This was an amazing week for me as a professional development specialist. I had the wonderful opportunity to experience all aspects of my new position:
- from organizing, implementing and reflecting on an eight hour preK-12 Project Based Learning (PBL) session,
- facilitating a one-on-four small group restructuring session to create a hybrid approach for a College Prep English 12 section with high school teachers,
- a questioning session with my current leader about my own skill-set and how I am utilizing it,
- to a comprehensive introduction of a new organizational leader to the vertically aligned 6-12 work I have been involved in at the district that I am embedded.
For me this provided a perfect opportunity to reflect on exactly what it is that I do, and how I could improve on my approach. Upon reflection, I found that this weeks work fell into three categories that led to the driving force for those I serve, as well as for myself, to achieve growth.
The three categories are TIME, SUPPORT, and QUESTIONING:
TIME
As I review the results that were submitted from the PBL session I recognize that the teachers greatly appreciated the TIME to sit with their teams and plan a project. They appreciated the SUPPORT of the professional development specialist who were available as well as that of their principals who also participated in the project planning process. The products that they created were then recognized by providing TIME for them to present to their peers, TIME for feedback, and then TIME for revision. Each groups project was different and interestingly enough focused not only on the standards, topics of interest for students, but more telling, on the PASSION of the teachers involved. Providing the teachers focused TIME with each other to reach a goal, with SUPPORT, and with their administrators proved to be something that produced projects rooted in PASSION.
SUPPORT
Once they have TIME, they need SUPPORT. They need to know that the product that they created was recognized and will be valued. Even if the product needs to be adjusted to meet standards or to adjust the QUESTIONS, the teachers need to know that their PASSION and their TIME involved in the collaboration process did not go unnoticed. They need feedback. Not only is this the case for the PD session, but for the small group restructuring that I facilitated as well. It is essential for me to return to the people and products that were created in this session: the VISION, the curriculum map, and the visuals are products rooted in PASSION. I must review them, pay value to them and encourage the PASSION that was palpable within that conference room to continue to grow in my absence. The development, revision and continuation of this momentum is contained in the power of QUESTIONING.
QUESTIONING
There is a fine art to determining the correct QUESTION to ask at the optimal TIME. To achieve the best possible outcomes for a team or individual, asking the correct QUESTIONS at the perfect TIME is essential. I greatly appreciated the TIME my new leader took to observe and reflect on my work. The amount of SUPPORT I felt while educating her on my work made me feel valued. During her TIME with me, I closely observed her QUESTIONING the teachers and the administrators who I serve. This is a role that I would normally be engaged in and not have the opportunity to see from an outside perspective. This unique opportunity allowed me to reevaluate the power in asking the right QUESTIONS at the right TIME. Just like the creation of a driving QUESTION for a PBL, when working with teachers and administration I must be cognizant of my own QUESTIONS. I realized listing to her QUESTIONS, that I must be specific enough to help the teachers reach the answers they already know and drive them in the direction that is best for them to go. However, QUESTIONS must also be open ended enough to allow for creativity, PASSION, and personal redirection to manifest. Observing this leader allowed me to listen more intently and hear things more clearly. This new clarity gave me an understanding of the things that I may have been missing. We spent TIME reflecting at the end of the day on my approach to my current PASSION project. Through this TIME, SUPPORT, and QUESTIONS, I gained much clarity on my thinking and a renewed respect for the power of providing and giving up my TIME to display SUPPORT for personal growth through proper QUESTIONING of those I serve.
PASSION
As I work through all of the differentiated work I was involved in this week, there was one driving force around growth. That driving force is positive PASSION! During the PBL planning session it was clear that the teachers and the administrators were PASSIONATE about the driving questions that they chose to focus their projects on. During the restructuring of the curriculum delivery it was clear that the teachers were PASSIONATE about making this change so that they could better serve their students needs. During my session speaking on my own skill-set, it was obvious that my leader is PASSIONATE about what he does and that he was also keen on the things that I am PASSIONATE about in my work. During the tours, listening to the QUESTIONS that drove to more QUESTIONS, I recognized that my teachers are also driven by PASSION.
My week was filled with PASSIONATE educators taking the TIME to QUESTION what they are doing and it is my job to ensure that SUPPORT is provided and through proper QUESTIONING teachers and administrators will continue to be PASSIONATE about their work and QUESTION their approach to continue on the path towards growth that we journey TOGETHER.
