Love it or hate it鈥攑rofessional development is a routine part of many K-12 teachers鈥� careers.
The perception, value, and overall feeling about these meetings varies from person to person. Many teachers loathe the sessions; the EdWeek Research Center found, as part of our State of Teaching Project, that 48 percent of the declared PD they received was 鈥渋rrelevant.鈥�
EdWeek recently wrote about how one principal set out to change how PD sessions were run in his school. In response to that article, a number of teachers took to social media to say exactly what they liked, disliked, and were pleasantly surprised by when it came to their PD experiences.
The following is a collection of the most popular themes that sprung up from those conversations.
Peer-to-peer development can be invaluable
鈥淸The] best PDs I鈥檝e had [were] from teaching staff sharing their knowledge and strategies. These PDs come from people who are in the classroom and experience the same issues firsthand.鈥�
鈥淚 learned more sitting on a barstool talking shop with my colleagues than I ever learned from a snappily dressed PD presentation by someone who got out of the classroom the second they possibly could.鈥�
鈥淕iven the time, teachers will seek out other teachers to create professional development in their own buildings.鈥�
鈥淢y HS principal, for PD one year, took the whole staff to a bowling alley. One of the few times in 15 years where I got to talk to colleagues.鈥�
鈥淣ormalize staff-led PD! There are many experts [about teaching] on each campus. [It] saves money too!鈥�
Teachers identify many problems with their PD
鈥淚 really want states to figure out how to accept previously earned PD credit when teachers move from out of state. There鈥檚 no reason why one state鈥檚 perfectly acceptable criteria for PD shouldn鈥檛 also be recognized as acceptable by another state.鈥�
鈥� ... I need [collegial] conversation with people who know different things than I do. PD serves that for me. The trouble with PD is it conflicts with all we need to do. That鈥檚 it for me. I enjoy the learning, but there鈥檚 always so much to do.鈥�
鈥淚 wish admin. knew that every year doesn鈥檛 have to be a first year. We can build prior knowledge like we鈥檙e trying to do in the classroom.鈥�
鈥淧D was always teacher-driven unless it was a whole school change (rare), until about 10 years ago 鈥� it needs to go back to how it was 鈥� professionals choosing what was relevant to us!鈥�
Some successful PD ideas, from teachers
鈥淗ere are some of the best PDs in my 35 years as a teacher.
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A bus trip through the school boundaries to see where kids lived which could be followed up with a view of where your individual students reside using [a] feature on Gradebook.
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Pick your own PD. My group went to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.鈥�
