't doing it. The obvious would be to do what you get to do, choose what you feel you need help with!
DeleteMy principal also lets us attend conferences that interest us. However, usually only 2-3 staff members are allowed to go to these conferences at a time. So those who went last year...don't get to go this year...and she moves through the staff giving others an opportunity!
DeleteI personally value professional development when I can easily see the connection between the information being presented and the positive impact it will have in the classroom. Easy to implement strategies and opportunities to plan and apply the information begin presented are aspects I believe to be very beneficial. Our text explained that professional development should be ongoing and multilayered in order to be effective. I would agree with this statement. A few years ago, we began the school year with a professional presentation by Carolyn Coil on the topic of differentiation. We then used our weekly literacy PDs to plan for differentiation in the classroom, revisiting the presentation as we were working toward that goal. This provided each grade level to work at a pace they were comfortable with, and we all worked on aspects of differentiation that fit our students’ learning needs. I found this method to me much more effective than the presentation alone. It helped me to sort through information in an ongoing format and to plan for the implementation.
ReplyDeleteContinuity does help tremendously. Almost everything new has to have time to be effective, not only in student progress but also in teacher presentation. It's always a work in progress. Differentiation is one that really needs quite a bit of practice before it is perfected.
DeleteFollow up is so important. Unfortunately because of budget issues and scheduling conflicts it seems that this doesn't always happen. Some PD experiences take a great deal of follow up through PLC meetings, grade-level meetings, etc. I feel like if the topic is worth investing in initially than it should certainly be worth the investment on following through with it.
DeleteIn order to make professional development positive and beneficial, teachers need to be given enough support to use the information effectively in their classrooms. As mentioned in chapter 11, it is important to provide professional development on topics that are identified as part of the schools needs assessment. If the topic is relevant, teachers will be more motivated and excited to immediately start implementing something new. Some of the most beneficial professional developments I have attended are presented by teachers who are effectively using practices in their own classrooms. I like to see pictures, examples, suggestions, and it is always nice to receive handouts or websites that can be referred to after the meeting. Seeing actual examples allows me to picture it working in my own classroom. Our district recently started using Google Apps. At that training, several teachers from across the district who had already been using Google Apps in their classrooms, shared the different ways they had incorporated it into their curriculum. That was helpful.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the need for hands-on type examples. I also think that when pd can be broken down into grade level or primary, intermediate, secondary it also helps!
DeleteA positive and beneficial professional development experience is comprised of several things. First, the topic must be something that needs to be addressed. This should come from common goals that the teachers have already accepted by the needs assessment. Second, the presentations must provide needed information that is presented in a concise, organized manner. Thirdly, the participants need to feel comfortable and engaged. This can be achieved by responsiveness to all the different types of people: those that want facts and evidence, those that want opportunities to talk about ideas, those that want "hands-on" suggestions, etc. and a little snack to nibble on also helps. Lastly, providing an agenda, sticking to it and adding in some humor to break the monotony from time to time helps people refocus.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are many things that play into a beneficial development experience. You mentioned that there should first be a needs assessment conducted before the initial presentation. This is something that has never been done at my school. Teachers have never been given a "say" in what is talked about. To be fair, there haven't had any professional developments lately due to lack of funding. My school district is implementing professional development days next year...hopefully it is run exactly like our textbook says and we are given goals and hands on suggestions to help our students!
DeleteI think relevance to the teachers is vital. I feel that I sit through many wasted professional development hours. My school has professional development every Thursday, and every Thursday a different grade level or area is responsible for bringing in treats. I think it does help.
DeleteI am always happy when there is a treat! :) Our literacy coach spreads chocolate across the table during meetings. It never hurts!
DeleteI believe in the importance of a positive and beneficial professional development experience. Unfortunately, I can relate to the first vignette from chapter eleven which presents a professional development experience that is not well connected, supported, or well received. I feel that in order for professional development to be beneficial and ultimately improve teaching it needs to be embedded throughout the year and very focused. I loved reading the sample professional development plan in our textbook. The plan included a targeted need and utilized many forms of collaborative learning, practice, and assessment in order to ensure the targeted need was met! I would like to share this plan with my co-workers and staff.
ReplyDeleteI agree with professional development being an ongoing experience, not just one and done. A lot of times the workshops that are only a one day deal are jam-packed with information and on various different topics...which leads to information overload! I feel like I don't get as much out of those sessions because I am so overwhelmed with how much was presented!
DeleteI like how you addressed PD should be an ongoing experience. I also feel overwhelmed with one day workshops where I feel like my brain is overloaded with information. I have a hard time sorting out he information later.
DeleteI believe in order to have a positive and beneficial professional development experience you must always be flexible and creative. Whenever attending a workshop or professional development meeting, it is important to think of key factors that are current and up to date in education. I am always taking away new ideas and figuring out how I can immediately change things in my classroom to practice the “new approach” or idea that was shared. Sometimes, I feel as though I overwhelm myself whenever a new approach comes along because I quickly want to adapt it in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, whenever teachers, like myself, are attending a meeting, so often I hear the “older” teachers upset or bored to death…or even upset that the principal or presentation leader wants them to change their ways. It seems as though some teachers have a more difficult time changing things. Some of my team members just think…well as soon as they learn this new approach or concept it will change…so why change? This is when I try to enlighten some of my team members and just let them know that change is good and usually it isn’t as bad as it may seem the first time hearing it!
