Personalized PD

Professional Development is something that everyone in the business of education knows something about.  There are many schools of thought on the subject.   What I find interesting about PD is that it's not used more often as an opportunity to teach teachers the way we want them to teach.  Too often Pd consists of a large group of people sitting in a room and listening to a lecture.  When this happens teachers are bored.  They often have difficulty seeing the value of what is being presented because it does not apply directly to them - the question of "What's in it for me?" is never answered.  The presenter may be moving to fast or too slow.   Attention spans are exceeded and the words go in one ear and out the other.  We are not supposed to teach our students this way so why do we try to teach teachers this way?

I've spent a lot of time studying instructional coaching, professional development, and learning.  One theme that constantly resounds is that of Individualized and Personalized instruction at the Right Time.  So, how do we move teacher training from mass production to custom made?  I really think that coaching is the way to go.  However, this presents many issues and unanswered questions:  What do we do with in-service days?  How do teachers get their required continuing ed hours?  What criteria do we use to assess learning and determine hours of eligibility for activities, study, or instructional planning?

I attended a STEM presentation by ASSET last week.  It was an informational meeting about their program and a STEM grant that they are offering.  They presented a chart called "Coaching Impact" in which various methods of Professional Development offering were compared.  This chart stated that Presentation of Theory, Modeling, and Practice and Low Risk Feedback result in 5-15% Application and Problem Solving while the Coaching/Study Teams/Peer Visits approach results in 80-90%  Application and Problem Solving.

I don't know the details of the study but I must say, it's the bottom line doesn't surprise me at all.  A hands-on personalized approach provides teachers with relevant challenges, required reflections, and significant motivation for improving learning in the classroom.   It shifts the focus from the theory of the latest greatest idea to application of the latest greatest idea.  It also encourages collaboration as well as personal growth and professional responsibility.

What we need:  Personalized Professional Development Plans for every teacher.  Tell me how to make it work.