PD

When running a PD session:

1. Make sure you tell people coming to the session the things they will need for the session to be successful.  Do not waste half the time gathering materials.

2.  Make sure the room is equipped with everything you need to make the meeting a worthwhile procedure.  Do not run out of paper or markers.  Preparation is a must.  Teachers are expected (and rightly so) to be prepared for their classes daily.  PD facilitators, especially when they are administrators, should be required to do the same.

3.  Make sure you explain procedures and expected outcomes properly.  It is important not to spend precious minutes doing work, especially tedious work that is meaningless.

4.  Make sure the program is easy to set up and use.

5.  Make sure you understand what you are teaching us.

6.  Encourage give and take at meetings.  No one wants to listen to someone putting them down for over an hour.  It is a sure way to turn everyone off.

Someone needs to observe the people running these Pd sessions and rate them, the way they rate teachers.  Click here to see my PD day rating and the story behind the above observations.  You will understand the picture above then.