# data[].attributes.body
In this approach, instead of mandating one-size-fits-all professional development sessions, educators are offered a menu of options tailored to different skill levels, interests, and classroom challenges. For example, the menu might include sessions on differentiated instruction, technology integration, trauma-informed practices, or culturally responsive teaching. Participants can choose sessions that are most aligned with their professional goals or current areas of need. This approach acknowledges the educator's expertise and respects their time.

-Aaryn Hinnen

# data[].attributes.headline
Creating Psychological Safety for Adult Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Creating Psychological Safety for Adult Learners

# data[].attributes.body
When I have planned and facilitated professional learning, I have realized that the emotional safety of adults is so, so important. If educators aren't feeling respected, seen, or valued, it's impossible for them to engage and take meaningful risks in their learning.

Therefore, in our SEL professional learning initiative, one of my biggest priorities is building a learning environment where each adult is able to feel safe, be vulnerable, reflect honestly, and ask questions without fear of being judged. I know that this begins with me, though, as the facilitator and leader. I will need to model how to vulnerable, as well as dismantle the power dynamics.

We’ll use community agreements to co-create norms for how we learn together and structures for equitable participation—like protocols that ensure every voice is heard. I also plan to use process observers in our sessions so we can reflect not only on what we’re learning, but how we’re learning together.

Emotional intelligence isn’t just for students—it’s critical among staff too. When adults feel safe and emotionally supported, they’re far more likely to engage in transformational learning that positively impacts their practice and, ultimately, their students.

Corryn

# data[].attributes.body
In professional development that I have been a part of as both a presenter and learner, I have found that it is always best to present the why right off the bat. If your audience knows why you are engaging in an activity or a specific type of PD, they tend to be more receptive to the material being presented. This is more than just presenting it and giving a rationale at the beginning of the presentation. What I have been a part of and has worked best is having the agenda serve as a road map. Teachers do not need someone to spend 10 minutes opening with why they are sitting through this PD. However, it is nice to be able to see it and refer back to it when needed during the presentation. Having the why mapped out on an agenda makes connecting the dots between activities easier later on in the PD. It is something subtle that shows the presenter values the teacher's time and talents.

-Samantha Glackin

# data[].attributes.body
I went to a PD this year which was focused on deescalating students who were dysregulated. After the direct instruction and collaborative learning, we were asked to get into groups and practice with a partner. We drew a scenario out of a bucket and one teacher was the "student" who was dysregulated, while the other was the teacher. Some groups of course kept this more discussion based and talked about how the student might react and what the teacher would say instead of acting it out, while some had more fun with it. I felt that it was a successful PD because the content was incredibly relevant to all teachers and we had a chance to apply what we had learned in real time. The role playing scenario also gave us lots of time to give feedback to our colleagues and share experiences with deescalating students and ask for advice about certain situations.

-Kristen Hardiek

# data[].attributes.body
At our school, we implemented a PD “learning menu” where staff could choose from several breakout sessions during a professional development day. Each session was led by a BLT (Building Leadership Team) member and focused on a topic aligned to school goals. For example, one session was on small-group reading instruction and offered hands-on strategies using decodable texts and student data. Another session focused on using Fastbridge data to guide math interventions. We also had a session on behavior supports tied to our PBIS framework, where teachers role-played real student scenarios.

Teachers appreciated that they could select the sessions that felt most relevant to their students and their own growth goals. At the end, we built in time for teachers to reflect, write down takeaways, and briefly share with peers how they might apply what they learned.

Connection to Aguilar’s Principles:
This strategy supports “Adults want agency in our learning” by giving teachers choice and voice in what they learn and who they learn from. It also aligns with “Adults need to know why we have to learn something” because each BLT member began their session by sharing the ‘why’ behind the content and how it connects to student success and schoolwide goals. The structure also supported “Adults need practice to internalize learning” by making space for teachers to reflect and plan how they’d use the strategies in their classrooms.

