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Professional Development Tools

Whether you’re looking for something as simple as the perfect icebreaker, or a plan for a full-day in-service session for 100 teachers at many grade levels, this is where we share our tried and trusted tips for successful professional development sessions.

Latest Content
Screencasting Professional Development

Bill Bass explains the nuts and bolts of creating screencasts to replace professional development sessions.

Coaching Minute: The Walkaway

Amanda Adrian shares the importance of the "walkaway" — narrowing the focus of professional development planning to one critical question in this quick video tip.

See Their Stories, Not Their Misbehaviors

Ruth Ayres finds that most negative behaviors in writing workshops are rooted in unmet needs. Here is how she demonstrates this truth with teachers, using a simple glass jar and some tape.

Implementing New Mandated Initiatives

As Jennifer Allen helps implement a new mandated teacher evaluation model, she makes connections between the mandate and the negotiation process.

Picture It: Reorganizing a Professional Book Library

In this quick tip, literacy coaches Heather Fisher and Kathy Provost reorganize their professional book library in a simple way that will save hours over the year of hunting for texts.

Taking Breaks

This quick tip from Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan will ensure you don’t overlook one of the most important elements of successful meetings: breaks.

What Am I Doing Here?

Dana Murphy questions the value of her participation as a literacy coach in professional development sessions designed solely for teachers, and discovers unexpected benefits.

Integrating the Bookroom into Professional Development Sessions

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan explain how bookrooms can be at the heart of professional development sessions that are designed to help teachers explore resources. This is another installment in their bookrooms series.

Brain and Movement Breaks for Teachers

Heather Fisher explains why breaks are important for learners of any age, and how to incorporate them into professional development sessions.

An Open Apology

Jennifer Schwanke crafts a letter (never to be sent) to parents of her students from years past, remembering all her early blunders as a middle school teacher. This would be a fun piece to share at a new-teachers orientation, or as a workshop icebreaker for chatting about how teachers have changed over the years.

Empowering Teachers to Share: Leading More Powerful Professional Development Sessions

Ruth Ayres provides more time and opportunities for teachers to share learning and artifacts from their classrooms during professional development, and is amazed at the results.

Professional Development and Personality Types

Jason DiCarlo revisits a classic activity for uncovering personality types and building a stronger professional development community.

Talk to the Text Discussion Activity

Amanda Adrian and Heather Sisson lead a literacy coaching group discussion of an article using the “Talk to the Text” protocol. This is an excellent activity for fostering contributions from introverts. The video is Part 1 in a two-part series.

When Guided Reading Goes Wrong

Shari Frost has suggestions for coaching teachers when guided reading isn't working in their classrooms.

Coaching Minute: Explore

Heather Rader explains the value of surfing the web with a professional development purpose in this quick video tip.

Resourceful and Cheap: Professional Development That Sparks Learning and Change

Jennifer Allen provides a sample agenda and inexpensive resources for leading a professional development session on anchor charts.

Coaching Cycles Matter

Julie Wright explains how coaching cycles fit into the larger scheme of ongoing professional development. She includes templates for planning and protocols in her piece.

Where Am I Going and How Did I Get Here?

Melanie Quinn shares a simple professional development activity to help teachers match their beliefs and practice.

Resource Round-Up for Text Types

Heather Rader sets out to provide engaging, resource-packed professional development by helping teachers gain a deeper understand of text types, using children's books as mentor texts.
 

Teaching Is Like . . .

Kim Campbell shares a fun activity for a staff meeting or the launching of any new study group.

An Ideal Professional Bookshelf: The Important Book for Teachers

Help teachers get back to their reading and teaching roots with this classic professional development activity from Ruth Shagoury.

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