Professional development must have an impact. Too often, it doesn’t.
We’ve all been trapped in a meeting where professional development is measured by seat time. We tell ourselves that if we are listening, we are learning, but that is not always the case.
We must abide by a simple rule: If we are sitting here listening at 4:00pm, then it better have an impact at 8:00am tomorrow morning.
If you are responsible for planning professional development, use this Anti-PD checklist to ensure your session is time well spent:
- Is this an email? If you are disseminating information only, it’s a memo, not a workshop. Leave the information dumps for the inbox, and use your time for work that matters.
- Is there a Try-It-Tomorrow takeaway? Theory is great, but impact is better. Each session should provide a strategy or tool that can be used immediately with students.
- Is this a collaborative session? If attendees are listening for more than 50% of the time, they are checking out. Meaningful PD should allow for discussion, questioning, collaborating, and critiquing.
- Is the Why bigger than the How? Never introduce a tech tool or strategy just for the sake of “new.” Professional development should tackle existing problems with proactive solutions, not add another hoop to jump through.
- Does this content have a shelf life? Flavor of the month might feel good in the moment but not be relevant in six months. Invest energy in content that moves the needle, that leads to meaningful change, and isn’t just a fad.
Professional development shouldn’t be something that happens to us—it should be something we own.
Stop settling for seat time.
Use this checklist to invest your time and energy into meaningful PD.
Do the work that matters.
Rich
