Every year we spend countless hours attending professional development trainings and seminars. Although, the information might be important and I usually do take great ideas back with me, most initiatives or new programs might not be used or implemented correctly or in a timely manner because the professional learning is lacking. According to the Center for Public Education, most professional development today is ineffective. It neither changes teacher practice nor improves student learning (Gulamhussein, 2013). According to Kristin Daniels, most professional learning is just the transfer of information and although the information might be great and teachers get “great ideas” like I usually do, we also need guidance when implementing the new learning (TEDx Talks., 2013).
Research suggests that effective professional development abides by the following principles: the duration must be significant and ongoing, there must be support during the implementation phase, modeling of a new concept is highly effective, among others (Gulamhussein, 2013). Looking back at my own PL, the most effective ones were the ones that were ongoing and were explicitly modeled. For example when our administration was trying to get my coworkers and I to learn the Lead4ward Playlist to implement in class, they not only introduced us to the Playlist and the website, but also modeled new strategies during staff meetings, weekly. Having the strategies modeled weekly, over a longer duration, made it that much easier to feel more comfortable and try new strategies in our own classroom. Kristin Daniels states that when teachers are given the resources and support, they can drive their own learning and ideas. She states that we, the teachers, become stronger, more confident in our abilities, and empowered. With the proper PL, teachers can impact not only students, but also colleagues, districts, and communities (TEDx Talks., 2013). Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an
Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/2013-176_ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf
TEDx Talks. (2013, November 6). Empowering the teacher technophobe: Kristin Daniels at TEDxBurnsvilleED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiNcIFJTCU&feature=youtu.be
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