KISSS my PD

If I had my way, I'd never lead another mandatory, all staff, technology in-service at my school ever again. Simply put, they're a waste of time and they don't work. First, there's a problem with focus. More often than not, the focus of all-staff PD is on the tool, not the curriculum. Second, it implies a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to professional development. Have you ever been in a room full of teachers at an in-service!? If there was ever a more diverse group of learners I have yet to see it. You think your students need differentiated instruction? Teachers need it even more!

That's why I've adopted the KISSS Principle for professional development. Keep it...Small, Short, and Specific.

SMALL - I'm talking small group. Rather than work with a room full, select a single grade level. At my school, that's 3 teachers. Then, before I start talking, I listen. I listen to find out what they are teaching. What are their learning goals? These answers differ greatly between grade levels and departments.

SHORT - Teachers' free time is valuable and they get precious little of it. Try to respect that. Rather than one long session, I've found it's better to do short mini-sessions before and after school. Fellow tech educator Suzanne Wesp has a program at her school called "Lunch & Learn" where teachers come in during their lunch for mini lessons.

SPECIFIC - Keep the training specific and focused on the curriculum standard. For me, the first sessions are more just casual conversations where we talk curriculum and I find out what these teachers are doing. Next I come in and demonstrate a "learning tool" or "project" that will help their students meet a specific learning goal or standard. Finally I work with them to develop a lesson that will help their students meet that standard. The goal of the training is to give the teachers something they will use tomorrow or next week. If I can get this lesson into a teacher's lesson plan book I know I've struck gold because once it's in there, it will likely become a regular part of their classroom curriculum.

Things to remember for successful teacher training:

Focus on the curriculum, not the technology tool. I try not to even use the words "technology" or "Web 2.0" when working with teachers. Instead I use "learning tool" or "web site". Technology is MY passion, not theirs. Don't intimidate with terminology.
Be there when they teach the lesson for the first time. This provides that much needed safety net when trying something new. In some cases I'll even team teach with them, letting the teacher present the curriculum while I show how to use the tool. If I can't be there, sometimes I'll create tutorial videos or screencasts for the teacher to use.
Follow-up. Meet with them after the lesson. Discuss how it went. What worked? What didn't? Discuss and make notes on how it can be improved next time. The important thing here is to make sure there WILL be a "next time".
Share successes. Rushton Hurley (www.nextvista.org) has said, "Great things are going on in our classrooms and nobody knows about it." Take time to share great lessons and student work with other teachers. Others might see it and say, "Hey, I can do that!"

"To Infinity and Beyond!"
As teachers use the technology...er...i mean..."learning tools" they will require less and less help from me. Better yet, they become "experts" on using that tool. If I have another teacher that wants to learn it, I can say, "You should go talk to so-and-so. They use that tool all the time with their class." My long term plan is to develop a network of experts on various tools at my school. Eventually some teachers may even feel comfortable sharing their expertise with others outside our school.

The biggest compliment I think I could ever receive is seeing a teacher that I helped present at a conference. It hasn't happened yet, but we're getting close.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Education is a Team Sport
Tutorial Videos? Okay, show me an example. Here you go: PhotoStory Animal Riddles