Will Richardson

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PD for Teachers (Like Students Do It)

September 25, 2010 By Will Richardson

Here’s an idea for your next PD day around technology (assuming you’ve already started a conversation around social learning tools and curricular change…no small assumption, I know.)

Step 1: Put up a wiki page with a list of interesting tools that teachers might use in the classroom, fairly complete descriptions of what the tool can do, and a few links to great examples of use in the classrooms. Ask teachers to read through the descriptions and sign up for the sessions that interest them. Schedule sessions in rooms with computers and internet access. Only run those sessions that have at least four people signed up for it.

Step 2: When people arrive in the rooms where the sessions are scheduled, write this on the board, whiteboard, smartboard, etc: “YOU HAVE 90 MINUTES. FIGURE IT OUT.”

Filed Under: Professional Development Tagged With: professional_development

Comments

  1. Kevin Jarrett says

    September 25, 2010 at 6:52 am

    Will,

    Incredibly fortunate timing. I’ve literally just been asked by my Superintendent to propose some ideas for our next in-services, and have been thinking about how to come up with a self-directed, open space-ish, edcamp-style approach that people won’t find intimidating.

    This just might work.

    One adjustment I’d suggest is not limiting the topics to technology … I’m just thinking there would be terrific response around topics that focus on “traditional” concepts, too.

    I’d also suggest using some sort of dead-simple collaborative technology to facilitate a report-out, like iEtherpad.com or PiratePad or similar.

    Thanks as always for sharing,

    -kj-

  2. monika hardy says

    September 25, 2010 at 6:58 am

    love it.
    thank you.

    • katie says

      September 27, 2010 at 10:16 am

      I agree. This approach allows teachers to take ownership of their learning as well as teachers are learning through inquiry. ItÒ€ℒs a win win for everyone!

  3. Steve Ransom says

    September 25, 2010 at 7:42 am

    This is exactly how I often approach such learning with my graduate students. At first, many are very uncomfortable – even irritated, as they are used to being told what things are, what to do, how to do it,… and in the end, as you are alluding to, they do not feel personally empowered as learners. This is such a shame and needs to change. Some teachers respond to student questions with the rule of thumb, “Ask 3 before me.” I respond to my students (when appropriate) with the 21st century version, “Did you google it?” Often, their eyes light up and respond, “No… I never thought of that.” And, as Kevin points out, this is not about learning new technologies, it is simply about learning…anything.

    We certainly need to break the mindset that if someone in the room doesn’t teach us, then we are helpless.

    My conversation/presentation at NYSCATE this year will be somewhat like this. 10 minutes from me, 40 minutes with each other, and the last 10 minutes back together as a whole.

    Of course, this type of learning typically requires more than a 60 minute, fly-by professional development session and should challenge the notion that professional development should even fit into such artificially constrained, expert-delivered, sessions. As Gary Stager often chants, “Less us; More them.”

  4. Bill says

    September 25, 2010 at 7:42 am

    Geez…our next technology PD session is this Friday. It’s an all-staff session titled “Using Microsoft Office 2007 in the Classroom.”

    No joke.

    I guess we’ve got a long way to go, huh? Especially considering that I’ll be sleeping my way through lessons on “Souping Up Your Slides” and “Databases Made Easy.”

    Arrrgghh. Makes me want to quit.

    Bill

    • Will Richardson says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:43 am

      You’re kidding, right? No, really. Tell me you’re kidding. Please.

  5. Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach says

    September 25, 2010 at 7:48 am

    I would add- if we are doing this like kids do it- to have someone in each room (a participant) that already knows how to use the tool so they can share their knowledge too. That typically gives hope to those overwhelmed by the approach.

    • Kevin Jarrett says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:00 am

      ‘zactly – I envision providing a space on the “signup” medium to allow people to self-identify as lead learners.

    • sylvia martinez says

      September 25, 2010 at 1:23 pm

      Add to the learning community by having students be those experts. I wrote about a similar PD event in Australia called “Catch a Teacher Day”.

      http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2010/09/14/catch-a-teacher-day/

      The benefits to the teachers and the students – seeing learning as a complex, fun, collaborative adventure would be more than just learning about a technology tool.

