Practice What We Preach
Administrators – What does professional learning mean to you? Teachers – What does professional learning mean to you? If each group answers those questions differently, then professional learning needs a transformation. The princiPALS need to look at the princiPLES of effective professional learning. Most professional learning is ineffective because teachers don’t learn from information transfer in a “sit and get” environment (Daniels, 2013). Daniels (2013) spoke of teachers at three different levels that needed to get different things out of their professional learning. If we differentiate for students, why don’t we differentiate for teachers? Educators have to teach to state standards, so professional learning should be grounded in standards for professional learning to ensure that educators are meeting expectations. Essentially, educators need to be taught the way they teach – differentiated, with active engagement and support, and standards-based.
References:
Daniels, Kristin. (2013, November 6). Empowering the teacher technophobe [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=puiNcIFJTCU
Gulamhussein, A. (n.d.). Teaching the teachers: Effective professional development in an era of high stakes accountability (Rep.). Center for Public Education.
