Far too often, teachers are subject to in-services and workshops where we examine an idea or a concept that may or may not be useful for our own personal practice. A teacher may end up learning about something redundant, which they have already been incorporating successfully into their classroom, or about something which is difficult to implement into their day to day practice. Unfortunately, while many of these sessions hold value, they are typically not the most effective way for teachers to engage in professional development. Instead, we as educators can benefit from the same self-directed learning environment that we are attempting to provide our students.
There are several benefits to self directed learning when engaging in professional development.
1) Everybody can choose something they interested in: Training sometimes fails to meet the specific needs of the teacher. Every teacher has a different challenge, need, or deficiency that they have identified a need to improve. Since we are able to focus on something where we feel deficient, teachers could feel more motivated to work harder on this area of development, as they see an ‘end goal’ for themselves.
2) Everybody has their own learning style and needs: Like our students, we as teachers have a mix of different learning styles. If we are trying to provide ourselves the optimal learning opportunity, then it makes sense that we are able to direct our learning to be focused around our own specific learning style. As an example, a direct learner would try to do something with the information they are provided, where a reflective learner would prefer to think things through and understand them before acting on the information.
3) Everybody takes ownership over their professional development: When one has ownership over their own learning, rather than simply participating in a process of knowledge transfer, they typically work harder to generate their own learning experiences. This results in learning that will make an impact on the teacher as a learner, by allowing teachers to look at what makes sense for them pedagogically.
4) Everybody has their own entry point: As an example, I look at the Technology in the Classroom 1 AQ that I completed recently. While some teachers taking this course are very ‘green’ when incorporating technology into the classroom, I feel relatively comfortable with a good number of different programs and tools. For me, I was able to extend my knowledge, because instead of being forced to learn a specific type of software, I had the freedom to look at whatever tools were interesting to me. This allows the beginning learner to look at something relatively straight forward with a slow learning curve, while the advanced learner can hop into the deep end and figure things out on their own. Personally, this holds a lot of merit, as it allows for an authentic learning experience, rather than a regurgitation of previously learned material.
Clearly, the option to self direct learning has a litany of benefits, and, when given the opportunity, I believe that teachers will take more from self-directed opportunities than from workshops and required sessions.
Chris, this is an excellently written post. I really enjoyed reading it and agreed with all that you had to say. I have had the privilege of working for some principals who value self-directed learning and supported it by bringing in the PD personal or tools I needed to pursue my desired learning. These have been the most enjoyable years of my career (8 years so far) and the most beneficial to my students. Sometimes it's nice to go through the motions of just checking the box to complete a task for a course, but I'm never satisfied with what I get out of it. Although I often overwhelm myself with lofty goals in self-directed learning, I too get so much more out of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts.