Does professional learning lead to professional growth?

It is no secret to anyone that knows me that one of the key reasons I wanted to be a principal at an international school was for my own professional growth. I was hoping to renew my passion for school leadership and to learn in a new context. So far so good! Everyday is proving to be a new learning experience for me! I am learning through my interactions with others, from mistakes, from new experiences and by applying my knowledge about school leadership in a different context. This has me wondering how we as leaders can do this better for our staff.

This week I had the opportunity to travel to Shanghai with 6 teachers from CISB. We attended a two day professional learning workshop about Pedagogical Documentation in Reggio Emilia Inspired Classrooms. Much of the 2 days was devoted to learning about Reggio Emilia principles, philosophies and environments with educators from other international schools. The learning did not come from the information provided by the presenter. The learning came from our conversations during and after the PD as well as the opportunities to interact with other educators and see other contexts.

This experience really has me reflecting about professional development/learning verses professional growth. I have been fortunate to have had a great deal of professional learning opportunities through my career. I have attended workshops, courses, conferences and created a professional learning network on Twitter but how has my participation in these events changed my professional practice or helped me to grow as a leader?

For me it is never about the content but about the experience and the people. The staff and I received a lot of information and knowledge about Reggio Emilia but it was not until we discussed it and tried to understand it within out own context that we began to change our thinking and to open our minds to new possibilities for our classrooms and our school. Having the opportunities to have those informal conversations at lunch, over dinner and on the train gave us the time to process the information and to find ways that we could apply it in our context. We could challenge our thinking and the thinking of our colleagues by the questions we asked and the observations we shared.

The workshop was held at the Shanghai American School which was an amazing facility that had true Reggio Emilia inspired PreK classrooms. Lola on of the teachers in PreK had traveled to Italy to observe and learn at the Reggio Emilia schools. Part of her role on the preK team is to act as a coach for her colleagues in all things Reggio. Seeing her classroom and those of her colleagues and talking with them about the implementation of the program allowed us to see and hear about the realities of Reggio Emilia and different ways it could be applied in different contexts. It allowed us to visualize what it might look like in our school and to ask questions about the benefits and challenges of the program.

Staff returned from the PD energized and excited not because of the workshop or its content but because of the opportunities to talk and learn from one another and also to see how the program works in other schools.

This experience has caused me to reflect about the PD opportunities we are providing for teachers. How are we delivering PD? What is the content, context? What is our intended goal/purpose? How do we know that what we are providing is changing practice or leading to professional growth?

There are times that professional learning is important….sometimes teachers need content information to stay current or deepen their knowledge about a particular subject or content area.

Sometimes teachers need the theory or philosophy behind a pedagogical approach, strategy or method.

Sometimes teachers need new resources or materials to support the learning in the classrooms.

Sometimes teachers need individualized differentiated approaches based on their experiences and individual areas of strength and growth.

As the leader it is our responsibility to use the precious time, money and resources that we have at our disposal to provide the best opportunities for professional growth for our staff.

How do we value their time, needs and experiences to create meaningful learning experiences? What can we do differently?

How can we create more meaningful job embedded professional learning experiences for our teachers that build on their strengths and develop their areas for growth?

How can we renew their passion and excitement for teaching and learning?

How can we encourage and support risk taking and innovation?

I would love to hear from others about innovative ways they are creating opportunities and inspiring professional growth for teachers.

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