I start every school year feeling like I can change the world, one student at a time. I really do. Going back to school after summer break is easy because I truly believe in the power of education. Education is the key for social justice. Education is the great equalizer. I love teaching and the joy of each day's adventure. However, ask me if I love my job around testing season (February-April), and I'm sure the response won't be pretty. Except for this year. This year was different than the others.
Our school was awarded a grant that has given us professional development opportunities that we could only dream of before this year. In the past year, I talked about argumentative writing strategies with Kelly Gallagher, learned ways to engage kids in a rigorous text from Kylene Beers and Bob Probst, discussed goal and technique charts with Lucy Calkins, came up with academic vocabulary lessons (and triggers!) with Kristina Smekens, and laughed at school day shenanigans with Gerry Brooks (twice!). Not only did I get to hear them speak, but each opportunity kind of rekindled that back-to-school eagerness that starts to smolder around the third quarter of school.
That's what good professional development does for a teacher. It empowers, encourages, and engages teachers for the work ahead. This doesn't happen easily, though. Want to make sure your PD is one teachers love? Here are the 3 things teachers want from PD:
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| All the materials I received at the Smekens Literacy Retreat |
Lessons that are ready to use
There are times to talk theory and there are times to talk strategies. A good PD talks strategies immediately. My favorite thing about the PDs I've attended this year is that each one gave me strategies I could immediately use in my classroom with very little prep. For example, after an entire session on tangible triggers for lessons, Kristina Smekens then gave every teacher those triggers, including a card to explain how to implement the trigger in the lesson.
Opportunities to collaborate
When I hear a great idea, my first instinct is to turn to my colleague and say something like, "We could totally use it for..." and then they will usually explain how they were thinking we could use it. I give my kids time to talk to each other to make sense of what we're doing in class, and I want the same from a PD. I need that time to collaborate with my colleagues and bounce ideas off of each other. Kylene Beers and Bob Probst did a great job of providing that "turn and talk" time during their sessions at the National Reading Recovery Conference in January. Like they mentioned, "The smartest person in the room...is the room." I'm an okay teacher, but the opportunity to discuss new things with my colleagues makes me a much better teacher!
Humor
Teaching is a stressful job. Any opportunity we get to laugh at the ridiculously funny things that happen during our day makes that job a little easier, and a good presenter recognizes that. Gerry Brooks is phenomenal at this. Brooks engages the audience by getting us to laugh at the absurd-to-any-other-profession events that happen in our day, and then uses those events to teach us valuable lessons, like unwritten teacher-code when talking to parents and then teaching how to effectively communicate with parents.
Professional Development not only teaches new strategies, but when well-executed, it also gives much needed inspiration. Be sure to leave your favorite PDs in the comments!
Love and Sparkle,
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