This year, we have not been fortunate enough to have any professional development days due to lack of funding. However, this is changing and my school district has incorporate a few 1 hour late start days next year. We have not been told what these professional development days will be over, but I am excited! I have to say that taking additional classes for my masters has been good for me, even though at times I am extremely overwhelmed from taking 3 classes at once! I feel as though I am constantly learning new ways to improve my teaching experience in the classroom. Even though I have not been out of college that long, I feel as though these additional masters’ classes dive deeper into teaching skills and strategies for reading and writing.
Jenny, I have heard the same thing from "older" teachers at my school as well. It can be frustrating listening to this attitude when their assessment scores drop every year. They even blame the kids for it. How can it be the children's fault when they passed in third and fourth grade.
DeleteAgree!:)
DeleteI believe the first step to making a positive and beneficial professional development experience is to first know what the needs of the teachers are. Not every professional development idea will be beneficial to every grade level or teacher, so by understanding the needs, the administration can differentiate the professional development experience. Another idea is to make the professional development more interactive or more involved. Most of the time there is just one speaker lecturing to the staff for about two hours, and I am rather sure most of the teachers have tuned out after the first half hour. If the professional development is over a new concept, the administration should make sure that we have adequate training and that we reassess often to ensure that we are being successful. I have no problems with trying to improve myself as a teacher, but I feel that my school needs to make some drastic changes to ensure that the teachers are getting the most out of professional development, which is crucial to a field that is always changing.
ReplyDeleteLeanne, I mentioned in my post that positive professional development should address the school's "shared goals" but I also agree with what you said about how it should also address individual needs or groups of teachers with similar needs. I like how you described it as differentiating the professional development experience. That makes total sense because we all have different teaching needs.
DeleteI believe that a positive and beneficial professional development experience is one where the teacher leaves the room feeling empowered and motivated to make a change. Often times, I feel like we have professional development that is not necessary and may be things that we already know or have figured out on our own. I think it would be great to get the teachers input before scheduling professional development time to see what we’d like to learn more about and to get a feel for where we feel we can improve. Each year, we have a professional development day on the 2nd Friday of the school year. Usually, we have different sessions, but our principals tell us which sessions we can attend. Both years in this school building, I have felt these sessions did not apply to me and were a waste of time. I also know that the classroom teachers (I’m Title 1), did a lot of work on flight plans and aligning curriculum to the Common Core Standards and later, they had to redo it all. I feel like sometimes we try to be proactive, but it ends up biting us in the end. I know that budgets are tight throughout not only Indiana, but across the country, but it would be nice to be allowed to attend a conference! There have been several conferences I would have loved to attend, but are not allowed too due to the cost and I certainly cannot afford to send myself sometimes. I know that’s asking a lot, but it would be nice if something could be worked out!
ReplyDeleteMy school corporation has also cut outside professional development. I remember the days when I could choose my own workshop to attend and be completely motivated after leaving the workshop. The last few years have only included book studies and very few speakers that discuss grades k-5. Just like you said, many of those things do not apply to me as a kindergarten teacher. Although it is nice to be updated on what upper grades are doing, I need some exciting and interactive encouragement for kindergarten every once in awhile.
DeleteOur school system has cut outside PD, too. Due to financial constraints, we had to take a proactive steps to keep PD at our school. Our PD meetings are led by knowledgeable staff members or the literacy coach.
DeleteOur school corporation also tries to be ahead of the game when it comes to alligning curriculum, and we end up having to redo it all once the state changes it all again! I'm glad our corporation desires to stay on top of things, but it gets frustrating when you work so hard on something that has to be thrown out!
DeleteThere are several factors that contribute to a positive professional development. One that I believe is very important is being able to walk away knowing that you have learned something that will be valuable in the classroom. If a teacher or staff member is unable to gain information or resources from the experience, then it is not beneficial to the teacher or the student. I have not personally attended a professional development opportunity in which I was unable to take something positive away from it, but I have talked to other teachers who have had this experience and were very disappointed because of it. This can be very frustrating when the whole goal is to better help the students succeed. Another thing that I think is important is to give staff the opportunity to collaborate when learning new information. This will help make implementing the strategies or tools easier since there will be a better support system in case someone has questions or assistance. It is also important to make sure that the information and tools that are being presented are relevant to the teachers and students in which it is being presented. Irrelevant materials and strategies will not help the students to significantly grow.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of allowing staff to collaborate about the workshop. So many times I have been to workshops and had not been given time to discuss what I learned in the workshop with my colleagues.
DeleteThere are several factors that go into having a positive professional development. First, the topic area needs to be one that the audience can relate to. Second, planning (over planning) should be done so that the presentation does not end too early. THird, teachers should be part of the process if at all possible to stress the importance of the team approach. Last, you need to model the behavior that you would like. Being positive is critical. It can easily turn negative if you let it. You need to be the person that says, "We can take on this challenge, and make the best of it. Let's all work together to come up with some great ideas. etc. " Oh yeah! Music (relaxing) while they are being seated never hurts.
ReplyDeleteKaryn, I completely agree that we need to over plan. I do this in my classroom because sometime we finish too early. It is horrible when a professional development is done early and we are all just sitting there, it drives me crazy! I also like the idea of relaxing music, it would help set the atmosphere for a stress free environment.
