The speed of our forward motion is directly related to the velocity of the people around us (Seth Godin)

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This year, Professional Learning and Development has embraced the idea that each individual campus should work together on projects like their own learning.

Taking Seth's quote as a starting point, I would say forward motion at our campus is in very good hands. It's a safe culture here, where people can advance their thoughts and ideas in a nurturing, collaborative environment.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Someday everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody, when I paint my masterpiece (Bob Dylan)

Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash

Talent is the most important natural resource we have in schools!

This is according to a Futuremakers article that my boss sent around for all Campus Principals to read.

The article lists '5 priorities for education leaders in the next normal'.

Number three, which includes the talent comment, is called 'Cultivate your talent'.

Data on the recruitment and retention of staff for NZ schools in general is bleak, according to the article. They cite high teacher turn-over, frustration about limited career prospects among young teachers and high levels of burnout and diminishing job satisfaction.

The article provides an antidote of sorts and this relates to focusing on in-school coaching and mentoring programmes, replacing hierarchical management with innovation teams, and fostering effective career planning through engaging and purposeful PLD programme that meets individual needs.

My Masters of Educational Leadership thesis dealt with in-school coaching and mentoring* so, it's the last two of these points that I believe we need to concentrate on more. And of those two it's the last one that has the most importance and value for me.

That's the bit that talks about a purposeful Professional Learning and Development programme that meets individual needs.

* I will come back to this in my next post.

You're the apple of my eye (Badfinger)

We're into our last stages on settling on some 'low hanging fruit' from our recent campus gap analysis.

Collaboration and buy in are essential for the results of the gap analysis to gain traction as goals for our PD.

With that in mind, it's been a worthwhile process to gain the voice of students and staff on what how we are delivering on lessons, study and the all encompassing assignment that forms our educational process.

At the end of that analysis we are left with three areas that will be the source of our on-going focus in professional discussions.

These involve how to improve the Learning Coach conversations to get to deeper learning, teacher differentiation and concentration on a student-centred approach.

I'm excited by this impending concentrated focus on these three areas.

For me they tick a lot of crucial PD boxes:

• They are relevant and personal to us
• They will involve hands on strategies
• It will be teachers learning from teachers (organic - using our campus expertise) 
• It will form our long-term PD - from Term 4 onwards into 2020 
• It treats teachers as professionals 

What a dream I had, pressed in organdy (Simon and Garfunkel)

This may be an ever so slightly unsexy topic to post on but Professional Development is all about life-long learning.

I place great value on stretching my learning, so it's partly why I changed jobs to a school environment that more fully supports my unique PD needs.

Already, in the past 6 weeks, I have been to a two day conference and participated on an interview panel to find a new Regional Principal.

In addition, every Wednesday we close the school at 2.10pm for a staff PD session. I like how this central location and time allocation is deemed a vital part of our week. 

As Samuel Mormando wrote recently, 'for PD to be meaningful and relevant, it must constantly be reshaped to meet the needs of every teacher-and C.H.O.I.C.E can help'.

C.H.O.I.C.E stands for Constant Progress, Honoring Professionals, Ongoing, Individualized, Collaborative, and Energizing. 

It's the aconym used at Garnet Valley school and it also applies to our endeavours at Westmount (Kaipara Campus).

We need to keep it in mind, and apply it as well as can, for every Wednesday session.

It's a wonder I can think at all (Paul Simon)

Professional development.

What is it?
Generally speaking,  it's a focus on the development and growth of individuals and organisations (me and my school in this case).

More specifically, it refers to a wide variety of specialised training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness.

Sometimes this involves a meeting after school on a Monday afternoon in a hot and stuffy staff room.

What is it good for?
If it is true to its intentions it can be great.

But if the professional development is poorly designed, executed, scheduled, or facilitated, or if teachers feel that it is irrelevant to their teaching needs and day-to-day professional responsibilities, then at best it's seen as a waste of time, at worst it can have a negative, destabilising impact.

When is the optimum time for it?
According to Stanford University it needs to be embedded in substantial planning and collaboration time at school.

I think the key words is EMBEDDED - to be an integral part of a surrounding whole.

Why is that many many schools feel that after school on a Monday is the right time to schedule something that should be an integral part of a teacher's professional development?

The best example I've experienced was at Woodford House a few years ago when staff embarked on an inquiry project of their own design. Ultimately these projects, which lasted for a number of school terms, resulted in meaningful change to individuals AND the organisation.