Meggie Schroeder

# data[].attributes.body
At one PD session for our building this year, it was a building-wide PD where we were all together in the cafeteria. To begin the PD we were all in teams with our departments and played a few games that were focused on different problems and issues that needed to be solved. They didn't all have to do with education necessarily, but our Admin wanted to engage us initially, and I think they have an understanding of this idea that adults are problem-centered. This is connected with this concept because not only did we begin by problem-solving issues that had nothing to do with education, but then we began to work to problem solve various situations or scenarios that were relevant not just to adults but to our building and our classrooms.

Ty Martin

# data[].attributes.body
Agency is very important in adult learning. One strategy I have found to be effective is offering choice in PD - This gives teachers the chance to choose what aligns with their goals and needs. Our district has used this and our building is offering it on occassion. I also like asking for input and feedback anonymously, which our building really values. It keeps us honest, surfaces real needs, and gives us all more ownership of our learning. One area of this principle that I am unfamiliar with is "invite people to name their colleagues with whom they want to collaborate or learn. Give participants surveys to asses their learning needs." I would be curious as to how this would look.

--Denni Russell

# data[].attributes.body
One way to create a safe environment among educators is to have a "Circle of Trust" at the beginning of professional development meetings. I was a visitor at a neighboring school in my district and the staff in the school were invited to share how they were feeling in the moment. They mentioned personal and professional stressors and also mentioned things they were looking forward to. Some staff members were able to pass on participating if they didn't want to share out. I loved that the coordinator modeled vulnerability by talking about a recent challenge, a moment of success, and then stating how she felt in the moment. She opened up the space for her staff to feel safe enough to share out their thoughts and feelings.

This is important for adults because they are more likely to engage deeply, take risks, and ask questions when they feel they are in a safe space. Just like Elena Aguilar stated, adult learning is the presence of psychological and emotional safety. The "Circle of Trust" creates a kind environment by humanizing each participant and showing that learning takes place with a variety of emotions. As a educator, when I am able to show up as myself, I am more open to collaboration and learning more effectively.

Nyeemah Lofton

# data[].attributes.body
There have been so many times that I am at a school PD and they are so boring. Half of the time people are on their iPads, acting like they are taking notes but are working on one of the many others tasks of being a teacher. With that being said I can see how adults want to learn when making things fun. One way that we have done it in the past is starting with a trivia game. The trivia can even be about what you are about to teach but my coworkers and I at my current job are competitive so having that to introduce the PD can be a way to make it more fun and engaging. The biggest way to make it fun in this sense is having a decent prize for the winners of the trivia topic. It can make people more willing to think deeply about the question and be more excited to learn about it.

-Abigail Hobbs

# data[].attributes.body
At my school, our administration has recently implemented a goal-setting component prior to the start of teacher conferences and professional development cycles. During this time, educators are encouraged to identify and articulate personal growth goals that are both relevant to their classroom practice and aligned with broader school priorities. This approach directly supports Elena Aguilar’s principles that adults need to see a clear purpose for their learning and that effective professional development should build upon the learner’s prior knowledge and experience.

By giving educators the autonomy to set their own learning intentions, the process fosters a sense of ownership, motivation, and intentionality. Rather than receiving one-size-fits-all directives, teachers engage in professional learning that feels meaningful and tailored to their specific challenges and aspirations.

Takiyah Thurman

# data[].attributes.body
Our principal has done a really great job of telling us ahead of time what we are learning in PDs and why it is important so that we come in mentally prepared. This can look like her sending us an email or including it on our weekly staff newsletter that we receive every Sunday for the week. That is extremely helpful to all staff because we are able to think about questions or things we really want to focus on in that specific PD. As a presenter, I always start with the first slide being what they will learn and why it is important. I also found it was helpful to end the slide with what the teachers can do now with what they learned and how it can benefit the students. I have found that really helps the teachers leave with a sense of urgency to try the new idea or concept out in their classroom.

-Adelyn Gruse

# data[].attributes.body
At my school, the administration always makes sure to explain to teachers why we are having certain professional development sessions. Throughout the year, multiple surveys are sent out to ask teachers what additional support they need. Based on their responses, the administration creates various professional development opportunities to meet those needs.

Adults need to understand why they are learning something in order to recognize its importance. If educators do not see the value, they are less likely to implement new ideas in their practices, which could negatively impact student outcomes. Therefore, it’s essential to communicate the purpose of professional development to adults so they can apply it effectively.

- Alexis Basi

# data[].attributes.body
At my school, the administration always makes sure to explain to teachers why we are having certain professional development sessions. Throughout the year, multiple surveys are sent out to ask teachers what additional support they need. Based on their responses, the administration creates various professional development opportunities to meet those needs.

Adults need to understand why they are learning something in order to recognize its importance. If educators do not see the value, they are less likely to implement new ideas in their practices, which could negatively impact student outcomes. Therefore, it’s essential to communicate the purpose of professional development to adults so they can apply it effectively.

- Alexis Basi

# data[].attributes.body
Mind-mapping is a strategy I use with my students to help them spill out all the knowledge they have in order to make meaningful connections. In a professional development session (or sessions), a mind map could feature specific center zones from which a team can collaborate to create connections between their own experiences and the topic/focus of the PD. I imagine, for example, a PD about implementing culturally relevant texts into the classroom. One zone could focus on the standards/assessments the teachers KNOW they must help students meet/take. Another could focus on the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy/practices, and another could focus on the teachers' understandings about their students' needs.

# data[].attributes.body
One aspect of professional development that I have found creates a safer environment to learn and be reflective while still gathering data is anonymous reflections. In many PD sessions, we are asked to reflect by writing on "worksheets" where we don't need to put our name on them, but we do need to fill them out. I believe this creates a safe environment for adult learning and communication because it gives an anonymous space for reflection, but administration can still gather some information on the perspectives of the staff, and teachers have a space to connect to the material without fear of vulnerability in front of everyone.

Emily Herron

# data[].attributes.body
This is a wonderful idea for using with adults that I would like to use in the future. It is such a great way to build a collective set of ideas or knowledge. It is a simple yet powerful strategy that I often forget about. This would be a great way to create a safe space for adults to learn as well. For example, you build a map with your group, then when it is shared out to a larger group, it is still kind of anonymous. Safety in numbers kind of feel to it. -Cara Colyott

# data[].attributes.body
One of the types of PD offered in my district is a short 45 min session before lunch on our early release days (once a month). There is a choice of which session to attend, but at the sessions you are presented with a tool or idea (depending on whether you decide to attend a session about SEL, ED Tech, Data, etc). This is usually presented with an example, a little discussion, but then we are given a solid amount of time to try it out and figure out how it applies to us and our classes specifically, how we might use this new information. I always find this really helpful for the obvious reasons, but it also helps me remember what we have learned more because it was made personal to me.

# data[].attributes.body
One thing that my school offers at the beginning of the school year is a show case for teachers to participate in. During this activity, teachers are required to go to at least 3-4 different stations around the school. There are about 30 presentations being given during this time. One way that it is really beneficial is the fact that you get to choose where you want to go. Teachers will create presentations on IEP writing, diversified instruction, EL classrooms, SEL lessons, reward systems, and much more. It is always cool hearing from your colleagues about things that they have used within their own classroom that they have found success with. Teachers also have the chance to sign up and choose what they want to inform their peers about so they get to make sure that they are teaching something that they are passionate about. It is a great way to start the school year and get teachers excited about new things to try in the classroom, offer choice, and offer plenty of opportunities for collaboration among our school community. This works greatly for Aguilar's point of finding out what team members want to learn because administration can see which stations are the most popular and find a way to work in additional PD based on those topics of interest.

# data[].attributes.body
One thing that my school district does at the end of the year is send out a survey ask teachers what kinds of professional development they would like to have for the following school year. This gives feedback to our administration, that they can use for the following year. I like that this gives teachers the chance to give suggestions.

Our school district had a professional development day this year and the presenter was very engaging. Each time someone answered her question she would let them come up and pick a prize off the table. Aside from the prizes she also made the presentation hands-on and had teachers up moving around.

Jaiden Braundmeier

# data[].attributes.body
In quite a few professional developments, those who have been leading have had different activities where they are asking for everyone to participate, however no names are collected or written down. This allows for participants to share their thoughts and feelings in a way that allows for them to feel comfortable and safe, while still involved. Julia Pecher

# data[].attributes.body
My district changed our math curriculum at the start of last school year. We have had several PD's for the 'how to teach and use the software' but the last one, at the start of this school year, really made a difference for several teachers. The Junior High math teacher made a grid on her board. Starting with first grade, she filled in an example of how the addition problems looked and worked. She did this for each grade, showing how each grade builds on the information/knowledge of the previous years. It was an aha moment for everyone, and no one has asked if they can 'skip a few meaningless lessons' since. It was great to see the importance of each level and how our students are smarter for it and our test scores are already showing positive outcomes. - Deb Castillo

# data[].attributes.body
In our school, we have been embracing inclusive learning for the past few years. During the initial two years, it was a matter of "sink or swim," as my SPED co-teacher and I navigated the challenges together. However, last year marked a turning point when our SPED department introduced specialized professional development for General Education and SPED teacher partnerships. This professional development not only emphasized differentiated instruction to better support our students but also provided us the opportunity to collaborate on lesson planning, design tailored materials and resources for our unique classrooms, and engage in discussions with other inclusion teaching pairs to prepare for the upcoming year.  We all felt like we learned so much from such a “simple” professional development that was specific to our classrooms. We got the hang of the principles of inclusion, and with our new confidence, we could put them into action more effectively. This professional development program worked so well that we managed to bump it up to a half-day session each trimester for inclusion classrooms.

-Jamie Rader

# data[].attributes.body
This year my district implemented PD University, which was a list of professional developments that we could choose to attend all year. It was really cool being able to choose the ones I wanted to attend and the option varied from intervention strategies, technology, mental health, and conflict. The option of choosing really allowed me to narrow down what my needs were at the moment and choose a PD that would best benefit me. I felt comfortable in every session and was able to share my experiences and learn a lot of new things. I would suggest every district try PD University, giving educators options on what they want to learn and will benefit them.

-Bailey Cunningham

# data[].attributes.body
One meaningful PD session I attended this year focused on our instructional routines and how beneficial they are. We had the opportunity to play a match game and see who knew which routine. Then, we got to practice with each other. It was really beneficial because I had been doing some, like think-pair-share, but others I had sort of forgotten about. I was then able to see other teachers do it in real time!

Lexie Freese

# data[].attributes.body
As a new teacher, I have found it extremely beneficial when my administrators ask for input on things we would like to see during professional development. Recently, my principal has sent our surveys asking what things we would like to see during our professional development time. This allows all staff to feel they have some sort of input in the PD. This makes teachers and staff want to learn because they have input in the material being taught.

Morgan Murphy

# data[].attributes.body
We have monthly professional development meetings called "munch and learn". Before the social emotional coach shares her ideas, she begins with asking about strategies that teachers are already using in their classrooms. This supports many of the principles of adult learning. By asking for our experiences, she positions herself as a learner, which makes teachers feel safe, and she is acknowledging that each of us comes with our own experiences.

--Kianna Grimmett

# data[].attributes.body
At my school we had a PD choice board. The teachers were allowed to select sessions based on interest or their most recent student data. There were options like small group instruction planning, math intervention strategies, and building formative assessments. This supports Aguilar’s principle that “Adults want agency in our learning” and helped teachers feel like their PD time was meaningful to what they were actually seeing in the classroom.

-Balam Bue

# data[].attributes.body
In my district, we have early outs the first Wednesday of every month. We have 3 sessions to attend that are about 45 minutes each. First, we pick a PD topic to attend, then we meet with our grade-level team, and we end the day with learning teams. My learning team is the K-2 teachers in my specific building. This year in grade-level teams we have decided that we want to explore a new curriculum in math for second grade. We have identified the current curriculum has rigor however it is lacking engagement or other resources in other words it is "dry". As a district the second grade team will be exploring three different curriculums in the next school year to find one that is best for all buildings. It will be an on-going process and allow us to meet each month with observations, data, and opinions. This example doesn't only connect with Elena Aguilar's "Adults have a problem-centered orientation to learning", but also to her "Adults want to learn". -Mayci Edwards

# data[].attributes.body
I have been to several PDs this year on ACT prep and AI. They have all been information heavy with not a lot of time to internalize what was being shared. The last ACT prep one I went to did have us do some hands on such as taking a sample test and then figuring out which category and skill set each question related to or belonged. This did get me to think about how to go about prepping my students, but I don't think I retained as much as I should have. I think if each of these PDs were to have narrowed the focus, we would have had more hands on practice which would have helped me remember what I was learning.

-Cara Colyott

# data[].attributes.body
During one of our beginning of the year PD sessions, we focused on how we can best support our English Language Learners with their language development in the classroom. Teachers were provided sentence stems to open dialogue and collaborate with one another. One of the sentence stems was "as educators of multilingual students, it is important that we..." Sentence stems such as this not only modeled how we can support students' language development, but also opened dialogue about our past experiences and what we think is important in supporting our students' language needs. By starting with building upon our past experiences, we were able to really find how our own values would connect to what we were about to learn. -Colleen Barnes

# data[].attributes.body
In our district we have early out days on the first Wednesdays of the month, so they started implementing that we could choose which ones we go to, but they also tailor the PD to whomever has said they are going each month. There are usually between 4-6 options and they are always attended in different numbers of educators, and they break us up into 7-12th going at different times so it can be more personalized. Our Curriculum Director and District Technologist always do a great job of reaching out to us a few days in advance to ask for feedback on why we picked their breakout session, and what we are hoping to see or the problem to solve from our own classrooms. They are also very responsive about following up with us, and getting us genuine data to practice with. Recently, a breakout we attended used screen captures of redacted data for examples so we could see how to use the data authentically. It meant a lot to be able to look at the data, discussion with my colleagues about the “outlier” the administrator was referring to and without even discussing it we knew it must be “student X” that we have had in class, so we immediately were able to brainstorm ideas that had worked in other classrooms with a real student.

-Nathan Young

# data[].attributes.body
Before this week's reading, I had never encountered "The Principles of Adult Learning". When completing the readings and looking at the PDF for this padlet, I was able to compare it to the principles of learning I was trained in as a school psychologist. I think the last principle is often overlooked when agencies and schools are planning professional development for their staff. I can see how leaders often do not take into account that adults want to continue to learn as they age. As a leader in a school building, it would be helpful, and maybe beneficial, to build a connection with staff, to constantly ask what staff want to learn about. As a leader, if I get this feedback, then I can connect what my staff wants to learn with the current gaps in the district. This can also aid in teachers connecting a "why" with the professional development and using a problem-centered approach. This allows a leader to tackle three of the seven principles in one approach. In my own experience, I have not seen how a leader can collect staff insight on gaps or what they want to learn. Have any of your districts collected this information? I would assume it would be best collected through Google Forms or an anonymous type of survey. If the survey is anonymous, then staff can feel safe in reporting their needs. As a building or district leader, I want to not only foster a love of learning for students, but also for the staff within my school buildings.

-Jennifer Daniel

# data[].attributes.body
One strategy I’ve used that supports Elena Aguilar’s Principles of Adult Learning is organizing learning walks where teachers visit each other’s classrooms with a specific lens (like student engagement or questioning strategies). Afterward, we engage in a non-evaluative debrief to reflect and share takeaways.

This supports the principle of collaboration and connection because it builds trust and community. It also taps into relevance and autonomy, as teachers choose focus areas aligned with their personal goals.

It’s been powerful to watch how just observing and reflecting together deepens professional growth!

Bella