It’s a waste of your teachers' time as well as your school's resources to provide inadequate professional development, as what happened to some unfortunate Chicago public school teachers. In a video that’s gone viral, a participant secretly recorded a full 63 seconds demonstrating this district’s take on professional development.
The video shows the teacher-participants parroting back the goals of this particular workshop to the presenter in droning, draining tones. How is reciting back long passages considered professional development? Valerie Strauss, a writer/blogger for the The Washington Post, says it’s not, and this video is indicative of the lack of substantial, useful professional development available for teachers.
What constitutes a poor professional development effort? Avoid programs with the following characteristics.
- Profligate utilization of industry-specific terminology. If the presenter can’t say what he or she is trying to say in plain English, it’s never a good sign.
- Lack of materials and research for participants. If teachers are expected to follow along or agree with the presenter by virtue of his shiny slides or hypnotic voice, that’s a bad sign indeed. Giving out materials in support of the theories being presented is a way to both engage participants and give them the resources they need to judge whether they agree (or disagree!) with the material being taught.
- Teaching below the level of the audience. While this point should be a no-brainer, it serves as a reminder to look beyond the buzzwords and see exactly what information the presenter will be reviewing with your teachers and how that information will be conveyed.
Take time to research the presenter and any materials not only to sidestep faulty professional development, but also to find the program which will benefit your specific school culture. Consider your faculty's goals and aim to schedule presenters who will enrich many of your faculty, say 50-75%.
No matter how good the presenter is, though, he or she must leave your teachers and trust that the techniques and tips shared during the professional development session will be used in class. As Division Head, this is where your role as a support and coach of your faculty will come to bear.
As ISM’s Comprehensive Faculty Development says, it’s not enough to expect teachers to accomplish great things on their own. Professional development will come into its own only through continued support from administrators and guides, who should have their own professional development sessions in learning how to become leaders and teachers of their adult teams.
In our next issue, we’ll examine what makes excellent professional development beneficial for your faculty and your school.
Additional ISM resources:
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 9 No. 7 Remembering Your Own Renewal and Development
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 9 No. 7 Does Your Teacher Evaluation System Include Professional Development?
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 11 No. 4 Team Professional Development Adds Value to Lessons Learned
Private School News Vol. 12 No. 5 Summer of Professional Development
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 27 No. 12 Professional Development and Your Senior Administrative Staff
I&P Vol. 32 No. 8 The Changing Paradigm for Professional Development
I&P Vol. 33 No. 4 ISM’s Standards for Professional Development and Growth
I&P Vol. 33 No. 4 ISM's Standards for Professional Growth and Renewal
I&P Vol. 36 No. 10 Budgeting for Professional Development