DeleteI feel professional development should include several things to be effective and worthwhile. First, there should a lot of active learning going on during the duration of the activity. For example, collaborating with my colleagues or working directly with the literacy coach are very effective in changing my teaching practices versus sitting in an auditorium for a day. This leads to my second point- professional development seems more effective when it’s stretched over the long-term and not a one day kind of workshop. I feel the more exposed I am to the practice, the more knowledge I gain. The more skills and knowledge I have the more comfortable I feel about making it part of my daily teaching practices. Thirdly, I feel the more content specific the professional development activity is the more impact I have on improving my students’ learning. For instance, focusing on one of the literacy components or learning ways to teach a certain comprehension strategy would benefit my students. Lastly, a positive professional development experience should address shared goals that are identified through the school’s needs assessment. The activity should bring teachers together to learn how to best achieve the school’s goal. I think Guskey’s (2000) defines professional development best as “those processes and activities designed to enhance professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of teachers, so they might, in turn, improve the learning of students.” (p.218)
ReplyDeleteI agree that professional development is more effective when it is stretched long-term. My old principal chose a book for a summer book study every year. The topic of the book would become our professional development topic all year. We did poverty one year, technology in the classroom, and my favorite was teaching to your strengths. I feel like I gained a lot using this model.
DeleteI believe that the most positive and beneficial professional development experiences happen when the audience is engaged in what they are learning about. I think that the presenter(s) need to present in a meaningful way and demonstrate how the information pertains to the audience. I believe that if the audience can feel involved and feel that the information is useful as it pertains directly to them, they will feel like they have more of a reason to be engaged and involved in the learning. I also believe that it is important that a presentation not have "too much" information to give in a time period, or they will tend to rush through the information and not give enough "processing" time. I have sat through a lot of professional development sessions/meetings where there was simply too much to get through and we weren't give any time to actually think about and process the information. This left me feeling frustrated and overwhelmed when I left.
ReplyDeleteI think it has helped me learn that I need to do the same thing in my teaching in my classroom. The sharing/processing time is important and is often (at least in my own classroom) the time that I cut out first when I run short on time. I think it's important that we remember that people need time to process and really understand the information at the end of a lesson or, in this case, professional development.
I believe a positive and beneficial professional development session is relative, informative and interactive. If teachers have a choice in the topic it helps with engagement on the session. This can be done by completing a needs assessment prior to training sessions. This will help the presenter understand what type of information to address. Professional development sessions, for me, are more beneficial when I am able to interact or engage in a task during the session. I learn best from hands on tasks and therefore find it beneficial to complete these types of activities during professional development sessions as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, I also enjoy PD where I can interact and do hands on activities since I am a visual and kinetic learner.
ReplyDeleteI believe a positive and beneficial professional development workshop is one that provides many activities and strategies that can be used in the classroom immediately. I like walking away from a workshop with many new ideas and materials/resources ready to be tweaked used! I also think that it is extremely helpful if the presenter includes the strategies and techniques as a part of their presentation -- giving us hands on examples of the strategies. I always think that being a part of the learning process gives me better understanding.
ReplyDeleteI, too, get the most out of PD when there are hands on activities. It helps me remember the ideas better as well. The last PD that I have attended have included an inch thick stack of papers for me to take home with little interaction. I know a workshop is successful when I can't wait to get back into the classroom to try all of the new things I learned.
DeleteI feel postive and beneficial professional development would include positive interaction with teachers on a monthly or even weekly basis. I have a friend who taught in Phoenix for a few years. Her school had Wednesday morning be their designated PD time. They had positive presenters at times, time to collaborate with team members at times, and days for questions. On Wednesday mornings, the students would come to school an hour later. I think this would be amazing. However, since this is very unlikely to happen in my school corporation, I feel including PD with positive role modeling and simply new ideas would be beneficial and successful. I love leaving PD with the excitement of getting back into my classroom to try the new ideas I just had learned. Too many times PD is so overwhelming or is not useful to me as a kindergarten teacher.
ReplyDeleteTo have a positive and beneficial professional development experience, I need and want information to improve my instruction or my professional knowledge. During a PD meeting, it is critical (for me) to have an opportunity to discuss the topic with my colleagues. I like to discuss a new idea with my grade level team to see how it relates to our standards and curriculum. Also, I may have questions/concerns that may not be relevant to the other grade levels. Another positive aspect during a PD session is to have a topic that pertains to all the grade levels. It is frustrating to participate through PD sessions when the topic focuses on a grade level topic which don’t carry over to the other grades. Our school started dividing our PD meetings into primary and intermediate groups. At these meetings, the PD is focused on the needs of the group, whereas, the staff meetings focus on school wide literacy initiatives.
ReplyDeleteI think that PD needs to be grade level specific. I do not like going to PD that has nothing to do with my grade level. On the other hand, I love going to Kristina Smekens conferences- she does an excellent job at providing examples and giving us ready to go activities and exercises that we could try with our class the next day. I appreciate when concepts are clearly explained and the purposes are identified. I also think that PD needs to have hands on activities, but when they are full of hands on activities only, I get a little annoyed because I want to learn how to teach it, not how to do it and pretend I am a student. I think effective PD needs to include ideas from people who have been in the classroom- ideas about classroom management are especially helpful for newer teachers.
ReplyDeleteSarah Beiler
I have really enjoyed attending the Smeken's conferences as well. Her workshop for Launching the Writer's Workshop is wonderful. I like the way she gives you time to plan during the conference, so you can take the ideas back and use them right away.
