I'm kind of a yogi now. My girlfriend Melanie has been telling me
for months that I should take a class at the new studio that opened in our
town, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided to listen. It is
awesome! Dare I say that it is the most impactful workouts I've ever done? There
are a variety of class formats designed for different purposes, all providing
participants the opportunity to destress, sweat, and stretch the body.
Instructors do not demand increased performance from participants during yoga
practice as often happens in other workout classes. Rather they use phrases
like, "You may choose to extend your reach" or "Consider
challenging yourself by...” empowering those of us in class to be in charge of
our own growth. We are given basic instructions on the poses to perform, but these
additional phrases guide us to customize our workouts for ourselves to maximize results.
Last week while attending one of the more difficult classes, the
instructor encouraged us by saying; "Free your mind by closing all your unneeded
and unwanted apps and windows". Wait, what? A tech reference during a yoga
practice? That's when it occurred to me…Attacking PD like a yoga practice may
be just what it takes to entice some reluctant teachers to stretch themselves
and increase their integration comfort level. I realized this might be
especially important when dealing with teachers new to our district that may
have little experience with or knowledge of educational technology. (It’s that
time of year after all.) Maybe our teachers need to be instructed to close out
the extras and focus specifically on what they need as individuals to extend
their use of technology. Maybe this is when the true value of the “stretch”
will be felt, fostering the desire to learn more. While I've always tried to make PD stress free, admittedly I've
been guilty of being the type of trainer that asked for a Tree Pose (creating
full course digital content) when a Downward Facing Dog (creating digital
content for only one course or subject) may be all some of my participants were
able to handle at the time.
So as I plan to welcome and train those teachers new to our
district, as well as plan "practices" for our current teachers, I
will work to provide more options for participants to stretch and grow
themselves as individuals. Sorry teachers, opting completely out of training cannot
be an option as it is when it comes to attending yoga practices. I will however do my
best to see that you walk away from our time together feeling inspired to
stretch yourself a little further in regards to your integration practices and
that you do so with a stress-free mind. I'll try my best to be more, "Consider challenging your self by..." and less, "Come on, you're better than that!" See...I am kind of a yogi now.
Namaste
