I have long been a David Letterman fan on any of the shows he has hosted. Over the years one of my favorite Letterman bits has been when he and Paul Shaffer would discuss the possible ability of a specific item to float in water. After their predictions the item would be tossed into a giant, transparent vat of water to determine who was correct. The results were apparent and immediate.
Professional Development has long been an element in American education. At one time things changed slowly so that the need for development seemed less a concern. The country’s shift to being a technology-driven society has increased the rate of change, forcing a need for a more rapid rate of absorption of developments for people in all jobs and professions, but especially education.
The difficulty in education is its goal; it is not just to educate kids about their past and how it relates to the present, but also what to expect in the future. Of course we have no idea what the future holds, because the present is moving so quickly. Consider for a moment the effect of Smartphones and iPads on our culture. iPad technology is but three years old and has had a profound effect on those places that have embraced it. Smartphones have been around a little longer and have taken longer to be accepted by educators, but they are creeping successfully into the system after changing forever how the country communicates and accesses information. All of the technology and its effects have had a great influence on how kids learn and are motivated to learn, as well as what it is they are learning for. In many cases teachers have no idea what they are preparing their students for because their students’ future will be different from our present, and light years from our past. These are all reasons for educators to be relevant in terms of what is needed to teach as well as how to teach today.
The question is: does the system address the need for relevance in education? Many systems require teachers to acquire a specific number of PD hours over a period of time by selecting and taking courses or workshops on topics pertaining to education. These choices are left to the individual teacher to select and obtain. Of course some obvious questions pop up here. If the teacher is not comfortable with technology will technology be part of that teacher’s training. If a teacher has not kept up with current trends and research in education, how will he/she make choices that will best benefit his/her students? Is the teacher versed well enough in technology to relate to the technological changes that effect our population? It always comes down to relevance. Is the teacher able to make relevant decisions based on experience in a technologically driven culture?
Rather than try to hold millions of teachers accountable for these questions, a better method might be to look to the districts and the education leaders. Are they maintaining relevance? Are they providing professional development to their staffs to maintain relevance? Are they supporting teachers with time to collaborate in order to incorporate what they should be doing. Have they gotten beyond the keynote lecture and hourly workshops once, or twice a year as their total commitment to teacher training?
Most educators consider Professional Development a key component to what they need to be an effective teacher. Most Administrators point to Professional Development as a key component to what their teachers need to be effective teachers. Most districts point to Professional Development as the key component to what their district needs to be an effective district. Yet after all of this, TEST Preparation and not Teacher Preparation is still the priority in American education.
Professional Development must be part of a teacher’s workweek. It must be prioritized, paid for, and most importantly PROVIDED. We should not expect anyone to take an uncomfortable path down into unfamiliar territory without some sort of guidance or leadership. It cannot be left up to people who may not know what it is that they do not know to decide on what they need to be effective.
A lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client, and physician heal thy self are commonly understood. Maybe we need a phrase for educators trying to educate themselves? The system of PD in most American schools has become another victim of a fast paced technology driven culture. It no longer works as it did. If we do not change and adapt to meet the changes in our culture, we will surely be irrelevant as an institution. Now here is my question: PD in its present form; Will it Float?
Very powerful post. I really connected with what you wrote. I worry about the PD not meeting the needs of teachers. We are responsible for so much and it is vital that we become transparent not only with our students, but as thinkers. PD is vital and important. As a teacher I would love to see it more embedded too in my day to week practice. Mentoring and maybe co teaching are ways that could be examined. Your post has me thinking!!
“Meeting the needs of the teacher” can be a dangerous line of thought though. First, PD for the teacher should ultimately come back to the needs of the students. Second, teachers too often don’t know what they “need” only what they “want.”
Your post is spot on, true engagement in learning is not about “PD” it is about engaging with learning as a choice and sharing your findings as a choice not for extrinsic reward. Then and only then should we call ourselves teachers!
This is poignant…makes me think of my recent post http://iplantes.com/2013/03/24/the-new-face-of-professional-development/
PD is no longer the top down model for success. Rather with tools like Twitter, Blogs, and Edcamps, PD is in the hands of each educator to explore without cost, on a continuous basis, and structured to fit needs and interests. Old PD needs to sink to fit the 21st Century world of education.
