Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “professional development”
Feeling guilty about having a good time? I get this pang of guilt when I learn something and it is actually fun. When I try to plan a learning activity, whether it is for kids or adults, and find myself trying to make it fun, I question its value. Why? Why do we do this? Does learning have to be …
As I have been engaging in research, collaboration and learning regarding personal learning and school transformation for the past year, I have continually encountered an irony that keeps nudging at me. We have discussed all the shifts in mindset that these changes will require. We have talked a lot about what will change for student learning. We have discussed at …
Starting the Conversation About Education Transformation If you have been around the education world for a while, you know that most change happens in the following way. Your principal or administrator makes a decision to go forward with an initiative. An inservice is provided and you are expected to implement the initiative. It’s no surprise that this doesn’t work. We …
Changing Mindsets About Online Courses Many people argue that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) have failed because completion rates are so low. I would argue that we are just beginning to learn how to personalize learning by using all the resources we now have in our digital lives. Many schools are formalizing this process for students with personalized learning plans …
As we move towards the use of personal learning plans in Vermont, I have really been wondering what it might look like in our current system. I set out on an individual professional learning path this summer in order to reflect on what it might look like for students. To be honest, I like the structure of classes and …
Earlier this week, I worked with members of my school leadership team to plan the initial inservice days of school. Now, inservice has a connotation for teachers that is mostly unpleasant. As we flood into school those first days, the complaints abound, as we discuss our summers, about how we would rather be in our classrooms. I only complain a …