Engaging Professional Learning

I found a great article on Edutopia that clarifies what great PL looks like. In the article "8 Top Tips for Highly Effective PD." we learn that it mirrors what I've been learning in my class at Lamar University.

What I learned is that the PL must be geared to the student's learning, not the hot trends. Information must be relevant and specific. PL should support the teachers since they'll be the ones to implement it.

This is a radical approach compared to the sit-and-get model where we check a box if someone attended. We should check for learning. Support those that don't understand. Celebrate when people find their learning pit.

Learning isn't over until the learner gives up.

"Here are the the 5 key principle of effective PL:

The duration of professional learning must be significant and ongoing to allow time for teachers to learn a new strategy and grapple with the implementation problem.
There must be ongoing support for a teacher during the implementation stage that addresses the specific challenges of changing classroom practice.
Teachers’ initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but rather should engage teachers through varied approaches so they can participate actively in making sense of a new practice.
Modelling has been found to be highly effective in helping teachers understand a new practice.
The content presented to teachers shouldn’t be generic, but instead specific to the discipline (for middle school and high school teachers) or grade-level (for elementary school teachers)."