Could I possibly quote you for a presentation I’m giving for a local conference? I’m presenting about using social media for PD in the field of education.
Certainly you may!
Very timely Tom as we are conducting our school reviews…the rubric by which we judge the schools requires we provide substantial relevant PD. We have begun to make sure this happens often and part of that is to provide lots of time for vertical and horizontal collaboration. Our schools craft their improvement plans and part of the plan is to tell us what PD they need. It is a great model that is finally working if we can keep to it…sometimes we have that top down decision from the district office that impedes this model…it ultimately fails and we go back to what works…now e just need to keep to it.
You have verbalized what I have been thinking for quite awhile. In fact, this is the direction my dissertation proposal is taking. It’s not just about offering professional development but about having strong leaders who understand and can meet the needs of teachers at all levels.
As a new administrator, I’ve been struggling with the idea that Professional Development means workshops and classes. First, I’m trying to develop the understanding that, when we have meetings to understand and implement UbD, that is professional development. Second, teachers can learn as much if not more from a shared book club experience.
The book club idea is not about being cheap – it’s about taking the time to dig deeper into a topic. A day-long workshop is day-long. A teacher can get ideas and will most likely run with a few of them. A book club can allow teachers to collaborate on implementation and (hopefully) implement more long-lasting change.
We’ll see how this goes. Teacher have said they want more information on how to teach their second language students. I’ve ordered some highly-rated books on teaching second language and will use sub-school meeting time to discuss various chapters or give share time so that teacher can see what other teachers are doing.
Has anyone else tried this approach? How has it worked?
I’m wishing I could get my admin interested in blog studies: http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/3745 This sounds interesting. I’ve decided to start reading (and creating) blog posts from a variety of teachers, experts, and admin. Check out the link above for 6 Reasons Why You Should Do a Blog Study.
Funny you say that. I’m starting to collect ELL blog titles to supplement the book study on ELL in the classroom.
So much great talent in the blogosphere.
We have been working very hard at KIS to develop a culture of learning and sharing. Teachers need to feel supported, because support communicates care; it demonstrates that the institution (school) values teachers. We have been using EdTech training room to push our technology integration forward, but we also support teachers by co-planning and co-teaching lessons. We are trusted mentors, but we also learn from the other teachers. When this type of environment exists, teachers feel willing to try new ideas and grow as learners and teachers.
One of the biggest frustrations in my current position is that PD is not taken seriously. Definitely not paid for, and not near enough time devoted to it. I’m hoping this will change very soon, but for the time being I must make the most of the PD I can find on my own. I thank the Lord for Twitter…!
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Reblogged this on that MADDENing teacher and commented:
Will today’s PD float?
Tom, I love this post. I am sharing it with my staff today. It really resonates with some of the conversations we are starting to have. Basically, how do we make Pro D meaningful? How do we make it a part of our regular practice. It is difficult, but re-thinking long held assumptions and models is a great place to start. Thanks for sharing.
Tom,
In reading the comments, it appears many teachers missed your important point about lawyers representing themselves. About a year ago I started a paper on the efficacy of PLNs – questioning the effectiveness of PD done 140 characters at a time with no follow up assessment. As educators, we know the importance of assessment in closing the loop. Why do we think we can skip it in PD?
The post Tom made after this one questioned whether Twitter was PD or not, concluding that it’s not. https://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/if-twitter-is-not-pd-what-is-it/
I’d tend to agree. For me, Twitter leads to resources and discussions. My PLN allows me to hear different and new perspectives/ideas. The “PD” comes from my reflection on my own practices in light of the discussions and readings, then deciding whether I need to alter my practice and, if so, how.
I’m not certain of your connection between the lawyers/teachers not representing themselves and the notion of assessment. Are you linking the two ideas? Are you saying that teachers can’t assess themselves?
Ultimately, I believe formal PD should be decided through conversation with students, teachers, and admin. I’m not sure where or how assessment plays in. However, teachers (and everyone) should view learning as an ongoing life experience. For teachers, that learning may be PD if it affects their practice. Assessment of that would be up to the individual to determine how things are going and what adjustments need to be made.
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