Professional Development That Sticks

Book excerpt: How can we approach professional development in a thoughtful way, keep teachers motivated, and make the process worthwhile? It's a truth that school leaders can't deny: teachers tend to think of PD as a distraction from the "real work" of the classroom—as something to get through instead of an opportunity to engage, learn, and grow as professionals. Too often, they're absolutely right. When PD is packaged as a one-size-fits-all, one-and-done experience, even content that teachers might greet with enthusiasm won't stay with them for long. It just doesn't stick. In Professional Development That Sticks, Fred Ende makes the case for a better approach—one that melds traditional PD structures with personalized learning. Here, school leaders will find a framework for developing professional learning experiences that spark and maintain teacher motivation and lead to real changes in practice. Ende's three-stage professional development for learning (PDL) process covers critical aspects of planning, providing, and following up. In addition, PDL's Think, Act, and Reflect method ensures your teachers will acquire meaningful, deep, "sticky" learning that lasts.