Do-It-Yourself Professional Development

It doesn't have to be this way!

The first time I saw this, I thought it was hilarious, because it's often not far from the truth.

Professional development is one thing I'm very passionate about.  I've always been that teacher that purposely signed up for sessions to make teaching easier and more fun.  Once technology conferences were an option, I was hooked! That's what made me pick this book ... to help teachers feel the same as I do. 
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Inspiration from "The Four O'Clock Faculty"

@RACzyz #4OCF

" A ROUGE guide to revolutionizing Professional Development" 
Here are some of my favorite thoughts from Rich Czyz's book!

• "Pursuing learning and professional development is the single most important action we can take to hone our craft as educators."
• "You have the power to improve your own professional learning."
• PD must be meaningful, relevant, have choices, never a waste of time, and focus on improved learning outcomes for students and teachers. 

Does someone have to create or provide this PD for you?  Not necessarily ...

Redesign PD - DIY Style! #PDIY

First things first, you have to ...

• Commit to being the best educator you can be! 
• Learn as much as you can so your students (or teachers) can too.
• Read The Four O'Clock Faculty
• Check out the website for more resources!

Ideas to Take Charge of Your PD Now! 

Obviously, I can't summarize the entire book.  I can share my favorites and the ideas that came to mind as I read the book. ​  The ideas I want to focus on, are the ones that you can do on your own, or with a group of educators who are willing to go ROUGE because they are passionate about teaching and learning.
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1. EdCamps

Edcamps are the best "unconference" you can go to, and it's FREE! Find out more here and join their mailing list so you don't miss out on one near you.  Follow them on Twitter to stay informed too.
I have 3 on my calendar right now! 
EdCamp Greenville February 3, 2018
EdCamp Palmetto Charleston, April 28, 2018
EdCamp Magic June 9, 2018

2. Twitter

If you haven't gotten on Twitter yet, this would be the best thing you could do for your professional development.  Even if it's the only thing you do, this is it!  I wrote a post about joining a while back, since it was pretty much a requirement.  It's turned out to be the best PD I've had outside of going to conferences and EdCamps where you make new connections in person. 
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3. Become R.O.G.U.E

What does this stand for?  Relevant Organized Group of Underground Educators
These teachers are committed to pushing professional learning boundaries.  Why?   

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
~Margaret Mead

How do you start? 

• Start a Book Club 

             Start with this book or any of the Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. books. 

• Find or host a #CoffeeEDU near you.  
• Start an "Underground Newsletter" 

             Smore is an amazing resource for beautiful, easy to create digital newsletters. 
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4. Podcasts & Audio Books

I was never a Podcast kind of girl until I found the Google Teacher Tribe  Seriously, listening to people talk in the car normally puts me to sleep.  If I couldn't sing along like I was doing Karaoke, I wasn't interested.  I feel like I know Kasey Bell and Matt Miller after listening to them for 37 episodes (at this point in time).   Listen to one, I think you'll love it!  
There are so many to choose from, I find most of them through Twitter.  I use Podbean and SoundCloud on my phone since I have an Android device.  If you have an iPhone, it's easy to find them on iTunes.  You might also try a few of these.  I'm sure I'm forgetting (or don't know about yet) tons of them!  

• StartEd Up
• Kids Deserve It
• The Cult of Pedagogy
• TedTalks Education
• Well PlayEd 

For Audio books, I like to use Audible.  There's a free and a paid version.  I often use the paid version during the summer when I have more time, then the free version during the school year when it takes me longer to get through a book in the car. 

5. Blogging 

This is something you do for yourself, not other people.  Here's a great blog post from one of my favorite professional development creators and providers, Kasey Bell from Shake Up Learning.   ​It's also a wonderful way to reflect.  

If you aren't ready to write your own blog, follow some!  I use Bloglovin' to follow my favorites.  You can follow me there to see who I keep up with.  When you find some, you can subscribe to many of them so you get an email as soon as a blog is updated.  You can also use Pinterest to keep track and find more.  Side note... I consider that a form of PD too (however, not mentioned in the book). 

6. Reflection 

Self reflection is an amazing way to make every day better than yesterday.  
Here are some of the questions mentioned in the book that may help you start.​

• What went well today?
• What can I improve upon tomorrow?
• How did I make a difference for someone today?
• What did I learn today?
• How did it change my thinking?
• What kind of impact did I have today? 

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Start today! 

I didn't mention all the ideas that I got from this book, but writing this post is meant to give teachers a place to start if they are sick of suffering through professional development that could have been shared as an attachment in an email. 
Will it still happen? Probably!  Unless you start a movement to change it. 
You never know what a very small group can do until you try. 
​Find some friends and jump in!  
I hope you'll connect with me on Twitter and let me know how it goes! 

Thanks for reading! ~Pam @specialtechie

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