Professional Development or PD became a topic of discussion in some shape or form, no matter where I substitute taught.
As with many other professions, teachers are required and expected to develop professionally. This requires a lot of effort from all parties involved in the process. The book addressed what I observed as a substitute taught in two different school districts about PD.
One school district I subbed for had money given to them to use for professional development for their administrators and teachers that had to be used by a certain date. They had a professional speaker come to the schools and district office to present a new teaching strategy. However, the teachers had to take a day off of school (meaning the principles had to find subs to fill in) or go on a specific Saturday and get paid. Needless to say, the teachers were not happy with the way things were handled because they were given short notice and the speaker, from what I heard, was not that impressive. I think the school district would have been better off in this particular situation to have some technology training instead, since “teachers are expected and required to use technology in the classroom.” The teachers at this school appeared to be excited about technology, but had no way of learning about it unless they did it on their own plus the kids did not have access to computers. I hope that will change when they move into their new school this fall.
To be honest, I think this class is a type of PD for me because I wouldn’t have known about these free tools and the Web 2.0 technology. I am enjoying leaning about these so I know the kids will too. Which brings me to say, if we are enthusiastic about what we teach, our students have the possibility of learning more.
In addition, teachers need to be given the opportunity to appropriately learn about this technology and how to make it apart of their classroom environment. Even though, I am sometimes skeptic about trying new things, if it will help me connect with my students, I am willing to try it so long as it’s beneficial to all parties involved. In addition to implement this technology it will be a process and take some time, but we don’t have to do it all at once.
Professional Development involves structure, funding, hard work, and the willingness to try new things on everyone’s part. With a positive attitude and an open mind it is hard to tell what could happen. It should be implemented gradually so that we don’t get overwhelmed and give up too quickly. Professional development is a never ending process and will be a part of our lives forever.
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Becca, I really appreciate how you used examples from where you teach. I think that a lot of schools possibly don't even care that much about PD but just know that it is required so they offer mediocre services that really do no good professionally at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aimee, I think it is great to read yours with the examples of your experience with this!
ReplyDeleteThis class is a great jumpstart for us and what we can do in our classrooms. I would have not known about any of this and been lost in my future classroom without this class.