DeleteA professional developmental experience is positive if I have gained one thing to implement in my classroom right away. I also think a professional developmental experience is positive if it provides hands-on learning. This can include teachers collaborating during the experience to create something to take back and use in the classroom or developing a plan to use with children. Finally. the professional development experience must meet a need either for improvement as a school or improvement for me as an individual.
ReplyDeleteNot to burst anyone's bubbles, but I believe you will want to take a look at this link: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120614/EDIT07/306149997
ReplyDeleteIt talks about how anyone can become a teacher, administrators no longer need Master's degrees, and superintendents only need Master's degrees. Is this really where education is heading?
This link was sent to everyone in our school district from our Union President.
I saw this on the news and couldn't believe it! They did have someone speaking to the issue that people may know the material inside and out but should not be a teacher. He discussed how not taking classes on how to be a teacher may create a group of inferior teachers. This could be interesting!
DeleteI am scared ... not for my job, but for our students - the ones that will be "running" this country when they get older. I think I am still in shock. I also find it interesting that this has been brought to light AFTER school is done for the year. Are they hoping it will slip by with little resistance since we are out for the summer? Sounds a little "fishy" to me!
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly with Adrienne, how very shocking,but not surprising..Society as a whole thinks education is a joke in so many ways and anyone can do what we do with little or know experience or education. Wow, how shocking, to be the devil's advocate, I feel there are a lot of educators out there, with jobs(annoying) that do very little, get by and skate on through with little professional development, passion or true grit for the vast amount of work and time goes in to our profession. Those are the ones that give education the rap that we get.
DeleteI posted this comment several times now, but it doesn't show up when I get back in. Is anyone else having trouble?
ReplyDeleteI think that positive and beneficial professional development stems from being able to apply it directly to my classroom. I have been to both good and bad professional development sessions/conferences. Ones that I find most successful are the ones that are energetic and keep me engaged. There is nothing worse than sitting at a conference half falling asleep - just waiting for the time to slip away. Believe it or not, I have even attended a teacher workshop (put on by our school corporation) where we sat in our seats for most of the day. There was no interaction with the audience, there wasn't any hands-on application of the information begin taught - kind of ironic that the topic was Differentiated Instruction - don't you think?
ReplyDeleteWhat really struck me was one of the Thinking Points in chapter 11 - "most important for facilitating lasting change." Here again, I think teacher buy-in is huge. If someone can prove that what we are learning will be around for a long time, then I'm all in. Sometimes, I think people choose professional development or workshops based on number of days off or location as opposed to the topics being addressed.
I put a link on (above) yesterday. I wonder how our Professional Growth Points and licensing renewal will be affected by this new tactic.
I think that positive and beneficial professional development stems from being able to apply it directly to my classroom. I have been to both good and bad professional development sessions/conferences. Ones that I find most successful are the ones that are energetic and keep me engaged. There is nothing worse than sitting at a conference half falling asleep - just waiting for the time to slip away. Believe it or not, I have even attended a teacher workshop (put on by our school corporation) where we sat in our seats for most of the day. There was no interaction with the audience, there wasn't any hands-on application of the information begin taught - kind of ironic that the topic was Differentiated Instruction - don't you think?
ReplyDeleteWhat really struck me was one of the Thinking Points in chapter 11 - "most important for facilitating lasting change." Here again, I think teacher buy-in is huge. If someone can prove that what we are learning will be around for a long time, then I'm all in. Sometimes, I think people choose professional development or workshops based on number of days off or location as opposed to the topics being addressed.
I put a link on (above) yesterday. I wonder how our Professional Growth Points and licensing renewal will be affected by this new tactic.
I believe the key for successful professional development is first relevance. The information given needs to be relevant to the age group and level that I teach. As a mild special education teacher I have been to several professional developments on Autism. The most beneficial to me touched on higher functioning, high school age, children with autism. The least beneficial was all about younger children who were non-verbal and considered more moderate. Granted the information given was great, it just did not pertain to me. I like it when the person presenting asks around for the background of his/her audience. I also believe that motivating teachers to get out there and use these techniques in their classrooms is key. Motivation can come from showing data on how well this works, letting teachers collaborate and get involved with conversations with each other on how to incorporate things, and just a well presented active presentation.
ReplyDeleteI think that a key point for PD to be beneficial is for it to be something that a teacher needs. In my school too many times PD is set for the whole staff, but some of the teachers already know the information or it doesn't fit the whole staff. Then teachers sit there bored because they aren't learning anything new. I also think that it is important for PD to be well planned out so the time is effectively used. It is annoying when teachers come to school early and then the meeting ends 30 minutes early or if they stay late and spend time waiting while the presenter gets things set up and ready. I think it is also important to get teachers involved in PD so they can dig into the information and not just be sitting there tuning part of it out. The more active they can be the more they will take away from it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the effective use of time is very important. We have professional development built in weekly. I hate leaving a meeting feeling like the presenter was not prepared and/or the information did not apply to my grade level.
DeleteI think my school corporation tries very hard to make sure it's fitting for the audience by having grade level meetings and individual school meetings and meetings for Title One schools separate from schools that are not. Of course, we do have some meetings that are a big mix, and we see a lot of issues within that (more having to do with differences in materials because of SES between the schools than anything else), but overall my school tries to help us out by keeping the meetings homogenous.
