The Secret to Successful PD:
4 Tips to Personalize YOUR Learning
Professional Development (PD) is not something done to us. PD should be personalized and perpetual. The power of your learning is NOT in a presenter’s hands; it’s in a new paradigm.
For too long we've settled for PD branding irons! We show
up at state, district and site PD meetings hoping that the time is valuable and
responsive to our needs. We receive the
information and mosey back to our schools intent on changing the world in
isolation. It’s time to step away from
the branding iron!
4 Tips to Personalizing your Learning:
1. Get connected.
Build your PLN. Twitter is a fantastic
start. Believe it or not, there are some
amazingly talented and generous "sharers" outside your district,
state and country's borders! Tap into
this potential and your students will benefit.
2. Own your learning.
Start by identifying one or two areas you want to grow in and pursue
those relentlessly. Engage your
colleagues, administration, state associations, and workshop organizers. Tell them what you need. Challenge them to support your learning in a
digitally connected age. Challenge yourself to add a “digital leadership lens”
to your repertoire.
3. Share. Teachers are some of the most humble people I
know. They do amazing things in their
classrooms every day (believe me...I see it first-hand). We need to move towards an ethos of sharing, whereas
we are celebrating the unique talents and innovative practices of the teachers
in our buildings. For the benefit of
students everywhere we need to invest in a culture of collaboration!
4. Stay connected. Don't let the initial weirdness of Twitter
scare you away. It's lonely at
first. When you look at your initial “follower
count” don’t be fooled. That’s just a
number…the power is in the connections and conversations held outside 140
characters. Try commenting on blogs, conversing
via Voxer, or tuning into educational Podcasts.
Sign-up and start a professional Twitter account today, and make it a
daily habit to read one blog, comment to a colleague, and share one
idea/resource online each week. Twitter is a phenomenal springboard to collegial connections.
Over time you will build a super-charged PLN that
revitalizes your practice and directly benefits kids. A 21st century pedagogy will
require educators to think in new ways.
I was recently reminded of a quote that really resonated:
“If
you think change is hard…you will like the feeling of irrelevance even less.”
Your PD tattoo awaits.
Seek it with passion and persistence!
Make learning personal.
Photo Credits:
Howlingduckranch.wordpress.com
Swindontowncentre.co.uk
So important that we choose our own brand! Having choices in what we need and what we get is critical. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI like the notion that we have personalized PD choices 24/7. As connected-educators, our PLN is our living, breathing, dynamic "workshop." Never stop learning!
ReplyDeleteYou are beating the right drum! Just look at the EdCamp movement...and that's what it is at this point. It's a full-on movement creating PD experiences that based on choice by and for those who show up. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff. I've signed up to attend my first two EdCamps in the next few months...I can't wait to see what the buzz is about! "Choice & Voice" is such a powerful concept; even for adult learners.
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