- Weigh in on Cardona? Better to Weigh in on Connecticut - January 3, 2021
- Still Learning from Kindergarten to Say "Yes" or "No" - October 4, 2019
- Toni Morrison: Spilling over the Corners of Text - August 6, 2019
- Marie Kando Your Classroom - July 24, 2019
- MCAS Whitehead Test Prompt-What Were They Thinking? - May 28, 2019
- If They Are Choosing the Family Car, They Are Going to Want Choice in the Classroom - February 27, 2019
- Teachers Pay Teachers-The Fast Food of Education - February 22, 2019
- Yes, Breaking Up (with a text) is Hard to Do - October 8, 2017
- Copying the Nation’s Founding Documents by Hand - September 24, 2017
- A Comic Book Helped to Inspire the Civil Rights Movement - August 7, 2017
In her commentary "Who's Developing Whom" Flanagan put in clips from a Twitter stream which could represent any number of districts; several years ago, ours probably would have been included:
@BreaktheCurve (Craig Jerald): Never been able to figure out why teachers don't revolt & protest against time-wasting PD
@TeacherBeat (Stephen Sawchuk, of Education Week): I wrote a whole series on this last year. PD terrible, districts don't even know what they spend on it
Flanagan notes that, "There is a dominant mindset that Professional Development (caps intentional) is something delivered to teachers, rather than cultivated by them, as practitioners striving to improve their practice. Professional Development assumes that someone knows better than a teacher."That is a problem that is changing. Blogger Shelly Blake-Plock wrote a post titled "21 Things That Will be Obsolete in 2020" (available Mindshift) in December 2009.
This is actually one that could occur over the next five years. Education Schools have to realize that if they are to remain relevant, they are going to have to demand that 21st century tech integration be modeled by the very professors who are supposed to be preparing our teachers.15. PAID/OUTSOURCED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
No one knows your school as well as you. With the power of a PLN (professional learing networks) in their back pockets, teachers will rise up to replace peripatetic professional development gurus as the source of schoolwide professional development programs. This is already happening."
Google Maps, Macs, Digital Storytelling with StoryBird/Photostory, Edmodo, Screencasting, Livebinders, Photoshop, Fakebook, Photo editing, blogging, Twitter, World Book, Windows Movie Maker, Quia, Quizlet, Apps, Lexia, , Discovery Education, SuccessNet, Kidblog, Skype, Literature Videoconferencing, and Prezi.
Finally, Flanagan asks, "What would happen if teacher development happened internally, entirely site-based and tailored to particular schools and populations? It would require demonstrated, deep teacher expertise in instruction and curricular issues. Which could shift the balance of power. And it would cost very little." She's right; the teachers and administrators with the help of a team of technology specialists in Region 6 have the exercised the power, found the teacher to teacher model a great professional development experience, and received excellent usable training at very minimal cost.
Teachers teaching teachers...the idea is not new and yet many districts haven't quite understood the power of having in-house professional development. I have to tell you that I'm so excited to hear that professional development is being looked at with such a fine lens lately. With dwindling budgets and "wasted" day complaints, having teachers as trainers really makes the most sense. Another element that I'd like to bring to light is the idea of relationships. Teachers learn best from someone they trust and know understands where they are coming from. Often times professional development is led by "experts" who haven't been in a classroom in decades, if ever. Knowing your audience and having a working relationship outside of the PD session is invaluable. Kudos to Region #6 for recognizing that empowering their current teachers to lead professional development is the way to go!