DeleteI believe that for professional development to be positive and beneficial it must be something that teachers need, something that is proven and something that can be easily worked into a teacher's schedule. At my school we have had voluntary professional development each summer. It is usually a half day and we do get a small compensation for our time. The sessions are usually well attended and concentrate on new curriculum or materials. This year we started doing peer observations. Each teacher went and observed 6 other teachers in their grade level during guided reading, math, phonics, and writing time. Our rooms were covered for the half hour that we were out observing and we all learned so much from each other. I found it to be very beneficial. Our observations were planned and we usually observed with one other teacher, the principal and the literacy coordinator. We have built in collaboration time each week for 1 hour and we share lessons, discuss interventions and help each other to do our best. We also had a half day session on guided reading instruction that focused on what we saw during our observations and what we were doing right and what we need to do better. I feel that professional development happens every day. We are all professionals and can learn from each other. An occasional presenter or half day professional development is needed, but we don't need to have professional development just to have it. It must have a specific purpose and be something that teachers feel is valuable enough to use in their classroom.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love how collaborative and open your staff is with this. I would love the opportunity to go into other teacher's classrooms and see how they do small groups, mini-lessons, etc. This opens up so much room for converstation and reflection on what you're doing. I wish that more schools would see the importance of focusing on what you're doing now and then add on, rather than work backwards.
DeleteThis was a great blog, so many great responses. What I think first and foremost is being willing to change, change with the times and change to better ourselves as educators and we need to be agents of change as well. What I feel this means, is we can't just show up and expect things to get done, we have to put time and energy and some elbow grease in to this change. There are going to be pitfalls, there are going to be pessimists, and there are going to be those who don't care, however, we have to stand up and make little steps of change within our grade levels, buildings, depts. and maybe our district to truly begin to see how we can make a difference in the long run. Attending workshops, making the time to share what we've learned with others, taking a leadership role within your building to present what you've learned is so important. Also, having a passion and showing that passion to your teammates and students. I find when I am excited my students are excited. When I show confidence,they show confidence. We make life long learners by being positive, being role models and presenting them with a vast amount of learning tools to go out and be the next agents of change....I could go on forever...Great topic...
ReplyDeleteGreat point regarding being open to change. All the professional development in the world won't help if you aren't flexible and open to new ideas.
DeleteA positive professional development experience begins with the participant’s reason for attending. A teacher’s desire to acquire more skills greatly impacts how much he/she gets out of the experience. Since presenters cannot guarantee that every participant has that same drive to understand more, (or to know more about the topic being presented), a presentation must persuade as well as inform. In addition to a dynamic presentation with convincing information, professional development should apply to the teacher’s position, goals, and instruction. Throughout my Master’s courses, I have taken away a great deal of information. However, the courses that directly related to my students and to my own instructional abilities provided the most benefit. In addition to learning new information, a professional development should enable teachers to apply the information into beneficial resources that can directly move their students forward. Without application, the PD becomes a routine task of sitting and listening, then of leaving and forgetting.
ReplyDeleteThe pd and Masters classes that have helped the most have been the ones that I could instantly apply in my classroom and see change. I took a class in the fall on writing instruction. This was a huge pitfall with my students, and just learning how to engage them in writing changed how they write so much! I was very thankful for this opportunity. I told my principal how much the textbook for the class benefited me and asked him if we could use it for our staff book study next year, and he said that he would think about it, but that at any time that I wanted to lead a pd course over what I learned, I was more than welcome. I never took advantage of that opportunity, but have shared with many of my colleagues what I learned and it has changed their methods of teaching writing too.
DeleteA positive and beneficial professional development experience I believe must be motivatational enough so that the teacher is enthused to learn it and practice it within the classroom right away. Most teachers are lifelong learners themselves and constantly assessing what and how they teach the needed core standards in their classroom. I know that I personally what to be enthusiastic because that carries over in my instruction and the children feel it. The best ones are the workshops that give you the materials and tools that you can take into the classroom the next day and start to do right away. It is by doing this that it stays fresh and doesn’t get retired to the workshops that I have attended file. I have just attended one such multilayered workshop and the manuals are easy to refer back to, the DVD is a visual helper if needed, and there were materials to be purchased by the presenter at the end of the workshop. If I wish to go to a refresher workshop that is available also after I have tried to implement it. Most of the professional development presentations I have attended haven’t given me with the components mentioned in the text, which is unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, I agree with you. If I am fired up, it stays fresh with me, I try it, tweek it and make it a "common" part of my classroom regime...
DeleteThe most important aspect of a positive and beneficial professional development experience is relevant, meaningful topics that promote student achievement. We started as teachers with student success as our ultimate goal; professional development gives us the opportunity to learn and try new things which keeps us current. One of the things I love the most about my district is professional development. I have been kept abreast of the latest, most effective best practices. All of the things that I have learned seem to be reinforced by what I’m learning with my Master’s classes. Teachers learn much like students; they want to be engaged and be able to apply their new knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If you are not inspired and equipped to implement something the very next day, then chances are you won't take the time to prepare the materials at a later date. Just the daily tasks in teaching can put new ideas to the back burner because it requires you to put more TIME into something else. Professional development has to recognize the amount of time it takes ti begin something new and offer easy suggestions for getting started.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with everyone that Professional Development needs to be meaningful and applicable. Our school corporation is very good about not asking us to do something without the PD to help us accomplish the tasks. I have to say that my Master's classes have been more relevant than I thought they might be. In my case I feel this is due to the talk from other teachers in my building who have undergone the graduate class experience. I also feel that the professional has a lot to do with the experience and if it is a positive one or not. I try hard to go into each class, seminar, meeting, etc. with an open, can do attitude. Professionals should be able to figure out what they can take and use from their experiences.
