As I was watching the video, Empowering the teacher technophobe: Kristin Daniels at TEDx (above), she had us think about our last PD. Literally my last PD was exactly as she described, where the expert came in and taught us all about this great Phonics program and then we were sent off with our notes to do what she said. I can see, and have seen before with previous PDs, how this is NOT the best way of sharing Professional Learning. Most PLs are ineffective because there is a lot of sit and get rather than, as Dr Harapnuik says, go and show learning.
I hope by creating an effective PL and sharing this plan with our principal will help him to see how we can make a change in our district to prepare students for their futures as well as promote change in the way we host other PLs. When hosting PLs you definably need coaching and help with implementation but you need to be careful with the type of coaching you have available or the coaching you will be providing. If you have coaches where if a teacher asked questions or tried something new that may run and "tattle to" the principal rather than working through these ideas with the teacher you may run into trust issues, effecting the outcome of your Professional Learning and of your Innovation Plan. This relationship may not be a safe or trusting relationship so the learning on the teachers end will not be engaging and really lead them to not wanting to share or try new things because of being reported. I think as a coach, it is important to have a trusting relationship. If a teacher is trying something new, they are going to mess up and need to learn from their mistakes, they are going to need to be open about their mistakes and talk them through with a coach, not be afraid to share what is happening in their classroom. It will be important to be there for your teachers and to let them share openly about how things are going, reflecting on their learning and continuing to support them at whatever stage they may be, in order for them to grow and improve their skills. Through our Professional Learning we will have to be models as well as resources to share ideas and for teachers to ask questions. We will need to be team members throughout the PL by learning together. This will help promote an engaged and supportive Professional Learning Community within our schools. When reading Teaching the teachers Effective PD I was shocked to hear that 90% of teachers reported participating in PD but most of those teachers also said the PDs were useless. I have felt like this before with some of my PDs but I did not realize that 90% of teachers also felt this way. This just goes to show that we need to change the way we are teaching teachers, just like we are changing the ways we are teaching our students! Principals of Effective PD:
The numbers:
The Professional Learning Community Model will be very helpful when hosting a PD. While administration may currently be hosting PDs in the “Teacher as a Technician” format, I think it will be our job to model the “Teacher as an Intellectual” format of Professional Learning, not only to show and model a different way of teacher education but also to promote a learning community where the teachers feel involved and part of the learning process. This will promote “buy in” and help teachers to try new things, without being scared, working together to learn and grow their teaching skills. Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Effective professional development in an era of high stakes accountability. National School Boards Association: Center for Public Education, Teaching the Teachers. Harapnuik, D. (2016, Aug 14). EDLD 5388 module 1. [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/1zcOS5OsRR0 [TEDx Talks]. (2013, Nov 6). Empowering the teacher technophobe: Kristin daniels as tedxburnsvilleed. [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/puiNcIFJTCU
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