Isn’t it sad that we can all identify with the chart paper PD?
That’s right. This isn’t just your average “show up for a few hours and write on chart paper”-type training event. ”Apple Cores” as we call them, are put through an intense experience of collaboration, sharing, and even….*gasp*…failing.
This is one that so many PD sessions forget to include:
4. Treat them like professionals.
This one is the easiest to do, but actually might take a little bit of budget, which we are all short of.
Maybe it’s not the subject of your PD and maybe it’s not the place of your PD that is causing it to fail. Maybe instead it’s the attitude that your PD trainers are carrying into the session. You know the one where they have something to coach teachers on. The one that makes teachers feel even more undervalued and invisible than the current educational context makes them feel.
Maybe it’s that attitude that you know what teachers “need” that is making your PD session irrelevant.
And maybe instead, you should actually ask teachers what they need.