I have participated in hundreds of hours of professional development, and I have to say that the majority has been high-quality and an asset to my professional work. If I had to identify one that was the most awful, I would say that it was a training that I attended during the summer, eight hours a day for three days. I would say what made the PD bad was that it was not interactive enough for us to be in such a small space for so long, and the chairs were extremely uncomfortable.
What the presenters could have done to make the experience better would have been to have breakout sessions that required the use of different rooms so that the participants were given the opportunity to move around and stretch their legs. They should also take into consideration the furniture when planning a professional development especially one where the participants would be required to sit for long periods.
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Paulette, I'm wondering because the professional development was ongoing for 3 days and eight hours a day, if you were able to take anything away or learned anything at the training. I think the set up of the room for a long, ongoing professional development is very important. It's good to keep your audience comfortable and engaged. Just as a classroom teacher would have hands on activities with students, professional developments should be structured the same way. At a professional development, the participants are the students and learning comes from engaging, interactive activities. I believe you learn by doing and practicing, "teach a man to fish he can eat for the rest of his life"
ReplyDeleteLisa
I did take quite a bit of information away from the training which I continue to use today, I just wish they had given us the condensed version.
ReplyDelete"eight hours a day for three days"...wow! i can see why you were not thrilled.
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