Joanna Maselli's List: Leadership

• We now only have two staff meetings a year and those are far from traditional meetings. The remainder of our professional learning occurs within school based PLN teams, individually based PLNs, and grade level teams. These teams manage their own learning from content to scheduling. While their time isn’t monitored, their productivity is.
• In essence, we have told teachers that WE (school administrators and other outsiders) know what they need to know. We’ve taught them to sit back and wait until we find the time to give them what they need in the manner we think they should learn it.
• We have given teachers back the time that they spent sitting in general one size fits all professional development activities and asked them to use that same amount of time learning at the time, place and manner that fits them best. Furthermore, we have provided the freedom for staff to learn on the topic most important to them as long as it fits within our school improvement needs.

  • The notion of fully REPLACING "sitting and getting" time in "one size fits all" PD is key here. It is not OK to ask teachers to give up department time or prep time for self-directed PD, not only because this is fundamentally disrespectful to them as professionals, but also because it is ineffective. If we want teachers to take ownership of their own PD, they need to see it as a bonus, not an added burden. Teachers are PDed out right now, so I think giving them self-directed time ON TOP OF board-directed time is counter-productive and sets the entire model up for failure. Think about it as if teachers were the students. What would be the ideal thing to do with students? Now imagine that those students are mature, responsible, full-grown professionals. Why can't we do for them what we strive to do for our students?
• Throughout defining this new model of professional learning, we have found that all teachers are now engaged and contributing members of our collective team.
• Consequently, the work that is often done by the small minority in some schools is now being done by all staff.
• teachers are dedicating much more time to their professional learning under this model than they ever did within the traditional format.

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• Below are some lessons I learned from the exchange you had with this teacher.
• 1. Meet people where they are
• 2. Adult learners are concerned with the practical.
• 3. Establish equitable relationships based on respect.
• 4. Let go of specific outcomes.

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