As Victorian teachers we all know we need 20 hours of "Professional Development" a year. That is fine and dandy of course. It's just one more aspect of our jobs where we have to dot the "I"s and cross the "T"s.
If you hold this view I'd like you to set it aside for 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes. Start a timer, start a stopwatch, check the clock. 20 minutes.
Professional Development is YOUR opportunity to learn about the aspects of teaching YOU want to learn about. To seek out the areas of knowledge and training to make your own life easier. Treating it like this is a self-governing system.
- Having a problem in class? That is what you will WANT to learn about.
- So you go and research the topic, learn about it, and arm yourself with the knowledge to solve your problem in class.
- Because you have solved the problem YOU have a happier time in class, YOUR STUDENTS have a happier time in class and YOUR students achieve better outcomes.
You then go back to the start of the cycle and solve the next problem.
This is why VIT places such an emphasis on "Teacher Identified PD". VIT recognizes that Teachers are intelligent professionals and able to identify the areas they need to fill to be better teachers. They also realize that you can't just walk out and find workshops on that specific topic and you will need to use other sources to get the knowledge you need to be a happier, more effective teacher in a happier, high achieving class. Whether this be speaking to other teachers to gain strategies and advice, searching out professional articles, the blog of another teacher, newspaper articles, books, even relevent Youtube/Teachertube videos.
VIT understands that simply attending 20 hours worth of workshops isn't going to necessarily arm you with the tools you need to improve the outcomes of your students.
"Teacher Identified PD" is the way in which you can tailor your own learning to make it 100% interesting to YOU and 100% purposeful to YOU and still have a 100% positive outcome for your students. We cannot stress strongly enough that Teacher Identified PD is the gateway between PD as "work" and PD as "a journey of discovery and self improvement".
Now think of a problem you are having in class. A problem with the whole class. A problem with an individual student. Something you think you could be doing better. Take the rest of the 20 minutes and look online. Just for today, stay away from "traditional" sources of PD like professional documents and government websites. Use this blog's links in the sidebar. Search other teacher blogs. Search Youtube. Teachertube. Classroom resource sites. Search. Go.
I all but guarantee you that by the end of this 20 minutes you found SOMETHING that grabbed your attention. A blog with helpful advice. An inspirational video that renews your faith in your ability as a teacher. An engaging set of classroom resources. A classroom behaviour strategy that is going to get little Johnny engaged and working. Now take another 10 minutes and reflect on what you found. How did it change how you view your classroom and your role as a teacher? What positive effects will it have on your students?
You now have 30 minutes of "teacher identified PD" to satisfy your VIT requirements. 30 minutes of PD that is relevant. 30 minutes of PD that will improve the way you teach and give your students a better opportunity to learn.
This won't change everyone's mind of course. Some of you will still just want the workshops. THAT IS PERFECTLY OK. I don't think you are giving yourself enough credit, but it's ok.
As an idea here's what I found in 20 minutes;
I chose Behaviour Management because I know that after the holidays I'll be dealing with a somewhat difficult class behaviour wise. I just skimmed videos and articles until I found helpful and "fun" preventative strategies. To a lesser extent I was also looking for information on why students become behaviour issues in the first place so I can more easily identify when trouble is brewing. While I consider that I have a reasonable handle on that second part, it never hurts to see the situation from someone else's perspective!
I didn't get to watch/read it all in that 20 minutes but I certainly found enough items to grab my attention and give me ideas to use in the classroom.
PD is partly about maintaining your VIT registration, that much is common sense. There is no reason that it's ALL it should be though. Above and beyond that? "Teacher Identified PD" is an ideal way to make sure that your PD hours advance your understanding of how to make your OWN life in the classroom easier and more enjoyable for everyone concerned. To solve the specific problems that you face every day which slowly erodes your enthusiasm.
To get you back to those grass roots you started in the profession with, the true desire to make a differecne in the lives of children.
So what are your feelings on Professional Development? I obviously have a view to put forward here. I believe a good balance between Workshop and self-identified PD is the best approach. What is your opinion? What issues are you facing in finding PD whether it be Workshops or another source? If you prefer the workshop option and what are the main benefits you see in those sorts of PD? Most important, do you feel that PD is a worthwhile pursuit or is it just a "target" for you to achieve that's set by VIT? Comments are open and you can either comment using a variety of accounts, by entering your name or do it anonymously. We, and others reading this blog, are genuinely interested in your ideas on the subject!
So what are your feelings on Professional Development? I obviously have a view to put forward here. I believe a good balance between Workshop and self-identified PD is the best approach. What is your opinion? What issues are you facing in finding PD whether it be Workshops or another source? If you prefer the workshop option and what are the main benefits you see in those sorts of PD? Most important, do you feel that PD is a worthwhile pursuit or is it just a "target" for you to achieve that's set by VIT? Comments are open and you can either comment using a variety of accounts, by entering your name or do it anonymously. We, and others reading this blog, are genuinely interested in your ideas on the subject!
Regards,
Mel.
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