Ok so I’m not going to kid myself that I’m going to manage my time better or develop a work life balance that actually has some element of balance…Those are just going to be happy coincidences if they happen. I will not have and therefore be driven by expectations around time – I will enjoy being pleasantly surprised when I do achieve either or both!
Most of my aims for the year are around PD … both my own and that which I provide for others. I keep harking back to my Mindlab Lit Review which was around digitising PRTs or PCTs as they are now known.
My main finding – no surprises here – is that PD should be differentiated, cost effective and future focused. SO much PD is not. The one size fits all model is still being rolled out to staff. We spend so much time in PD listening to presentations that could have been given in an email or as a flipped lesson and yet everyone sits there – seething with rage at the perceived waste of time. From my Lit Review:
Concluding reflections
Teachers face a reality of being at a crossroads regarding professional development. Due to increasing costs and general disenchantment with the format, the nature and availability of traditional professional development opportunities is changing. As communities, schools are looking for cost effective, future focussed, differentiated PD. Increasingly teachers are looking for individualised, personalised, inquiry based strategies that enable them to work smarter not harder.
It is also important that there is cross over between teacher learning (PD) and the appraisal systems for example. In schools where the pace is ever increasing, job demands become more insistent and time is always short, it is vital to have PD that meets needs, is relevant to the school community and the interests of the teacher involved, and not seen to be just another box ticking exercise. People also want the freedom to access professional development from their own home and at a speed they can control. Teachers are being encouraged to flip lessons for their students, why not flip the PD for the teachers?
We are able to drive our own PD – IF we can find appropriate courses and IF we can get funding and IF we can then get release to attend… way too many ifs….
I really want to lift my game as far as the PD I offer the PCTs this year. I want to make it a positive and valuable use of their time – NOT a box ticking exercise. I intend to set pre-meeting tasks – mostly video viewing that will mean we can go straight into discussion when we meet. This also models the flipped learning style we hear about. There needs to be a different programme for the 1st and 2nd years – the 2nd years do not need to repeat what they did last year so I need to really work on their programme.
I also want to offer my SCT services to the wider school population. At the moment I am generally the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. I need to get to HOD meetings to advertise my wares. I need to show them how I can be of value to their department – to make the role a POSITIVE thing – make their jobs easier. They all have teachers that need help. It doesn’t have to become public – that’s my advantage.
Ok so that’s my plan!
Look after my PCTs better
Develop the SCT role staff-wide
Come to grips with GAFE and Google things generally to create a more streamlined experience for everyone.
Lastly….
Practice some resilience!
Yeah – I preach it but when confronted by a challenge or significant change I can be as resistant as the best of them! I need to work on breathing and not freaking out. Things that particularly challenge me are people who confront me about my work and strangely enough computer games! Damn you WOW!
BRING IT ON!