Professional Development
With the end of this year’s MTS PD day hosted by MAMT, I
have now capped an absolute whirlwind week of professional development. My mind
is full. My heart is full. I feel invigorated, inspired, challenged, and ready
to jump right back in to planning and teaching.
One thing that I am reflecting on before I dive back into my
own classroom is the variety of the professional development opportunities I’ve
had this past week and what works well for supporting teacher learning.
SMALL GROUP WORKSHOPS (Peter Liljedahl)
Thank you to the St. James School Division, @msmclauchlan, and @amckiel for inviting me to join their workshop with Peter Liljedahl. Like me, this group of teachers started to work with Peter and his
thinking classroom framework three years ago. We have all tried using rich
tasks, random groups, and vertical non-permanent surfaces for making thinking
visible in our own classrooms and were eager to share experiences with each
other and to ask Peter some questions.
It was very exciting to be able to collaborate with a small
group of educators who have had some common experiences. We were able to dive
right in to some difficult conversations around tensions, problems, and
barriers.
Very powerful learning
can happen when educators have a chance to reflect on something that they have
tried in the classroom extensively.
A few things that I noticed from the day:
- I was reminded of what it feels like to be a learner. Working within a random group on a difficult math problem was engaging but at times frustrating. At times I felt overwhelmed, stuck, wanting more time on the task, and just wanting a moment to myself to think. As a teacher, I understand these uncomfortable feelings can be a prime place for learning; but we have to make sure that kids are getting through the experience in a positive space to reflect and consolidate.
- Experts can still learn. Since I have been immersed in the thinking classroom framework for the past few years, both as a teacher and as a consultant, I went into this session not knowing what more I would learn. Surprisingly, we were able to explore some tough questions that challenged me to consider some things that went against my current views around assessment. This was exciting. I was eager to get back to the classroom and try some things.
- Teacher readiness is the first step for learning. Peter has an interesting non-negotiable for his workshops: all participants must be there voluntarily. This speaks to understanding teacher readiness, it honours the time and efforts of those present and wanting to learn by protecting the day from being derailed. It is important to ask difficult questions, it is important to challenge ideas and to consider all sides of an argument, but there is a difference between challenging to gain understanding and challenging to resist change. Research shows that teachers who are mandated to go to a professional development usually does not lead to sustainable change. Developing a mindset of change is an important first step to learning.
LARGE GROUP WORKSHOP in the morning / KEYNOTE in the afternoon (Dan Meyer)
When the popularity of TED talks was starting to spread in
the mid 2000’s, it was a talk on school and creativity that would become the
most popular TED talk of all time. It showed
that people are interested in what is happening in education and open to
change. It also created an excitement around education and the work of
educators that had not been there before. A few years later, it was a talk on math education specifically that would deliver a powerful message on the disconnect between the joy of
mathematics and how it is taught in school. Thus emerged the first math education celebrity.
This year’s MTS PD Day had been anticipated by many people
for a long time. It was a break from the regular format of small group
workshops run by classroom teachers with numbers of participants typically
ranging from 5 to 30. This year MAMT was bringing in a headliner in Dan Meyer
and I was genuinely curious on how he would be able to run a meaningful
professional development experience for hundreds of participants. Research
shows that “one-shot” conferences where a speaker talks to participants in a
keynote format can be inspiring but don’t lead to lasting change in practice. After
the day ended, I am confident that Dan’s work with Manitoba teachers did plenty
of both.
I arrived early to the event centre to have breakfast with
my colleagues and as I walked in, I noticed Dan sitting at the very next table. First impression – Dan is way taller
in real life than he appears in his videos. He must be asked a lot about his
height; he later shared that he is 76 inches tall (Fun math. Some kids can’t
believe he’s 7’6’’ while others know to divide by 12 to get 6.6 and then claim
he is 6’6’’).
In my own class, to start off each school year, I always spend the very first lesson getting kids excited about all of the cool math we are going to learn before I mention anything about course outlines, marks, or assessments. I deliberately let them know what I value the most. I was curious to see what the first thing Dan would say to start the day – to show what he valued most. I was blown away. He is the CAO of Desmos and is most well-known for incorporating technology into learning and is an expert and creating perplexing and curious moments for learning with his 3-act tasks; but Dan wanted to make clear that there is one thing more important than anything else.
I love math. I love
using technology to teach it. But I don’t love either of those things more than
I love people.
He spoke to mathematics education specifically. Math can be
a powerful tool in shaping the identities of learners; it can empower or it can
debilitate. It is possible to teach mathematics “well” in a dehumanized and
denigrating way.
You will learn the math
that I consider important in the way that I value it and I will let you know if
you are right or wrong.
What are the possibilities if we approach math education in
a humanized way so that learners can see themselves in it – where they can see
their ideas and questions valued? At this point of the presentation, I am
positive someone in the room had started to cut some onions. This sentiment
spoke directly to my mind and my heart and encapsulated the why of my own teaching over the past ten
years.
When Dan started into the content of his presentation, it
was quickly apparent that facilitating a group of 250 teachers was not going to
be a problem. The way he worked the room, kept everyone engaged, made sure
everyone had time to think and share, while still controlling the pace was
nothing short of masterful. I noticed the following about his “teacher moves"
- He didn’t interrupt thinking unless he had something interesting to say. To call the attention of everyone in the room too often without something to think about quickly wears off its effectiveness. He also never interrupted thinking without a 10-second warning so that participants could at least finish their sentence or thought.
- He modeled good teaching. He explicitly told the participants that he was going to run the workshop as if we were a class of students and he was the teacher. This drew the participants’ attention to notice what he was doing throughout the lesson. It also set the bar high for us to hold him accountable for how he kept us engaged and pushed our learning. Far too often, there are workshops on education that do not model good teaching and learning.
- He consistently incorporated feedback from the crowd. He used Desmos tools to make sure any “work” or evidence we used for discussions were not teacher-made or predetermined but that they came from the participants. This made things more interesting and authentic; building on the notion that we were there to learn from each other.
- He provided choice. The latter part of the morning workshop was determined by what the participants decided. He explained that while the workshop wasn’t unplanned and done on the fly (that would be a disservice to the participants), but rather it was planned to have built in options and he would determine the direction based on our needs. This was very effective as everyone was at a different place in their own experience. I remember feeling nervous about jumping into a Desmos lesson because it was still unfamiliar to me; this was a contrast to how I felt at Peter’s workshop about thinking classrooms; a framework that I was very familiar with. I was eager to try Desmos but there was also a reservation and a feeling that I had to withhold my questions until I tried it.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS
My final professional development experience of the week was
the chance to visit some classrooms at another school to discuss the thinking
classroom framework. In my previous role as a math consultant for a large
school division, I was fortunate to be able to see many different classrooms
and engage with hundreds of teachers. It was great to be able to engage with
other professionals in this way again. I have done this in my current school as
much as possible as well – essentially, getting a chance to observe others and
have others observe you always leads to learning.
If I had to identify one model that was most effective; it
would be teachers talking and collaborating around evidence directly connected
to their own classrooms. Teachers care about evidence that is meaningful; and
what is most meaningful is the learning of students in their class.
Even in the role of an educational leader, I often find
myself learning from others. It is important to have our own ideas
challenged and questioned. It is when we are challenged in a safe environment that we
can grow and become better.
TO SUMMARIZE
- One shot / keynote presentations can be great for inspiration if done well. However, it is not enough by itself.
- After being inspired, going back and trying something in your classroom is great - following up with conversations and collaboration is crucial.
- Teachers want to be informed by their own classroom. If there are chances to observe others or have others observe you, take them.
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