Monthly Meeting Prep - January
Hi there!
Welcome to a special edition of Monthly Meeting Prep! As we roll into the second semester, I wanted to address a topic that I am constantly asked about — differentiated professional development.
This month’s offering will look a little bit different because I’m going to provide you with the same advice that I’ve given to clients in the past. It’s a foolproof formula for creating a custom PD breakout day with minimal cost to you in a format that your teachers will really enjoy.
As such, this month’s format looks a bit different. Instead of a PowerPoint and video, I am going to provide you with a PDF that walks you step-by-step through the process of consulting with your teachers and helping them prepare for an in-house workshop.
January Monthly Meeting Prep
Topic: Differentiated Professional Development (on a Budget)
Overview: You probably know by now that my day job is working as a filmmaker and owner of a professional development company. We travel the country documenting the best practices of some of the best teachers in the country.
We like to work directly with schools and districts to film some of their rockstar teachers. We also license our content library directly to schools so they can offer differentiated PD to their staff.
Why is differentiated PD important?
You know how it is. How often have you heard from a veteran math teacher that they don’t want to sit through the same literacy PD because 1.) it’s not relevant to their content area and 2.) they’ve already heard it all a dozen times? Although we all know that literacy is important in all disciplines, it is hard to argue with the second concern.
All too often, we have all teachers attend a single training because we believe it’s broad enough to connect with most of them. The reality is, we often lose the attention of educators who would be better served by a more tailored solution.
That’s why principals and district administrators engage with us. We either have the content their teachers are looking for, or we can partner with them to create it from scratch.
Oftentimes in these conversations, I’ll throw out the idea of an in-house conference. It’s a great, low-cost way to meet the needs of a diverse group of teachers. And teachers love it because it hits what we have found to be the three critical components of relevant PD:
Differentiated - Teachers are about to choose what best meets their needs.
Teacher-led - Our research shows that teachers really want to hear from educators who are in the classroom daily rather than paid consultants.
Relevant - By empowering PD leaders to focus on their passion and what’s working in real classrooms, you’ll definitely be providing value.
How to use this content:
Download this PDF
Follow the step-by-step suggestions
Reach out to me with any questions at mike@peerdrivenpd.com
I’m happy to hop on a Zoom call with anyone to discuss the possibilities of hosting your own in-house conference. Imagine offering PD sessions that your teachers truly enjoy. It can be a very empowering experience for everyone involved.
Reply with your thoughts and ideas! I’m happy to share out with the group if anyone has something to add.
Talk soon,
Mike
P.S. I’m planning to be on the road again soon. If you are near the areas below and are interested in having us drop by your school to create some custom PD, just reply to this email.
Kauai - Feb 4 - Feb 18
Northern California (within 2-3 hours of Redding) - early to mid-March
Central Florida (within 2-3 hours of Orlando) - early to mid-April
If you’re not in these areas but are still interested, reply, and we’ll keep you in mind for future trips!