It is therefor that when my educational hotspot started to use something called ‘professional learning partners’ I was in the beginning rather a bit skeptical. Honestly, I did wonder if this was just an other way to promote something that a select group of people was going to have only access to and me as a ‘groundling’ would hardly get to see and use the outcome of. Two years further down the line I have to say that I was wrong. And why is that? Well,….
First of all I have to be honest that I did at the time when the job description was put up I just did not feel that secure to go for that function. Calling it modesty is too easy of an ‘excuse’ but I did wonder very openly if I would be a good fit in a school where I am surrounded by amazing educational professionals and very passionate people that I would be in the best postion and had the best background. Second of all I did wonder how you can boost CPD days so that you get the most of it and try to keep everybody happy and still make sure that the vision you are after stays clear.
Hey, do not get me wrong I might be then called passionate and loving what I do, I still tend to call myself a realist when it comes down to what I do. I teach one hour of Dutch in an international school in a country where many people will manage without having to use that language in their daily lives. I am not making this up…it is not fake news…it is a fact. It is not always easy to kind of being the educator in a context where your subject is not considered ‘essential’. But it has never kept me back of trying to make my subject worthwhile for the children I teach. Single one of them I hope to teach something or let them walk out of my classroom feeling like they gained something out of those 55 minutes.
What is that something then? Well, that is not always that easy to define. In case you think that is a bit of an awkward answer to give, I understand you. But then I challenge you to tell me something about a CPD course you were granted to attend and that you did exactly get out of it what the course description told you? Surely most of us teachers have had that experience of having ended up in a course of which you did wonder ‘This is just not what I had hoped for!’ or ‘This is not what I now need at this exact moment!’ or ‘Why in the world am I supposed to listen to this person who is telling me what to do but has he or she even been in real situation I am momentarily trying to survive within?’ or ‘I already knew all of that!' or 'Can you please tell me something that I not already have been told or found out myself?’….. I bet you can add a few yourself.
CPD days are so many times those days that you rather leave feeling even less secure. Or you wonder what you might have done more useful instead of having to call in cover for your class while you have been out for a day or more. Well if there something that has changed since the professional learning partners are active in my school is that school CPD is now run by a selected group of people but also a group of people still connected with the 'real' daily business that makes up a school. People that try very hard to keep everybody their interests at heart. Plus that they look also around them to find people who are willingly to share good practice. This is a group of very motivated people and they do come from different departments within the school what surely has added to the CPD boost.
Now do not get me wrong. There are still people around me who still will not get out of these days what they are after. You can't make everybody happy but at the same time I do think that then it might be time to speak up. Inform the most essential people to do something about it. Critics tend to keep to themselves when it comes down to CPD days because we all know that we then also have to do a bit more of inward reflection about what the real issue is that we are 'bored', 'annoyed', 'upset', 'grumpy', 'dissapointed',.... The whole range of rather negative feelings that floats above during talks and cofeebreaks during a CPD hides in most cases something that is more more complex. Or that is at least what I have found out after 21 years attending such courses and conferences.
Now if I look back at the CPD opportunities I was granted over the last two decennia I must say that the outcome of them is not always the most obvious one. So let me be so free to come up with a few insights and ideas that I did pick up on a very wide range of professional development courses that I did attend voluntarily or in same cases was friendly forced to attend.
1. Professional Development comes in all shapes and forms. What you need momentarily you might have needed before or in some cases what you needed to know. In education things also change constantly and our classrooms also do. Personal and professional growth are not a static and therefor will constantly change. You might need a course that shows you ways to deal with new technology in the classroom, while your coworker thinks very openly that the time has come that the school tells you something about value based teaching. How they do this can be so different than you imagined. Sometimes you will be offered the opportunity to attend a course outside school and sometimes it might be rather a book that you find in your school library that will help you.
2.We do not all need the same at the same time. As a result, and I do think that is very challening to put together a very worthwhile CPD program for you staff or pushing them in a certain direction. Okay, there are the days that your school wishes to get all people to look into the same direction. Your vision should be a joined one and that all involved feel part of and have been given the opportunity to speak up their mind about. Timing is everything and this also is the case when it comes down to CPD days. Perfect timing is always so much more positive and feeling at the end of the day the workshop discription did just not live up to its expectation. But it is still hard to come by and not that easy to plan.
