While professional development offers many benefits, it is often delivered in a top-down manner, based on what leaders in a school think staff need.
This can work, of course, but the lack of “democratic” engagement with staff can mean that professional development (PD) feels unnecessary or focuses on the wrong areas and becomes something simply being done to teachers rather than with them.
At our setting we have worked hard to make the PD we deliver collaborative. Staff have an input on the training being delivered so it works for them and the wider school community.
‘Democratic’ professional development for teachers
Step 1: Stakeholder consultation
The foundation for ensuring that this can work is bringing staff and senior leadership together to discuss what staff want to develop on and where the school needs to focus.
We have done this through workshops, held once a year at the start of the academic year, where discussions on these demands are held. The workshops also ensure that there is oversight and guidance on the decisions made about PD.
Step 2: Establishing a professional learning community
To ensure that teachers had a collective voice in these discussions, a professional learning community (PLC) was set up so staff could discuss where they wanted training to be focused.
For example, as a bilingual school, language literacy in English is a big focus and so this was one of the topics put forward for training recently. This training was provided by the school.
Staff don’t have to join the PLC but it has a goal of ensuring that at least 15 per cent of the teaching cohort join and that, ideally, all teaching departments are represented in the PLC. These goals proved easy to achieve as staff were keen to join from across the school.
The PLC meets formally on a monthly basis to discuss and reach consensus on the PD approach required to satisfy both staff and student needs.
These ideas can be based on one-off areas of training but also longer-term developmental strategies. Here is an example of a request, drawn up by the PLC and put to leadership:
- Months 1 and 2: Faculty-led workshops delivered by PLC members on topics such as literacy skills for students.
- Months 3 and 4: Departmental workshops, led by PLC members, where subject-specific discussions are held, bringing a level of locality to the project.
- Months 5, 6 and 7: Staff members elect to attend three workshops that will support them to develop mastery of a particular theme relevant to the project; for example, speaking and listening activities in all content areas.
Staff were urged to share literacy activities that have worked for them, and there has been a suggestion of peer learning walks. Such observations have been built into the PD plan for months 8 and 9.
Furthermore, the PLC is an ideal forum to channel bottom-up initiatives. For example, a PLC member suggested and administered an activity bank of PowerPoint on literacy topics, which includes pictures, examples and links in a shared digital space.
Step 3: A feedback loop
Throughout the process, feedback is gathered to ensure that the PD being delivered suits staff needs, and is something that they want to participate in.
This is done with anonymous surveys issued to staff, asking them whether they think anything needs changing or focusing on.
These surveys do not ask staff to be rated on their workshop presentation skills. Instead they focus on the vision of the PD, its implementation and its usefulness.
Since the introduction of this process, staff have appreciated having a shared focus, particularly on a theme that is important to them and one that supports them in helping their learners to achieve.
Furthermore, with monthly workshops, the bank of activities and learning walks, staff appreciate a continuous PD that makes good use of their time and is varied in its approach.
Lastly, and in particular with the learning walks, staff having the opportunity to showcase their literacy activities, as well as invite their peers from across the school into their class, has meant staff engagement is at an all-time high and a level of collegiality now exists that did not before.
Overall, developing a positive and democratic PD culture driven by staff and with “light touch” oversight from leadership has ensured that we can deliver an outstanding PD provision that satisfies all needs.
Nick Cross is professional development coordinator at Qingdao Amerasia International School, China
