3 Things We Should Stop Doing in Professional Development
by George Couros • • 0 Comments
Spending the last week in Oslo, Norway, with the visionary Ann Michaelsen and other school leaders here, I have really thought about the way that we deliver professional development, and to be honest, some of the practices that either don’t make sense anymore, or we have to rethink. Although this is focused mainly on what we do as adults in our time together, many of these lessons have applications to the classroom.
1. Creating a detailed agenda – As much as I understand that people want to have an idea of where a day is going, too often we focus too much on when we are having lunch, as opposed to getting to know participants and understanding where they are at in their learning. If we are truly to honour the learners in front of us, how can I know where they are going to be at 1pm if I haven’t even met them yet? Listing objectives for the day is one thing, but saying when they will be achieved throughout the day is another. If we are going to differentiate our workshops, let’s quit focusing on a time, and focus more on a person.
2. Scheduling back-to-back-to-back-to-back learning – How many times have you been really interested in two sessions at a conference and found yourself running across a large convention hall to make it from one session to another? With so many people connecting through social media now, the hallway is becoming as valuable a learning space as any large room; some would say more so. The opportunity to connect and talk face-to-face is invaluable, and I believe that this has to be embedded into our days. I was shocked a few years ago when I delivered a workshop to a