Field Assignment 2 - Professional Development

For my OPL, I chose to respond to instructional focus and professional development 4A which is plan for and coordinate ongoing, purposeful professional development. This year I co-led a PLC PD group for new teachers at our school. Our curriculum and instruction committee decided for our professional development goal for the year that we would host teacher led professional development. There are so many great things happening in our building that we can learn about from one another. Our focus for the professional development was on certain elements from Marzano’s book The Handbook for the New Art and Science of Teaching. Pairs from the committee each chose an element to host PD on throughout the year. Returning teachers were able to sign up for the element of their choice to focus on and learn about while new teachers were all placed in our group and we focused on rules and procedures. With our group of new teachers, our focus was on rules and procedures. We learned about, discussed, and reflected on successful rules and procedures. We planned for and led professional development for this group every other month throughout the school year. At our last teacher work day, we did gallery walk to share the many things that were discussed in our PLC PD group with other groups. Our group had many amazing rules and procedures that even veteran teachers had not used and were willing to try in their classrooms.

Teacher led PD can be extremely beneficial and also cost effective. Stebick et al. (2023), discusses how the most effective way to engage teachers in effective professional development is to provide a safe space for discussion. What more of a safe space can you find for discussion than that of a space among your peers?

Blog on teacher led professional development

        Teacher led professional development fits right in with the professional learning that is discussed in our textbook. Sheninger (2019), mentions that a shift to professional learning, which consists of collaborative, job-embedded learning, is necessary for the adequate growth of educators. As we collaborated in our PLC PD group, we all learned from each other some great rules and procedures to take back to our classrooms. For example, many of our teachers are having issues with students using phones during class and one teacher shared about her procedure for turning in phones in order to get their notes, work, or test for the day. Stebick et al. (2023), mentions that teachers often seek authentic professional development led by other teachers in the classroom. Furthermore, Sheninger (2019) shared the image below that shows what teachers want for professional learning. Teacher led professional development helps fulfill so many of the desires shown below.

        After our PLC PD came to an end, we conducted surveys to get opinions on how teachers in our group felt about their learning from the year. The majority expressed that they enjoyed the discussions that took place and learned so much from their peers. They felt that learning more about rules and procedures and ideas to use in their classroom was beneficial and worthwhile. 

Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times.

Corwin.

Stebick, D., Hart, J., Glick, L., Kindervatter, J., Nagel, J., & Patrick, C. (2023). Teacher Inquiry: A Catalyst for Professional Development. Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, 24(1).