Pro-D Report December 2014

Our PD committee, with 3 new and 3 returning members, has had two dynamic and productive meetings this fall.  We have developed some creative ideas for PD offerings this year, begun planning for the Spring Fling and New Teachers Conference (Apr 24 and 25, 2015), reviewed special applications and post-conference reports. At each meeting we share a professional learning moment from the previous month -- it is encouraging to hear about the diverse ways in which teachers develop their craft.  Our fall budget for out-of-district funding is about 2/3 spent, our Jan-March and Apr-June budgets are less than 1/4 spent, so there are opportunities for conference applications.  We also have a budget for special projects (group applications), inquiry projects, and of course our Zone Conference.  There are two empty spots on the PD committee.  Talk to Glen T., Richard G., or Tina C. if you are interested.

Varieties of PD

Last week we had a fantastic Pro-D Rep Training session at the Van Bien T&D centre with BCTF facilitator Donna Bulmer. We had our best turnout in a decade -- 22 teachers school PD Reps and PD Committee members. Our agenda: explore the nature/purpose/possibility of PD models, growth plans, teacher inquiry, professional learning communities, and issues in professional development.

The feedback indicated that the PD reps each had a few new perspectives on how professional learning could be supported in their schools, and some fresh ideas on how to individual and group inquiry.

One of the "take-aways" was a reminder of the variety of forms that PD can take. Here were some suggestions:

1. Attend a conference/workshop locally.
2. Attend a conference/workshop regionally/provincially/nationally/internationally.
3. Attend a workshop/conference or summer institute/course.
4. Be a sponsor teacher for a student teacher.
5. Become a BCTF PD associate, and carry on the Teachers Teaching Teachers Tradition.
6. Become a BCTF Program Against Racism or Status of Women Program associate, and carry on the Teachers Teaching Teachers Tradition.
7. Become active in your local association.
8. Becoming a facilitator, and give a workshop locally, regionally, or provincially.
9. Begin/continue university studies.
10. Develop innovative programs for use in your classroom.
11. Develop an annual personal PD plan, and maintain a PD portfolio.
12. Explore the possibilities of bringing the BCTF’s Program for Quality Teaching to your local.
13. Form/join a teacher research group.
14. Participate in group planning.
15. Hop on the Internet through BCTF Online or another PD site.
16. Job-shadow in a related work situation.
17. Join a professional organization/network: Provincial specialist association (33 within the BCTF),  Local specialist association/Local Chapter of a PSA, International network (ASCD, MSCD)
18. Mentor a beginning teacher.
19. Observe another teacher, and talk together about the lesson/program.
20. Participate in curriculum development.
21. Pilot curriculum/program.
22. Read professional literature.
23. Reflect, discuss, and research for the purpose of planning individual or group ongoing professional development.
24. Develop the discipline of reflective journal keeping.
25. Serve as your school’s PD representative.
26. Share with colleagues what you found at a conference/workshop.
27. Subscribe to/read professional journals.
28. Watch professional videos.
29. Work on a provincial committee (MoE or BCTF).
30. Work on the Local Ed-Change Committee.
31. Work on your local’s PD committee.
32. Work with a colleague to discuss, observe, and critique a lesson/program (peer coaching).
33. Write professional articles for your local’s newsletter, your PSA’s publications, or Teacher newsmagazine.

Source: Tools for Self-directed Professional Development - http://www.bctf.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment.aspx?id=6380

To this list, I would add a few personal favourites:

1. Use a face-to-face get-together to "unpack, mull, and fuse" -- make sense of the professional learning and teaching stories that have occurred over the last month.
2. Use Social Media (like Twitter) to engage with a personal learning network, scan educational links and articles, or join live chats with other educators.
3. Map out an educational ecosystem -- lay out a big poster and make lists, webs, and sketches of what's happening in a teaching context (class, dep't, school): values, goals, evidence of progress, schemes, unifying projects, new roles for parents, observations on inclusion and differentiation, etc.

Feel free to leave a comment and share unique things you do to support your professional learning.

The PD Committee

After two PGDTA Professional Development Committee Meetings, it has become clear that we have a great team in place with profound respect for autonomous professionalism among teachers, a desire for mutual accountability, and creative ideas for change.

We have tried to clear much of the administrivia and information-only items from our meetings in order to focus on dialogue and planning. This respects the fact that our committee members are not passive attendees but actual PD leaders in the district. Last year the PD Committee began talking about how their role might shift, including that of the Chair, and how the use of the PD Fund might shift as a result. This year, after two meetings, I think we are ready to describe what that shift might look like. These four items represent the core of a vision, and will give us plenty to mull over for the remaining seven meetings ahead in 2013-14:

1. Committee: the committee should have more opportunities to lead PD whether this is facilitation, presentation, or organization -- and also share in the promotion and celebration of the PD of others. One way this might happen is to conduct conference participant interviews with the aim to publish short celebrations of learning for other educators and the public.
2. PD Fund administrator: as PD chair and also in possession of a half-time coordinator's position, this person should be as active as possible on the professional learning side of the equation as the Fund administration duties; while it is already a busy job with pulls in many directions, there is always room to change how it is used. Solid precedents have been set by the past Chairs' involvement in Learning Partners, facilitating teacher inquiry projects, and the work of organizing the Zone Conference.
3. Fund applicants: we need to adjust our policies and do more to make use of the professional learning that takes place when we send teachers off to conferences. We did not used to have many expectations for what participants did with what they learned -- a very basic paper report was the default. We need to provide more and different opportunities for teachers to share -- not everyone wants to put on a workshop.
4. The PD Fund: currently, we allocate about 67% of the fund to out-of-district travel, 5% to in-district registration, 19% to the Zone Conference, 8% to special projects, and 1% to other items. We would like to develop strategies so that big-ticket items (conference travel) results in maximum benefit to teachers and their students. This may mean shifting some of the allocation towards more in-district events where more local teachers can access high-quality PD speakers and workshops, and also begin using part of the Fund to promote local talent and build capacity.