ReplyDeleteWe ask our kids to make connections to improve comprehension, if teachers see how what they are learning connects to their background knowledge, it would be good. Excellent point
DeleteI totally agree with you in saying that "the professional has a lot to do with the experience and if it is a positive one or not." There are so many times when we go to these meetings and there is so much complaining done, that nothing ever gets done. (Side story: We had to go to these Common Core meetings this year every month of the first semester, and some teachers had to go every month of the year. When we got there, the presenter told us to get in groups by grade level, which separated us from our team from our buildings, and "get to work." He never explained what "get to work" entailed, and just told us to sort through the documents online and that it was going to be a lot of work. We were so frustrated because the documents we would pull up one month would be gone the next and new ones would be in their place, so nothing from the previous meeting carried over, and we never knew if we were on the right track. At about meeting 2 or 3, teachers complained the whole time about everything else under the sun and got absolutely nothing done. We complained so much that half way through, our principal told us we didn't have to go if it was more valuable to spend the time with our students and not pay for a sub. I don't feel like I missed anything at all by skipping out on the second semester pd meetings for Common Core, but maybe if the attitude of the room was better, or if we had clearer direction, I would've gotten more out of it.) Sad, sad, sad.
DeleteOur school district has chosen to adjust our contract hours so we can have professional development after school once a week. Teachers don't enjoy it because they know every Tuesday is late. As the coach, I am responsible for doing some of the workshops along with district expectations...info on common core, district and state mandates, etc. I think something that would be beneficial for everyone is if they had choice and differentiation. Not all teachers need the same information when it comes to classroom instruction, so if they could have sessions differentiated, they would probably get more out of it. I think something else the staff needs is time to process, workshops last till 430, it would be nice if we could finish 15-40 minutes early to give th,e time to process and think about application. I think we are fortunate that we get time together each week, but feel it could be better than what it is.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense professional development should be differentiated just like a regular classroom. Great idea. Why haven't more schools or administrators picked up on this idea? We too have PD once a week, at the end of our school day. I think setting time aside for PD is great, but once again at the end of the day I feel exhausted and my brain is fried. I would love to have PD early in the day on a Monday or Tuesday so I am not so exhausted and mentally fatigued.
DeleteBrynn,
DeleteI have to be honest - I wouldn't want to stay late no matter the topic. Do you have PD at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, or end of the year too?
Unfortunately, I think all of us have left professional development meetings and thought, "That was a waste of time," or "How on earth can I implement that with the students/time/resources that I have or don't have?!" I think for a professional development session to be beneficial, teachers should be able to walk away with something they didn't know before, or a new way of going about something. They should also be able to apply it to their students. It shouldn't be something that seems to be a task too large to tackle, because it seems like we go to far too many pd meetings in which we never put the things learned into practice because it takes too much time. It should be something that other people from your school can experience with you so that you can be held accountable. It should be something that is beneficial to teachers and students alike.
ReplyDeleteI believe what makes for a positive and beneficial professional development experience is one that you walk away with knowledge that you can use in your classroom. The professional development needs to be something useful and beneficial to both teacher and student. Professional development for many teachers is our own “classroom” where we can grow and learn. It is important for teachers to continue to expand their knowledge of new findings and educational experiences. I have had the opportunity to attend several professional developments and some that were even motivational. The motivational professional developments are ones that I highly recommend to help kick start your teacher attitude and fire you up for a great year of teaching.
ReplyDeletePamela,
DeleteI agree professional development is really most useful when you can "you walk away with knowledge that you can use in your classroom". Many times I think my administrators get caught up in educational fads that are applicable to a small fraction of student populations. As a result we end up with PD which is of little to no help in our school system or classrooms.
In my opinion the success of professional development lies greatly on the presenter. A good presenter needs to possess the same qualities that would be expected of any good teacher: knowledgeable on the material, knows the needs of the students, has all the materials necessary to promote learning, can focus on the positives to gain trust, and can make learning enjoyable. The presenters I have enjoyed the most are experts on the subject matter, have given handouts and real life examples to keep us engaged, and included humor in the presentation.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree. Being a master of content in no way makes for a good teacher or presenter. I also believe real world examples help tremendously keeping me engaged.
DeleteFrom my personal experiences and knowledge about professional development gained after reading chapter 11 positive and beneficial professional development experiences have these three things in common that make it meaningful for teachers: the workshop is aligned with the school's vision for improving instruction and isn't feeding off just the latest fad techniques, comes from a needs assessment based on teacher surveys and/or data results, and is grounded in evidence-based best practice. I think it's important to identify areas of need and where the school's current vision needs to have PD experiences tailored to meet them. I have felt in the past that there were way too many isolated PD presentations and nothing really synched together. This often left teachers feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. After my school finally narrowed its focus and where they wanted to grow, I then began to feel that the PD experiences were much more meaningful and were easy to implement and focus on right away.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's important to look at how we are engaged during the PD experience. I thought the quote on pg. 220 of our text spoke directly to this and highlighted something important that we should consider. Ann Lieberman stated that, "What everyone appears to want for students-a wide array of learning opportunities that engage students in experiencing, creating, and solving real problems, using their own experiences, and working with others-is for some reason denied to teachers when they are learners." Walking teachers through the PD through collaborative discussions and hands on activities will be much more well-received and more likely to make an immediate impact than simply disseminating information through powerpoints and bulleted handouts.
