Self-Service PD

Regular professional development does not always reach everyone. Sometimes it covers material the learner already knows; other times it goes to fast and is too advanced; and may not even be applicable in the learner's classroom.




When this happens to you, how can you learn and grow as an educator on your own?

  • Reading:  There are several books that can help teachers learn new engagement or management strategies.  Here is my Amazon book list.  Some of the books, like Shift This, have weekly chats on Twitter (sign up for the #ShiftThis Remind to get notifications about the chat)
  • Podcasts:  There are lots of educational podcasts that are available, based on what you want to learn.  I suggest checking out Google Teacher Tribe, Sustainable Teaching, The 10 Minute Teacher, and Kids Deserve It. 
  • Conference Handouts:  After conferences, a lot of presenters will share their work, either on their personal website or on the conference website.  Search for TCEA, ISTE, and SXSWEdu as a starter for conference resources.  
  • Online Learning:  Want to learn about Google Classroom? What about Minecraft? Do a simple Google Search on these topics to find articles, videos, and blogs that will help you learn and grow as a teacher.  
What are other ways that you can learn on your own? 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Math Icon Board

Image
In my job, I am always looking for new ideas to share, whether it is a new activity or a new twist on an established one. Recently I got an email from Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook with this idea -   an icon board for visual thinking.  I really got me thinking about how it could be used... and what other icon boards could be created. Since I am a former math teacher, that is where my mind heads - to math.  I started looking at the icons in the Insert Icons for Slides add-on, and sure enough, I found plenty that apply to math. So I started adding them, and thus creating my Math Icon Board My goal was to add icons that could be utilized in a variety of math and science classes. Obviously I do not have everything, partly because I couldn't find it or it didn't come to mind during my creation. When students use this, my suggestion is that they copy the icon (either by right-clicking and choosing copy OR hitting ctrl and C keys at the same time) and then pasting it
Read more
Image
Math is Real Life!  It is the first Wednesday of November, which means it is time for Math is Real Life! I actually had an recent experience in my house that I shared with my students how my husband and I used the skill they were learning to make waffles. On Saturday morning tradition is to have waffles or pancakes for breakfast. A couple weeks ago, my husband and youngest daughter decided to make waffles and to use what pancake mix was left in the box.   I was in another room, but when I heard my husband say " 2 times one and a half equals 3", I ran into the kitchen and said "What did you say?" He replied "The recipe calls for 2 cups of mix, but there is 3 cups, so I figured out that 2 times 1 1/2 equals 3, so I will multiply my other ingredient amounts by 1 1/2 to determine what I need".  Well, I was a giddy mess, because in my ACCEL class I was introducing Multiplication of Fractions on Monday.  This is a topic that the kids always question me wh
Read more

Remote Learning Recommendations, part 1

Now that many of us are in the thick of remote learning, or for those of us in my district, where we are preparing for remote learning, I have come across some great resources that I wanted to share. I am sure that throughout all this that there will be more, so that is why this is part 1. First, I have to say, I love Slidesmania . Her templates are amazing and I am constantly recommending her site to everyone. Right now, her Weekly Planner template is a must for teachers teaching remotely. Check it out! Second, I have seen a lot about educational technology companies reaching out to teachers, schools, and districts with free offers of normally paid versions.  On one hand, that is really cool, but it can be really overwhelming to teachers to decide what new tools to try in their classes.  Edweek  even wrote a very good piece on it. Based on what I have seen, planning with teachers and instructional coaches for remote learning, my recommendation is for teachers to generally use wh
Read more