It’s Just Something That’s Done in PD
It’s been a week. And this comment is still in my brain.
At the end of every PD session I run, I share my own feedback form. It’s for me, about my teaching, and a chance to tell me anything. It’s anonymous and unrelated to the organization I’m presenting for. Usually it’s in addition to their formal feedback.
I ask for anything rattling around in their expert teacher heads.
My most recent session was on “Technology Use Guidelines.” It’s a dry topic, and I didn’t want to be the only one talking. So teachers got up and moved. In small groups, they brainstormed on chart paper around the room. Then we did a gallery walk of the proposed guidelines. Then we sat down and had a discussion that went deeper than anything on the walls. The discussion ranged from a lack of time to a lack of scope and sequence to just being thankful that someone was listening.
Later that day, I read through the feedback. Great reflections. Real insights I’ll use.
Then I got to this one:
It’s just something that’s done in PD.
I mean, yes. It was PD. But I’m also a classroom teacher. Still am.
And to be fair, I’ve sat through my share of bad post-it sessions. The ones where everyone shuffles around the room, sticks a few thoughts on chart paper, and the posters go straight into the recycling bin. Nobody reads them. Nothing comes of them. If that’s what this person has experienced, I get the eye roll.
That’s not how this session went. Those posters didn’t hit the recycling bin. I collected every one, Post-its included, and shared them with leadership.
Here’s the thing. Gallery walks and chart paper are things we do in PD. They’re done in PD because they’re done in good classrooms. Students need to get up, look at each other’s thinking, and discuss…argue about it. They need to talk about the content, not just absorb it. So do adults.
The strategy isn’t the problem. What happens next is. If the posters go up and the session moves on, that’s a ritual. If the walls are where the conversation starts, that’s teaching.
I hope brainstorming, gallery walks, and real discussion are part of every classroom. Without them, we’re missing what makes learning meaningful.