"PDG" PD

Thanksgiving is over, and it's back to the daily grind. It's the busiest time of year, when all educators try to cram as much as we can into the three weeks leading up to Christmas. For me, it is attempting to fit all of the PD sessions in that I need to in a short month. The part of my job that I enjoy the most is providing professional development for our YCS teachers. I guess I enjoy it because I get to put aside the paper work assignments that try to monopolize my time, and be a teacher again. Sure, the players in the game have changed. Instead of planning activities for folks in the kindergarten crowd, I now tailor my lessons to those who are a little more advanced in years. The most interesting thing about the shift in my instruction is, it really isn't different at all.  As a primary teacher, I had the privilege of exposing my young students to the ways of school. The content was NEW to them, the procedures were NEW to them, and the possibilities for learning were NEW to them. The professional development that I provide for my teachers is no different. I am introducing them to the NEW ways of school; NEW tools, NEW techniques, NEW expectations. Things have changed, and we are no longer teaching in the same format we did just a few years ago. I do my best to keep in mind that all of this "NEW" can be overwhelming to my audience. Teachers have experienced so much change and uncertainly in recent years. It is my hope that when my teachers come into a session with me, they forget the stress of all the "NEW" that is being introduced, and focus more on the fun of broadening their understanding and skill set.

As a teacher you often wonder if your students learn from and enjoy your lessons, as much as you had hoped. You anxiously await feedback that will reassure you that you are doing a good job, or even help you to do a better job with the next session. Every great once in a while a teacher gives you a little something that you hold onto for those times you need reassurance the most. My all time favorite feedback on a session came from one of our teachers who is less than enthusiastic about having to attend regular sessions with me. "Hey, Holly", he said. "That was pretty damn good." Those words were music to my ears, and ones that I remember with a smile each time I think about it. These words, all be them a bit gruff, let me know that this teacher, a teacher that doesn't typically buy in, appreciated what I was sharing. In these words I heard, that this teacher's time with me was well spent; he benefitted. As teachers, that is what we all want to know. Are our learners satisfied with their learning experience? Are our learners walking away from us with the ability to apply what they have learned? And perhaps most important of all, are our learners walking away from us with the desire to take what they have learned to the next level? This is the true test that our instruction and method for sharing has been effective.

So as I am planning my PD sessions for December,  I'm referring back to my time in the classroom, and remembering how those kindergarten learners were in the same situation as my teachers. Both crowds like to be engaged (especially this time of year). Both crowds like to walk away from our time together eager to have the tools and skills to apply what they have learned. And something they never let me forget. Both crowds like a little candy sprinkled on the table to nibble on when they are learning. That, my friends makes for "pretty damn good" PD. I'll let you know how December sessions go!