PD Without a Meeting

Written by Grace Brown 

We’re all familiar with the big district-, school-, or department-wide professional development meeting. We know it, we love it, and we rely on it. However, a giant, time-consuming meeting is not always the best method for engaging, authentic professional development. Let’s explore how we can ditch the meeting and still reach our teachers with inspiring professional development!

Give Them a Choice (Board)

I’ve utilized choice boards in a traditional PD meeting to facilitate differentiated sandbox time. But with some modifications and a little gamification, we can use a choice board to create engaging professional development – without a meeting.

Here’s a tic-tac-toe board I sent to middle school and elementary faculty as an October initiative.

As I was developing the squares, I paid attention to the following:

• Are these activities authentic to the classroom?
• Is there a balanced mix of difficult, medium, and easy tasks?
• Do these activities reflect teachers’ interests, according to the data I’ve collected?
• Do these activities help move educators closer to the overall learning and teaching goals?

From this choice board, I was able to connect with teachers I hadn’t previously worked with, celebrate the achievements of each person who entered, and do something fun! While there could only be one winner, I made sure each participant received a little “treat” for learning these new “tricks.”

Pop Goes the Tech Coach

Last fall, Instructional Technology Coach Tracee Keough created the Tech Pop-Up, which not only allows a coach to provide individualized PD without a meeting, but also provides a chance to get into the classroom and work directly with students.

In a Tech Pop-Up, you basically offer to take over a teacher’s class to teach the students a mini-lesson on a tech tool. In my case, I reached out to the elementary teachers and offered to come to their room, read a book, and lead the kids through some fun activities in Google Slides (a new tool in our district). I was booked up immediately! Over the course of the month, I visited every 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classroom to read a story and teach tech tools. 

Not only was it a fun way to break up my day and work with students again, but I also had teachers coming up to me to tell me how much they had learned from the activity as well. 

As I left one classroom, the teacher immediately asked to set up an individual meeting with me. Success! 

This activity can be adapted to fit any setting, but the basic idea is this:

• 30-40 min lesson (depending on grade, bell schedule, etc.).
• Led by the coach for the students.
• Content aligned with district and/or teacher goals.
• Lessons can be adapted and dropped into many contexts.

If you want to hear Tracee talk more about this strategy and her fun way of incentivizing participation, check out this podcast episode.

Meet Them Where They Are

Tech Take-Out and PD on the Potty/Learning on the Loo are two strategies that are more passive on the part of the coach, but can be tailored to support any ongoing PD endeavors. Both provide bite-sized PD in the form of visuals and easy-to-snag treats, which can draw attention to specific tools and tips that we often don’t have time to hit when sharing about big picture tools and strategies. They can also serve as a way to provide “bonus” activities for teachers who are looking for a challenge. 

Tech Take-Out, a strategy created by coach Emily Cowan, is designed for teachers to be able to “grab and go” their professional learning – and get a treat while they’re at it. Placing these bite-sized tags attached to treats in the teacher’s lounge or at tables before a faculty meeting allows you to provide helpful tips without a presentation. 

PD on the Potty (or Learning on the Loo) is a way to guarantee that your tools and tricks are seen by the entire faculty – I mean, we all go to the bathroom! Keeping the tips simple but applicable will increase the impact of this clever PD measure. When I posted my first PD on the Potty, I had teachers stopping me in the hall to say they thought it was funny and several followed up with more questions about the tool featured. 

These tools can help us have greater impact across our schools without scheduling more meetings. Utilizing unexpected and unconventional activities can bring fun and creativity to PD while still offering authentic learning opportunities. Review your PD plan and see if one of these strategies can replace a meeting!