Module 4: Teaching Teachers...Self-Paced PD

Serving up self-paced professional development

...the best way to get teachers excited about PD

When I think back over the past 5 years and try to figure out how much time I've wasted in professional development training sessions, I feel a sense of loss. How many after school events did I miss seeing my children participate in? How many times did I manage email instead of paying attention to the training because I already knew the "tip" or "trick" the trainer was highlighting? How many times did I miss a great new tool because the training came at a time when my brain was overloaded and I simply couldn't pay attention?

I think this scenario happens more than we care to admit. But as Teacher Librarians, we are not only teaching students, we should be leading the training and development for many of our teacher colleagues as well. As researcher Melissa Johnston states in a piece for School Library Research in 2012 "School librarians are expected to accept and fulfill numerous roles in daily practice; one of these roles is that of a leader in the area of technology integration" (p. 3). 

Finding ways to lead that integration takes a bit of ingenuity and a lot of understanding. 

In 2016, educational leader, Pat Phillips presented a survey to 35 schools in the Bismarck Public School District. The survey assessed the needs and wants of teachers for their ongoing professional development and one big takeaway was "the teachers on our design team let us know loudly and clearly was that they’re busy people (just like our students). That means the usefulness of our PD sessions would be directly impacted by their ability to access information and participate when and where it worked for them." (Phillips, 2017, p. 2). 

All of this makes the case for personalized, self-paced, professional development. Jayne Clare, blogger and founder of Teachers with Apps discusses a fantastic tool, Tes Teach that can be used to deliver instruction to students and professional development to teachers. You can find the direct link to her blog, TeacherswithApps, HERE.

Tes Teach is a way to organize content into modules and as Clare states, it is an "intuitive app for creating and delivering interactive lessons, projects, presentations, and more" (Clare, 2016).  

I've created a sample lesson below with two video tutorials that I created for my teachers on MyOn and TeachingBooks.net. There are also corresponding surveys so I know who I need to follow back up with.

                    Click here for a>>> Personalized PD Sample Lesson

Below is a video tutorial on how to use this resource for the teachers in your school:

"It is important to teach practical applications for integrating technology" 

Daniella Smith made the above statement in a 2010 issue of Library HiTech and it makes absolute sense. Oftentimes, as teachers, we're taught about these great tools but aren't fully trained in how to apply the technology in our classrooms. Using a tool like Tes Teach, helps Teacher Librarians to offer self-paced, targeted professional development to teachers in a format that is quick and easy. 

Enjoy!

Resources:
Clare, J. (2018, August 18). TES Teach with Blendspace – Teaching Resources, Lesson Plans, and

    Ideas By TES Global. Retrieved September 14, 2018, from https://www.teacherswithapps.com/tes- 

    teach-blendspace-teaching-resources-lesson-plans-ideas-tes-global/

Johnston, M. P., 2012. "School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers to

    Leadership Enactment,‖ American Association of School Librarians.

Phillips, P. (2018, July 23). ​Personalizing Professional Development For Teachers, By Teachers -

    EdSurge News. Retrieved September 13, 2018, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-01-04

    personalizing-professional-development-for-teachers-by-teachers

Smith, D, (2010),"Making the case for the leadership role of school librarians in technology

    integration", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 28 Iss 4 pp. 617 - 631    http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07378831011096277