  6. Jon Becker says

    September 25, 2010 at 7:55 am

    One step further…

    Assuming you can have something like Jing installed on all the machines…

    “You have 90 minutes. Learn it, make a screencast/tutorial about it (less than 5 minutes long), and embed the video back to the wiki so that your colleagues can now learn it, too.”

    Overwhelming, yes. But, most, if not all, would rise to the occasion, I bet.

    • Kevin Jarrett says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:01 am

      Even easier, Jon – hand them a Flip video camera and tell ’em to have at it…

    • Will Richardson says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:42 am

      Geez, Jon. asking a little much, aren’t you? ;0)

  7. Debra says

    September 25, 2010 at 8:02 am

    I absolutely love this idea and it is exactly what I do with the kids. I am planning on leading an in-service and think this could work with SOME of my already tech-interested colleagues but some of the other, less tech-certain teachers may need to be brought along a bit more than just “figure it out” so they don’t get frustrated or turned off. THoughts?

    • Will Richardson says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:45 am

      So mix the “figure-outers” with the non “figure-outers” and let them teach each other the “figure-outing.” That is, after all, what the pd is all about…not the tools.

    • Carrie DuPre says

      October 12, 2010 at 11:58 am

      I love the connection to what we do as teacher — and using some of the same instructional techniques on our peers/us. Don’t we often put together groups of diverse students (as in diverse knowledge sets or strengths) and give them a group challenge, letting them learn as much from each other as from the assignment? I agree that this would work well on faculty too!

  8. Laura Deisley says

    September 25, 2010 at 8:23 am

    Love it, love it, love it! Of course, the challenge with having the “knowledge” in the room (per Sheryl’s wise suggestion), is that person will need some coaching on how to handle the messy, inquiry part and not “teach.” That in and of itself could be a wonderful model of inquiry learning and the “teacher’s” role

    Wondering if we might take this one step further: Forget about having an expert in the room. Demonstrate the power of networked learning by setting up an on call Twitter response team!

    Thanks!

    • Will Richardson says

      September 25, 2010 at 8:46 am

      Thereyago.

  9. Steve K says

    September 25, 2010 at 8:40 am

    Thanks for the great idea. I too have been tasked with providing inservice training for our staff on using web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Now, I know how I’m going to address the wildly variant learning needs and interests of my colleagues.

  10. Cary Harrod says

    September 25, 2010 at 9:11 am

    Try this on for size:

    In January, we will launch a BYOL pilot project for our 7th graders. (www.fhsdppl.wetpaint.com) We’re fortunate that our principal, Natasha Adams, gets it; she has dedicated the entire school year to re-imagining what it means to learn in this century.

    So, in anticipation of the big launch and in answer to parents’ questions about how tools can be used in educational ways, we will begin examining, exploring and sharing tools that help us learn more deeply; make our lives more efficient and organized; and personalize our own learning. Students and teachers will become co-learners in the classroom, searching for tools and sharing what makes them valuable towards the above mentioned pursuits. We will have a central sharing portal where we can talk about the tools in the context of learning (always)and even have a rating system similar to Amazon.com to leverage the collective knowledge of our community.

    Then…THEN in January, we will have an unconference where students, teachers, parents and community members come together to share our learning over the past two months. We’ll focus on how the tools help us learn more deeply. We’ll share projects and other work that we’ve done to (hopefully) transform and personalize our learning. I can hear Will and Sheryl admonishing me for focusing on the tools but I promise it will always be within the context of learning. One of the things I’m finding with our parents is that, well, we’ve left them behind. Many of them have no schema for how a computer can be used to help 12 and 13 year olds learn better. (And I’m not convinced the kids get it either.)

    So, as someone else said, great timing, Will. I simply cannot put into words how exciting the world has become since I discovered what it really means to be a learner. Rockin’ the world!

    • Laura Deisley says

      September 25, 2010 at 10:14 am

      So Cary, hello friend…you’ve been busy ;-0! That’s awesome news about the pilot, and thanks for sharing what you’re doing! I’ve bookmarked your wiki site and will look forward to following along. Happy to share anything we’ve done, and I look forward to learning from y’all as well.