Good point about the PD being engaging and applicable. Have you been to a Pat Smeckens workshop? She speaks and teaches on writing (six traits) and reading. She keeps things interesting and you are supplied with sticky notes, highlighters, sometimes you are asked to bring lesson ideas to share, you turn and talk or pair share, and she often hands out little helpful teacher gadgets for hands on activities. She is high energy and her ideas are immediately applicable.
DeleteI have been to several of her workshops and have been "smekenized" as she calls it. I use 6-traits and have had great success with it. I am often high-energy myself, so I could relate to her very well. Plus, I love using sticky notes.
DeleteNo unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to attend a Smeckens workshop. I have heard great things. I have been following the Lucy Calkins method of W.W. It's interesting...I recently moved back to Indiana and have been through the process of interviewing this past couple of weeks with different districts. They all have their best fit model for teaching writing. One district swore by the 6+1 and has tons of PD and only supports this one model, while the district that I accepted a position with doesn't have one structured program that they follow it's kind of a hodge podge of evidence based practices. The district said that they in the past used the 6+1 and have since moved away from it. It's so interesting based on where you teach what PD experiences you might have and the reasonings behind it. I've moved a ton and have had to learn the new way of teaching reading/writing, but I try and look at it as a positive because I can form my own opinion and incorporate things that I liked and worked well for my students into any curriculum. It sounds like the Smekens workshops would be a great one to be a part of.
DeleteI too looooooooove stickies and my kiddos do too!
I think a positive professional development is one where we have the opportunity to learn from someone who has a positive message to instill. We had a speaker in my first year who was unbelievable to listen to speak. He was energetic and made great points, but the core message was to be positive.
ReplyDeleteI know we have to have development that keeps us up to date on what is going on with standard changes and things like that, but often for me in those meeting I have found that if there is new tests to be created then there is three or four of us doing all the work and the rest sit around and complain about the change instead of moving forward and doing what needs to be done. These kinds of development leave the few workers annoyed with the other members of the grade level team. Also I think that people need to be willing to do more of the foot work themselves so that we don't have to take time during professional days to go through the changes, we should already be aware of them!
Also I did host a meeting with the teachers at the end of the year to tell them about Class Dojo. If you don't know what it is yet take a look online at www.classdojo.com it is a wonderful behavioral tool and it is easy to use! If you have any questions about it my e-mail is mmbarker@bsu.edu I will help in any way I can!!!
DeleteA positive professional development experience is one that includes information and resources that will prove useful for either developing instruction or engaging students. I also prefer professional development that is conducted in a concise way. Dragging a session on or reading material aloud to the participants (when we are capable of that ourselves)can be quite boring. I also enjoy professional development experiences that actively involve the participants. My favorite PD this school year involved the new science curriculum. Participants basically became the students, experiencing the actual lessons we would be teaching (only in a speedy-quick/fast-forward way). This helped me to devise ways to best instruct my students.
ReplyDeleteI think professional development is a way for teachers to learn about new ideas and gain more resources to help in the classroom. For myself, the information needs to be something that will be useful to me and it also needs to be engaging otherwise I lose interest fast. I've sat in many professional development meetings where I have taken information away and used it in my own classroom and I've sat in other meetings with information that wasn't made clear so it was frustrating or it was something that I didn't learn anything about. We have early dismissal every Wednesday afternoon to allow for professional development. For the most part, most of the meetings have been very beneficial but there are some where I walked away with nothing. I think we can all agree that professional development is good if we can walk away with something useful that we can use.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in the readings, I think the thing that really makes pd powerful and useful is having something that doesn't feel forced on the teachers and that they can use in their own classrooms. A lot of times when my school district does some sort of pd, it is to push a program that they have decided we're using whether or not we want to. I find that these are the meetings where people leave grumpy and determined to not find anything that was said useful. We have to believe in what we are getting and believe it will make a positive impact on our teaching and the kids.
ReplyDeleteKelly,
DeleteYou are right! Whenever anything is forced upon us, We tend to balk at it ... I find my mind wandering during PD like this. I listen, but I also doodle, grade papers, write notes about future lesson plans, etc.
A positive and beneficial professional development experience involves useful information that the teacher will be able to walk away with and put to use in his/her classroom. If the information being presented is not of interest to the teacher then the teacher will not gain information to help his/her students be successful. For me, the best type of professional development is when I can be involved in the presentation. I like when the presenter gives ideas and information that I can apply in my classroom. I have been to some meetings that were not beneficial because the presenter lectures on topics that I am not interested in or the information is not presented in a way that is not motivating. Like when teaching students, the lesson or presentation being presented must be motivating and of interest of the audience.
ReplyDeleteAs a substitute teacher I have not been a part of PDP, but I did attend some workshops in college and was able to relate to what the text talked about in terms of the "go-getter" presentations that motivate but don't really go beyond presenting a new idea and not really educating the teachers. I think after reading the chapters that a positive and beneficial professional development experience would as the book states, be multidimensional. Just like children need differentiated instruction to learn, so do adults and the PDP needs to be systematic and have specific shared goals that are the main focus. Its also important to make everyone feel like they share some type of ownership in this PDP. Even if they have a small role, it will create a learning atmosphere where all of the faculty, staff, and administration are working collaboratively to see their school goals succeed. Something as simple as asking each teacher what concerns they may have about the goal they are trying to reach and addressing those concerns and providing the teachers with the resources they need. Also as the text says to have provide self assessment tools so that the teachers know where they are, how far they have come, and what they need to do next. Also, getting the administrators involved, in such things as classroom observations and helping the teachers figure out their goals, is a huge piece that will motivate and let the teachers know that their leader is supporting them when they are experiencing the PDP. Good relationships need to be established with the schools, so that everyone is on the same page and the presenter of the PDP knows exactly what the needs of the teachers are and the goals which are pertinent to the change.