3.Making connections is very valuable. At all CPD events/days I met up with people that I has something in common with. In some cases it might not be connected with the content of the course itself but something totally different. These connections could be the beginning of something else. And I am not only talking about friendship. Connections outside your working spot can be a very powerful manner to find a new sparkle of hope that might end up in starting that one dream project you are already lobbying after. Keep your eyes and ears open!
4.The more personal professional development becomes the more energy it will cost and openminded you sometimes will need to be. We have been all in the spot where you do know deep down inside that it is time to find a course in order to help you. It are sometimes these that will make the difference in your daily teaching. These are also the ones that you end up having to do a bit extra work or concentrate harder. It are not the walks through the park with a stop at the ice cream van. No freebies are handed out and the outcome of such a day might be still unclear. These are the courses and events that demand a lot more than copying a work sheet or reading the most recent research. They call for action on a bigger scale and we all know what we then also need to make it work.
5.CPD outcomes are not always measurable or easily to share with others. Teachers sometimes like first to spend some time on their private educational island before diving into the cold and deep ocean water. Processing the content of a CPD is not always easy and in some situations it might not even work out for you. This is then due to some other more complex reasons. That we then sometimes might have to say ‘at least I tried’ is not always what we were after when signing up for that specific workshop or talk. Plus that when you are send on a three day course about dealing with difficult behavior within the classroom makes you wonder if you even dare to tell your coworker who seems to be a superhero when it comes down to class management. And then there are the side effects of attending CPD days and I have found out that these are sometimes as valuable as the initial reason that you ended up in room to listen to an expert about dyslexia or Autism.
6.Sharing is caring. Sounds very fuzzy and cliché. But in the last five years I have noticed that the professional days where people did share their ‘wealth’, their good practice, their insight are the ones that made me feel more connected and cared for. Sometimes that was all I needed in order to head back into my classroom in a more inspired and energetic mode. Ready to try something new and still add my own twist to the offered advice or worksheet. Copy and paste not a magic spell you can cast over your classroom.
7.The proof of the pudding is in eating the pudding. The more ‘fun’ you are having the harder it sometimes it will be to keep up with the insights. Yes, I do sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed after such days. It is during these days that I have been in a way cut off from society and only concentrate on my profession. Once I am back at reality and try out something 'new' is not always that easy. But it is only then I find out if 'it 'works or not. And it might not always work out…but at least I have tried. So after all the listening the next stage is creating...what calls for action.
8.CPD days and programs are put together by people…human beings…people like you and me! Learning is an opportunity but the also means that more and more people see it also as a market . It is not always that easy to attract the most suitable people to your CPD. Sometimes you just might not find the right person or the organization to cooperate with. Or it even turns out during the CPD itself that your school is not that compatible as first perceived when reading their website or cours descriptions.
9.Feedback is essential. No, those sheets you at the end are politely asked to fill in to give feedback are not just there to make your life even more miserable. Oh yes I admit, I am tempted myself not to fill in my survey or questionnaire after a less interesting or ‘useless’ workshop or chat of a professional. But actually it are sometimes these documents ways to get your frustrations, opinions and criticism out in the open. Feedback helps other to make decisions and so just brushing it off and even throwing that piece of document in our digital bin. Give each organize of CPD at least to work with and to learn from.
10.Personal involvement can create already the next step you are after. The more you get yourself engaged during the event itself the more likely there will be a positive outcome of a CPD. Engagement starts with showing interest in the program or searching for some extra information about a speaker that has been invited or a subject your CPD is going to cover. Surely it is not always easy to drag yourself out of bed during a weekend to attend that specific course but once you had a third cup of coffer or tea and have found some way to contribute to a discussion it might all change into brighter day professional wise. I have found out that people who are more engaging and take more an active part seem to be ones who take away more than ones that perhaps keep to themselves or grumble constantly.
Okay some of them you might agree with and others you might just call nonsense. Yes, I still end up in workshops that I not find out that where I am after. Yes, I have sometimes felt like I lost precious time when having to listen to a rather sleep inducing voice. Yes,why in the world some people think that they their way is only the right way. And yes, I still not got to attend that one CPD where I only saw happy faces.
Professional development is surely that one part of my job description that I still consider the most challenging one and keep me on my toes. But without it would be surely make my job less adventurous and interesting. It might be also the most vital stepping stone of my profesional growth. If your CPD makes you end up being after CPR you might wish to ask for a first aid course as your next CPD. That is still the most valuable CPD that I do get to attend annual. That course has proven more than once to be life saving.... for sure!
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