      The parent piece is really vital, and we working more intentionally on that issue this year. We partnered with a PhD student at GaTech and we’ve set up a Middle School Parent Ning Network. We’ve got the admin and tech team in there, plus the parent support/pta leaders. It’s starting to get some traction. The next piece is to combine that network with more face to face sessions, and I know I’m going to rue the day I committed to do this, but…in January I’m going to have a two hour evening course once a week for eight weeks titled “The 21st Century Learner.” I’m just fleshing it out in my mind right now, and your comment here has evolved my thinking. Instead of it being just a course for parents, I think we should open it up to parents, admin, faculty, and students. What a way to build understanding and invite further exploration among all our stakeholders.

      Hope to catch up soon. Heading to CHI in a couple of weeks for the 21st Century Learning Summit. You coming?

      LD

      • Cary Harrod says

        September 25, 2010 at 12:57 pm

        This is what I love about my PLN, Laura! There is so much we can learn from each other. I don’t know anything about the 21st Century Learning Summit. Could it be I’m too deeply entrenched in the little project I described above? Gotta get out!

  11. Karen LaBonte says

    September 25, 2010 at 9:44 am

    If it’s helpful to anyone, I’ve been doing something like this for English teachers on pbworks, mostly so I don’t have to keep repeating myself when asked to share resources. Here’s the link: http://resources20.pbworks.com.

  12. Russ Goerend says

    September 25, 2010 at 9:50 am

    We could call it unPD!

    πŸ˜‰

    • Kevin Jarrett says

      September 25, 2010 at 10:07 am

      I want royalties…lol

      http://www.classroom20.com/group/unPD

      • Russ Goerend says

        September 25, 2010 at 7:20 pm

        Nice!

  13. Lisa Katchin says

    September 25, 2010 at 10:12 am

    I have my staff in the middle of something like this, but with some accountability measures thrown in. Check it out at http://lhs-technology-pd.blogspot.com/. I really like your idea of dispersing them to rooms with a hidden expert that can collaborate with them as they work their way through the tools. This happened incidentally for us with teachers that weren’t focused on a specific goal yet and the colliagial sharing really increases the effectiveness.

  14. Danielle says

    September 25, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Hi there,

    The question is how do we engage teachers? How can we hook them?

    Last year, we created a wiki of 2.0 tools/tutorials called “20 minutes for 2.0” that we used to begin our techie journey together. To build our literacies, it was definitely great to start with wikis, blogs and delicious. We also played around with tools like glogster and animoto (which teachers could see their easy applications into their curriculum and got them engaged).

    Here is our wiki: http://20for20.wikispaces.com/

    This year we used prezi to show how we will go deeper with our learning of the tools we were introduced to last year. Our teachers are pretty excited about 2.0.

    http://up2notches.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-do-we-teach-21st-century-literacy.html

    Exciting times!

  15. Jim says

    September 25, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    Cute.
    However, in reality being cavalier like that wastes everyone’s time. Public school teachers have tenure and aren’t going anywhere. You and me need to sell 21ST century skills to them.These people are not stupid,spend some times with them, address their concerns and many will see your perspective.Treat them like fools and you lose them.
    Making fun of teaching Office might make you fell superior, but the fact is that Office is a tool used by the vast majority of corporations and institutions around the world. I do not use it very much anymore, but I can’t ignore that others do.

    • Will Richardson says

      September 25, 2010 at 4:17 pm

      Thanks for the comment, Jim. With respect, I think you miss the point. Learning these tools on your own or with other learners is THE 21st Century Skill. Waiting for formal “training” sessions enables teachers the same way we enable kids in the classroom.

      I think we should be working toward a world where we have adults who are self directed and literate enough to learn Office on their own should they need to learn it.

      • Jim says

        September 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm

        Will
        You are missing something as well. Many teachers have no intention of teaching 21st century skills. They don’t even know what they are. You can not fire them. You can’t force them to do anything differently. I get your point. I know what you are saying. I’m telling you that many,many teachers have no idea of what a blog is, what a podcast is, what a wiki is, no clue-nothing. Belittling them will not win them over. I agree that they have to look things up themselves and learn on their own. Not everyone is capable of learning on their own. I do it, you do it. They don’t-that is the biggest hurdle. We need to sell the future to them. If they don’t buy our first pitch, then try another, then another until we win thenm over or they retire. ( which hopefully will be soon πŸ˜‰

        • Will Richardson says

          September 26, 2010 at 6:41 am

          I don’t miss that point. In my travels I’ve seen thousands of them. They don’t know, they don’t want to know. I’ve come to question whether it’s worth the time to spend on that bunch. Find the learners, help them become better learners and better teachers. The rest are wasted energy. They’re not going to be sold on the future if they are rooted in the past.

