PD for Administrators

The one thing I miss a lot about being a classroom teacher is all the wonderful PD opportunities. I love to learn, so there was never any moaning and groaning from me when there were workshops and in-services to attend. As a VP, we have some opportunities made available but we are constantly fighting against time. There just isn't any. It's hard enough to carve out time to eat lunch much less set aside a whole morning or afternoon, even though I would really like to.

In the last 5 years, the only trouble with PD, apart from the lack of time to attend, is that it doesn't always meet the needs of administrators, especially since the needs of our schools are so different. PD needs to be rooted in an immediate need and for principals and vice principals, those needs are defined by their own school communities. Yes, there are "big picture issues" that affect us all and in those cases, it would be great to have presentations from associations like CPCO and OCT or even give workshops on taking effective investigative notes, best practices in completing teacher performance appraisals, public relations... those sorts of topics that have implications in a number of complex arenas. On matters of curriculum leadership and technology, for example, PD needs to be self-directed. There are a number of effective and CONVENIENT ways for administrators to have some quality professional learning and they can do in their PJs, which works for me! Here are some suggestions that are by no means exhaustive:

1. Twitter - it's not a passing fad and there are A LOT of credible educators in the Twitterverse willing to sharing ideas and resources. There is always an evening or weekend discussion happening and in the PLN I'm building, the administrators I follow are from all over the world so there is never a lull in the posting of success stories, links to great ideas and good Q&A.

2. Pinterest - no... it's not just for stay-at-home moms who need craft ideas to keep their little one's busy. There are endless pins to a multitude of online resources and websites for pretty much anything. Most of what I have learned about GAFE, for example, has come as a result of a number of pins I have discovered and the online modules they have led me to in order to learn the various apps.

3. Maintain a blog - when do we take the time to reflect and process the learning that takes place on the job? Sure, we speak with our colleagues about our experiences but sometimes the exercise of writing helps to consolidate some of our learning and maybe we don't have to be quite so guarded. That said, we need to be mindful of what we post. I will admit to a couple of lapses in judgment. The need for total honesty (despite any disclaimer that posted views are "unapologetically" our own) needs to be balanced with the reality that as administrators we are agents of our respective districts and school boards. Ultimately we are on side of our system, and there are times when we don't like what we see, but this isn't the environment for disgruntled ranting.

4. TED Talks - YouTube houses a vast array of video clips that are bound to leave you more curious and intrigued and wanting to learn more about any number of issues that affect schooling.

I also think there is an opportunity at the very local level - the school admin team - to carve out some learning goals at the beginning of the year and work together on how to achieve those goals within the team. Those goals should to be centred on the needs of the school since administrators are in service to the school community. Perhaps the team can decide to engage in a book study. It's a bit "old school" but sometimes it's good to put the Chromebook away and engage in literature that we can physically highlight and annotate and make connections. Maybe each month, one member of the team agrees to lead a short workshop on a specific topic, something interactive and hands-on that can be shared immediately with teachers and students to improve an aspect of teaching and/or learning. The team can even invite a member of the central staff in to meet on matters that may be beyond the expertise of the school team. Engaging other school teams that are working on similar issues and/or projects is also a good strategy. For example, I've just submitted a proposal to the Ministry for some funding for our school because we will be implementing French Immersion in September of 2017. Three other schools will be doing the same in the following year. This is a great opportunity for all of us to form a PLN. I've proposed that members of each team visit a school that already offers the program so that we can observe and determine what would work in our schools. This is an opportunity for collaborative unit and lesson planning, resource creation and promotion of the program. Each person brings a unique skill set and experience to this learning situation so the amount of PD in this case would be invaluable.

In any case, good PD is only good if it's needed and solves real problems. Don't get me wrong, learning for learning's sake is also important. We have to model a positive attitude for our staff and teachers do the same for their students. In a milieu where time and resources are increasingly sparse, we have to get bang for our buck.