Too many professional development initiatives are done to teachers- not for, with, or by them.

— Andy Hargreaves

The worst pd of my life. You know the one. The district or principal mandates that all teachers attend a training with this consultant they’ve brought in, the one that’s probably making a couple grand to tell teachers how to better do their job. Only, they don’t tell them anything new or helpful, they either bastardize old ideas or they ramble on about good teaching practices while not actually using any of them, or they slam them with all these good-intentioned strategies while singing kumbaya about how if the teacher just worked harder, had more feedback for students, more one-on one meetings with teachers or parents, rewrote curriculum, better differentiated blah blah blah students lives would be transformed. Ya, cool. We all want to transform students lives, we really do but there’s  some glaringly obvious missing pieces in these training’s that non-teachers just don’t see. In fact, teachers can spot a consultant with limited classroom experience well before the morning break, usually before they’ve finished their introduction.

Only this training wasn’t even that good. It was as if the consultant just wanted a captive audience to tell random stories to. It was three hours of my life that I could have spent developing lessons in my classroom, or modifying lessons for my high needs kids, or translating lessons for my ELL kids, or grading papers, or buying lab supplies, or calling parents, or cleaning my room or meeting with my PLC or doing any of the literally hundreds of tasks that teachers need to get done. And when the consultant was asked, “How many years were you in the classroom, the vague evasive answer she gave with mutterings about lots of years in education and various roles within it, from a podium with a neverending PowerPoint made me realize, Ya, she doesn’t get it. She doesn’t get what we do. So for all the consultants, trainers, and districts out there that plan on providing professional development to teachers, here’s some hints for getting teacher buy-in, and possibly transforming the lives of YOUR students (hint: those are the teachers!)

1. Practice what you preach. If you are going to teach teachers about learning strategies, differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, movement in the classroom or any other instructional strategies then use those strategies on the teachers. Direct instruction with a power point and a literally captive audience (remember we are usually required to be there!) is not conducive to learning! Yes, it’s more work to develop engaging, relevant instruction that meets the needs of all teachers and encourages participation and buy- in. We are fully aware of this because we do it everyday. If you can’t use good teaching practices, to teach us about good teaching practices- you’ve lost our respect.
2. Be upfront about who you are and your experience. I have attended some excellent PD sessions with presenters that were not ever classroom teachers, but the good presenters are always honest about it. If you have spent most of your career writing curriculum, or training adults, or teaching college, or being a principal, or in any other area of education, state that at the beginning. Be clear and concise about your professional background and what expertise you are bringing to the table and then acknowledge that in the actual execution of the strategies or resources you are relying on observation, data, or other teacher’s input and not actual first-hand experience. Give credit to the teachers, and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT when they have an insight on how your presentation or ideas could be adjusted to fit in their classroom and remove any air of condescension in your interactions with the teachers in the room. Yes, you’re an expert in your area, that’s why you were brought in, but the teachers are on the front-line actually utilizing the information. THEY are the experts on the art of teaching children.
3. Give teachers time to work with other teachers. If there is one thing that teachers struggle with above all else, it’s time. Don’t waste huge chunks of their time talking in generalities. No matter what strategies you are presenting, the execution, struggles, and improvements that those strategies will bring look different in elementary than in secondary and will look different in an English classroom than they will in a Science classroom. Plan on breaking any large groups down and allow teachers to brainstorm and possibly even develop lessons that they can take with them. Provide input and guidance to these groups as they move through the meaningful learning experience of attaching what you are presenting to what they already know.
4. Understand that whatever topic your training is on is one small piece of what the teachers are doing everyday. Teachers want to improve their practice, communicate regularly with parents, build relationships with student, engage every student in their room regardless of background, first language, or ability, integrate technology, incorporate the latest teaching strategies, write lessons that feed students’ curiosity and foster authentic learning, work with their PLC, analyze data to guide instruction and they want to do it all with a happiness and excitement that inspires a love of learning in students. They truly do! Please understand though that this is a monumental task and keep that in mind when you are talking to them. Please do not present strategies that take an hour a day and only deal with one these tasks. Teachers need bang for their buck and a good instructional strategy or curricular shift should benefit all the learners. If you can’t see how- turn it over to the teachers and give them a chance to put all those pieces together- with the help of other teachers (number 3! Time!).
5. Above all- please come in with a mindset of guiding and facilitating learning that will benefit teachers in educating our children. Treat them with respect as professionals and let them engage and laugh and talk and collaborate with other teachers to make your topic personally relevant and immediately applicable. Inspire them and let them love learning from you. They will thank you for it.