Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

There has been a lot of focus on professional development for teachers in light of all the new technology, 1:1 initiatives, Common Core Standards...the list goes on. It's definitely a concern because in order for anything new or different to be effective in the classroom, teachers need training and practice. Which of course has many schools and districts in a bind since everyone is also in the midst of budget constraints. The question then is how do we pay for the necessary professional development when we don't have the money to do so? One answer is look within - good professional development doesn't have to cost money.  There are ways to utilize the resources in your own building or district and get quality professional development.  All that's really required is a little time, effort and commitment. Having been both a teacher, administrator, and now a provider of professional development, I have had a wide range of experiences with professional development and th...

In my most recent post in my hybrid PD series, Planning for Hybrid PD (part 4) - Teacher Input I talked about my plans in my next face-to-face meeting with teachers I have been working with for the past four months. My focus was on teacher input and really addressing the needs of the teachers and giving the teachers the control over the content and focus of what we did. Lesson Four: Provide teachers with a choice in what the professional development focuses on..  Let them choose topics of interest, or topics they are struggling with, or topics they feel will be of benefit to their specific content are or their specific students.  By providing choice, you are allowing teachers control over their learning and the ability to make it personal. This provides a sense of empowerment and motivation. Things went well for the most part.  We spent some time, as we always do, sharing what they had done in their classrooms with Sketchpad and lessons .  This is such a g...