An interesting comment was made today and I would like to get some feedback on what some technology professional development experts think. Does professional development need to be done in an organized meeting with a presenter and participants or can it take on other forms? In order for something to be considered ”real” professional development are there certain criteria that need to be met? Can two teachers having a conversation on the best way to present something to a class be considered PD or does one person need to be an “expert” on it?
Theresa,
The answer is…”It depends.”
I believe there can be professional learning communities like the one you are participating in by blogging and subscribing to others blogs. You can reach out with a question like you just did, and get answers from the community. This IS learning, isn’t it?
Now, the part about being an expert adds an interesting twist to the question. How does one define ‘expert’? What if we settled for a person that was ‘experienced’? How much experience? If two people have a conversation about a topic that they don’t know much about, does that really constitute learning? These are great questions.
So, yes PD can be done this way very effectively.
Now, the second part of your question is…how would you
Theresa,
The answer is…”It depends.”
I believe there can be professional learning communities like the one you are participating in by blogging and subscribing to others blogs. You can reach out with a question like you just did, and get answers from the community. This IS learning, isn’t it?
Now, the part about being an expert adds an interesting twist to the question. How does one define ‘expert’? What if we settled for a person that was ‘experienced’? How much experience? If two people have a conversation about a topic that they don’t know much about, does that really constitute learning? These are great questions.
If you were a Board of Education how would you decide where to give salary credit for the learning that took place in informal conversations?
Another good question.
pete