As the school year begins, leaders across the country are working hard to equip their staff with the necessary skills and tools to serve students. Many districts have been given additional time at the beginning of the year for staff professional development. What a gift.
In planning and preparing for this gift of time, keep in mind these simple tips. They will help you maximize the time while ensuring transfer and impact.
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Every professional development session should begin with a welcome, agenda overview, and intended outcomes. Participants need clarity in what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it will impact their work.
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Connections matter. Take a few minutes to connect with one another. Not as professionals, but as people. We are, in fact, more than professionals and what is going on around us does matter.
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Two to Three Big Ideas – Less is More: It’s not about coverage, it’s about learning. Take a step back and analyze your list of “topics”. What’s most important right now? Keep narrowing that list until you have 2-3 big ideas which will ultimately become part of your overarching goal.
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Practice, practice, practice: With every new “topic” introduced, staff must be given time to practice. Consider blocking off time during the professional development session to practice what was just learned. If you don’t, that new topic might just stay in the professional development session and never have impact.
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Reflect and Plan: The most important part. The part that will guarantee impact. The part that will empower teachers and students. Every professional development session needs to have time built in to answer these two questions:
• How will what I learned today impact me tomorrow?
• What’s my plan to turn these ideas into action?
In our minds, professional development is much more than simply taking in new information. It’s about applying that new information to equip and empower staff and ultimately every student – every day.