ReplyDeleteI think that ongoing professional development has the potential to be extremely beneficial for a staff. This past year, each elementary school classroom received a Mimio. A woman from central office became our "Mimio expert" and came to our school 2 or 3 times throughout the year for staff training. She also spent time in each classroom, working with students and teachers. I think the potential here was excellent. However, most of the things she was showing us during staff meetings and in my classroom were things I'd already been implementing. I really appreciated her effort and think a lot of her as a person, but I couldn't help but see it as "wasted instruction time." I think she had a lot to offer, but in an ideal situation, it would have been great if her tips and advice could have been a bit more differentiated to meet my class's needs. The potential was there though! She did a nice job having staff meetings and then took time to pay attention to each individual teacher. I also appreciate professional development sessions during which we are given a task (i.e. our principal asking us to analyze data) and then time to work and ask questions along the way. The quote from page 244 fits our principal to a tee, and I think needs to be the basis for professional development - "Smart leaders start with a shared goal. They understand that what impels a person to change is the desire to find a better way to reach a goal he or she already embraces." Professional development is so much more beneficial when it is based upon a goal that the staff is working towards.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the most beneficial PD is that in which I have a few really great ideas that I can take to my classroom the very next day and try out. I love leaving meetings feeling upbeat and excited about adding new tools to the ones I already use in the classroom. I have found that I really love PD meetings that focus at specific grade levels. It seems that everyone is more willing to share and the ideas that are given are relative and beneficial to everyone in the room. I have also found that the best PD has presenters who are not afraid to laugh while staying on topic. I have found that the real life stories or the videos of a teacher in practice really help me.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately our school has also had to cut all outside PD and most in house PD. It is very sad. At this time when it seems like we could all use a little help at working together and working smarter not harder it is essential that we are provided with times and opportunities to do this. When the ability to use half days was taken away, it really hurt our building and our corporation.
I feel the same way about Professional Development. I am sorry that your school cut all outside PD. Our school is cutting back now due to funds, but we are still allowed to go if we are willing to pass along the information to our staff (we usually do that anyway). We also have to explain HOW the PD will enhance the learning experience for our students.
DeleteI think a positive and beneficial professional development experience comes from several aspects. First, I think the administrator who schedules the PD should take into consideration the needs and vision of the school. Asking the staff about their interests for PD would go a long way in getting teachers on board with PD. Engaging presentations and active learning activities also help motivate teachers to fully take part in the PD. On-going PD seems to be more meaningful (in my experience) because the staff can build upon prior knowledge, go back and reflect upon the learning, and then come to the next PD with more insights or questions. I would love to have study groups as the book mentioned, but I don't know how well they would work in our very small school. This past year we implemented PLCs and took part in our 2nd year of late school day starts on Wednesday mornings in order to make time for PD. While I enjoy the time to learn from my colleagues, I sometimes feel that the PD topics could be better suited for our staff. But that is probably because we have never been able to give our opinions about what should be included in our PD. Our assistant superintendent schedules most of the PD for the corporation.
ReplyDeleteDanielle,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the administrators should take staff needs into consideration. Our spring in-service (middle schools and high school combined at our school) this year was hosted by teachers in our corporation. We signed up for four 90 minute sessions. We were able to see the topics and choose for ourselves (NWEA, PBL, Virtual Museum, Brain-Based Research, RTI, Stress Management, CPR, etc.). It was a HUGE success! Lunch was paid for by a sponsor (Jimmy John's) - so all in all, the day cost the corporation literally nothing, and everyone walked away with information they wanted.
That sounds wonderful! What a great idea! I know my colleagues have so many great ideas and that would be the perfect platform for them to share their ideas! Maybe I will bring this up at our next union discussion meeting with our asst superintendent!
DeleteWhen I'm looking into professional development, I like to find things that are useful to me. If it is something obscure that I don't think is useful, I have a hard time getting into it enough to take something valuable from it. If it is relevant and grade appropriate, I begin to see it's usefulness and then I can engage.
ReplyDeleteLength of time also helps create a good experience. It's not that I want to be in and out and done quickly but even teachers have a limited attention span to some point! I've been through trainings that probably had a lot to offer but because they were sooooo long, I lost interest in the topic.
Interaction helps the experience too. I like when there is audience participation or collaboration throughout the workshop. It helps me be accountable for the things being presented and its a little break from just sitting and listening.
The biggest thing I took from creating a professional development workshop is to remember to attend to all your types of people: the professors, the scientists, the inventors, and the friends. You should have a clear opening, state your goals, and have an agenda for what is being discussed. Your presentation should include humor and activities as well as the content you are conveying. Lastly, your wrap-up should restate your objective for the day and you should provide an evaluation for the audience to complete to analyze your performance as an instructor. My personal favorite part of these workshops is the candy, refreshments, and the opportunities to share and participate in what we are doing.
ReplyDelete