What do we need to do to develop a self-directed professional development exploratory “institute” with built-in time and space dedicated to developing ideas, planning, adding technology and sharing successes and failures?
One of the true gifts of being part of school culture is that every September we get a "restart." We have the choice to pick up where we left off or shake things up by taking risks and challenging the process. During the last week of August, the faculty was immersed in opportunities to share professional development learning as well as discussions about summer reading that focused on student-centered learners and schools that have embraced, to varying degrees, the practices of inquiry, innovation, and project-based learning. The discussions surrounding the reading and professional development work were honest with teachers expressing "feeling uncomfortable" while still wanting to know and understand more about all of these elements including collaboration. Some self-identified as not being risk-takers and others believe they've already adapted to a culture of inquiry which may or may not be the case.
As with every good professional jump-start, people want to embrace these ideas and make changes. Often the day-to-day routines, while important, can become obstacles for those who truly want to know more. So how do we intentionally set aside time so that teachers can create a "hands-on" self-directed professional development experience with opportunities to collaborate across disciplines, grades, and perhaps divisions? One of the many important ideas I took away from the Leadership Tier of the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy is to schedule time on your calendar that is just for this work with no exceptions. Deliberately add it to your calendar, and schedule around it. Do not let those things that seem like daily emergencies but may be handled at another time take you away from this block for workshopping ideas without exception.
This has led me to think about asking the following questions of colleagues especially those who came to the EdCamp on Inquiry and providing space and time for them:
- Do you want to talk more about #EdJourney or read and discuss more Inquiry as a practice and a culture?
- Are you still unsure about inquiry as part of your teaching practice?
- Are you challenged to find ways to embed this teaching and learning practice in a meaningful way?
- Are you perhaps someone who has taken risks and challenged the process and has been doing this work but needs a safe place to share your ideas, successes, and failures?
Challenge the process!