          And I disagree that “not everyone is capable of learning on their own.” It’s a matter of motivation, not ability.

          I do agree about the retirement part. πŸ˜‰

      • Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach says

        September 26, 2010 at 7:01 am

        Not everyone is capable of learning on their own.

        You really don’t believe this right? I mean you believe everyone (all kids, all adults) are capable of learning? Right? And obviously we have all learned things on our own from birth on.

        All children can learn. All teachers can lead.
        If they are willing.

  16. Lyn Hilt says

    September 25, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    I’m working with our technology director to plan for February’s all-day “tech” inservice.
    Looks like our job just got ten times easier. πŸ™‚
    In all seriousness, I am definitely recruiting teachers to take the lead on the different sessions we offer throughout the day. It would be foolish to think the only experts in the room are those in the tech/leadership departments. Giving teachers ownership of these learning experiences is vital! And how nice it will be when, a week or two or seven later, teachers will be able to consult with their colleagues for assistance, reassurance, support and guidance in the areas explored during the workshops.

  17. Julie Sheridan says

    September 25, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Your idea sounds great, an actual PD session that would be worthwhile and useful. I am not sure what that would be like, but I would gladly sign up and be there with bells on!

    One question though, what do you do with staff that still refuse to use the computer for things as simple as a gradebook? When we switched over to an online attendance program, with the “future” capability of being tied in with our report cards teachers were in an uproar about having to learn new things.

    Because of this lack of enthusiasm amongst teaachers that are “comfortable” with what they are currently doing many districts are functioning years behind where they should be, technologically speaking.

    • Lisa Katchin says

      September 26, 2010 at 9:02 am

      Maybe they shouldn’t be able to refuse to learn. Teaching the 21st Century Skills should be an essential that is mandated by the divisions. It is a requirement of the profession. Like anything else that is mandated, provide the PD, put in some accountability measures and follow up.

      The problem is that many of the policy makers in the division are still not buying in to the 21st Century Skills. This is seen in areas of budget, PD, Distance Education, division goals and visions, etc. The easiest way to address this is to start the conversation. It may take a while to see a small step, but a small step is still a step.

  18. tcomfort says

    September 25, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    Will,

    great idea, sounds like what I have in mind except I was going to show them how to use it, how 18th century. I believe the main problem with staff is that they don’t know what we are talking about when we say 21st century schools, the second problem of course is that they have no desire to change in the first place. One encouraging note, we gave an in-service on google readers and one staff member is using it to follow our class blog to help the kids write more effectively. Very big progress for me!!

    enjoy your posts

  19. margarets says

    September 25, 2010 at 9:39 pm

    What a great idea! Just the situation itself could provide & provoke such a great conversation between the teachers in each room…given a positive community, the collaborative work could really be spectacular and I’m sure the students would love to hear about the challenges that their teachers have had!

  20. Belinda says

    September 26, 2010 at 5:59 am

    What a great idea! As soon as I read it, I thought, this might be my instrument to introduce the concept of a student tech team. Give my PD on technology, but the resident experts in the room could be students who have mastered the technology! The “have a go at it” method is how I have learned just about everything. Simple but effective.

    • Sarah Kinder says

      September 26, 2010 at 10:42 pm

      I too, like the proposal and the ideas that are being tagged along with it. Adding in students would be wonderful! I have many times sought teachers out to see what they want to learn, but I’ve never put them up to the task in this way. I think there would be many who would be so taken aback that they’d have a hard time being productive – so carefully planning the groups and adding in some students would really help keep things moving forward. I think this could begin a powerful culture shift – way more than talking about a shift!
      thanks for sharing!

  21. Technology In Class says

    September 26, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Thanks for sharing the idea. It expects teacher to be self-directed learners.

    Professional Development is difficult in Education. Teaching is the unprofessional profession, read why:http://technologyinclass.com/blog/2009/12/09/teaching-the-unprofessional-profession/

    TIC

  22. Cathy says

    September 27, 2010 at 8:04 am

    Will…love this idea! I could just see the looks of horror on the faces of some of our teachers though! I’d propose making it mandatory at my school, because many of our teachers are still afraid of technology and simply wouldn’t come. I am even tempted to try this with my 8th graders. Who know? They may teach me a few things I don’t know!

    Cathy

  23. Julie Thorp says

    September 27, 2010 at 9:46 pm

    The part about your suggestion for PD that I love as a classroom teacher is the fact that they have 90 minutes. I would be thrilled to have 90 minutes to myself to explore and do what I need to do as a teacher to grow in the area of technology. πŸ™‚

  24. Lesleigh Altmann says

    October 4, 2010 at 1:18 am

    This is a great idea -our diocese followed a similar idea for an ICT conference and thought it might be a good one off but nearly 500 teachers signed up for it – we repeated it for 3 years running. The conference model was excellent in that there was no overheads except the key note and running costs for the day. 2 schools volunteer as the venue (nth and sth of the diocese and ordinary classroom teachers (Prim and Sec) volounteered as presenters (their release was covered as a thanks from head office) and a lot of schools just closed down to attend as one of their required PD days We timetabled two days (Fri and Sat) with 40-60 min sessions and teachers engaged in a massive variety of web2 tools and basic IWB experiences.

  25. Jane McConnell Greenspun says

    October 4, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    I have been a Tech Director for four years (19 in the tech field) at a large public school district and have consistently tried to help my teachers move forward with both their thinking and their technology skills. I offer training every month in each of our 5 elementary schools (others do high school and middle school). This year I have decided to move forward in a different way, agreeing with Will (followed you for years) that I am ready and willing to leave some teachers behind.

    Instead of all being welcome to any tech workshop (many there just to pick up needed hours of training for Flex time) I am training monthly by grade level only (K-1,2-3, 4-5). I do not know exactly where this will lead but I want to work with those that will put as much effort into this learning process as I do!

    Conversations……that is what it is always about and in the 19 years that I have been in this business I see no replacement for sitting down and talking with teachers, sharing ideas, learning from each other, and developing something together that is better than anything we could have developed separately.

    While my method is a little different from above mentioned, here is how I will describe these workshops:

    Our goal at this grade level technology workshop is to move forward with the implementation of the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers which are :

    1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
    2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
    3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
    4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
    5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

    We will work with your existing curriculum at your grade level to create engaging learning experiences for your students while simultaneously increasing your technology skills. Your input will facilitate the direction of this meeting as we work collaboratively to enhance learning.

    There will be questions and confusion……just what I love!

  26. Hector says

    October 8, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    I just wanted to say that these days in school is very different from the days of my school days. The only learning materials the school had was the projectors, a/v aids, library and class books. Today, information is on the web and topics on how-to everything.
    There are alot of useful webtools to help out teachers, students and parents, which is good for all the parties involved.
    I am a teacher-in-training right now. I hope to teach “my kids” what they will need to learn in the future.

  27. Brenda MacDonald says

    October 11, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    I love the idea!!! First, there is the freedom of choice. And sometimes all teachers need is the time to play. I do like the earlier suggestion from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, that it might be advantageous to have someone knowledgeable in the room to offer support for those that might need some help. I would love to see the teacher’s reaction. So often, we are spoonfed. I would love to try it!!!

  28. Anita Harris says

    October 15, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    Love this idea and will use it! Ò˜º

    I also have enjoyed reading all the comments and will use them as well. I say, “Ditto” to them all!

    An initiative I have been trying to get started in our high school is having a STAR team of students. STAR stands for Student Tech Assistant Responder. It would also be kind of cool to have those students equipped to Skype with me if they needed assistance or maybe set up a TweetChat for the STARs and/or teachers. Just some more thoughts.

    Hey, has anyone tried this yet? Please share your experiences here:
    PD For Teachers – Student Style
    and view the results here:
    PD for Teachers – Student Style Results

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