What really works for Professional Development?

        Teachers and other educators often participate in Professional Learning or Professional Development opportunities to inspire their thinking and ensure that their instructional strategies are updated with the most recent trends. Professional learning opportunities have recently become more ineffective because they do not adequately improve teachers' instructional strategies nor help meet student learning goals (Gulamhussein, 2013). Often, the professional learning opportunities offered to teachers are not specific to their needs and are not ongoing or engaging enough to be successfully utilized in the classroom. If implemented correctly, the five principles for PL can ultimately help educators shift their focus and mindset of just another box to check off for staff development to ultimately turning it into something that can be more appealing and meaningful to implement in the classroom. Also, familiarizing yourself with the standards is essential to ensure that professional learning opportunities are as effective as possible!

        I want to consider myself a type of teacher amongst the high flyer and the average technology users. I am incredibly familiar with technology and ways to implement it in the classroom, so I consider myself a high flyer, but technology is ever-changing and continually evolving. Youtube is a lifesaver, thank goodness! I am always learning new tips and tricks, which is why I consider myself sometimes on the more average side of the spectrum. The majority of the colleagues on my team are more on the low-tech side of the spectrum. They are not very confident with their skills and second guess everything they do. Often, when I show them new and exciting ways to implement technology in the classroom, they get very overwhelmed and revert to paper resources immediately. I have tried to explain all of the benefits of implementing technology, especially now that my campus is transitioning to virtual learning. I have spent most of this week's staff development days explaining ways to my colleagues' ways to run a "classroom" online.

        I was recently informed in class the other night that many districts spend roughly $18,000 per teacher to attend Professional Development opportunities. My mind was blown! I was curious and asked my administration about where our PL dollars where being spent, and they briefly mentioned that within the last two years, we spent much of our budget on resources to allow our students to have 1 - 1 devices. That has been a saving grace, especially during this time of working remotely and/or virtually with many students transitioning to online learning. Having the opportunity to supply our students with the resources they need to be more successful has been a HUGE blessing. The discussion of PL focused on virtual learning and resources has been significant talk for the future to ensure all teachers are adequality prepared to be successful. Thankfully and very graciously enough, the school district and campus I work for are open to approaches to development that are most beneficial to us as a staff, grade level, or honestly individual but getting the other teachers on board and to "buy-in" to the process is the hard part! My goal is to continue emphasizing the importance of professional learning opportunities as educators is essential and that as on-going learners, we can always benefit from learning what works best with this recent generation!

References:

Gulamhussein, A (2013, Sept.) Teaching the Teachers: Effective Professioal Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from: