https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu Made with fortitude en-us 2018-10-13 17:31:23 UTC 2026-03-17 18:21:54 UTC hello@padlet.com elijah_barr https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444191
I resonated with Knowles 4 principles of Andragogy, more specifically the third principal “Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their job or personal life.” (Knowles, 1984). This made me think about how many professional development sessions I have sat through that I felt like had no impact on my day to day teaching. It seems as though my district does not always looking to follow Knowles research as many of the required PD sessions we are contractually obligated to participate in do not have immediate relevance with my day to day job. 

]]> 2018-10-13 17:32:36 UTC https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444191 elijah_barr https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444224
This is a very tough question. How to motivate students to grow in the classroom not using a materialistic approach? It seems as though the answer comes from both Knowles and from Daniel Pink, we as teachers need to give students options as to what they want to learn about and how they want to lean. The problem with this approach is the constrictions that come from the district and from the college board as they limit the amount of creative freedom many teachers have in their courses. But of course this is possible, teachers can use a flipped classroom to give background content information then use project based learning in class to give students options as to the specifics they want to learn and how to present their findings. 

]]> 2018-10-13 17:33:03 UTC https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444224 elijah_barr https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444256

Offer some monetary incentive, because many teachers are underpaid they does need to be some monetary support when giving up planning time or freetime to participate. This should not be the only way to motivate. For example MCPS had all teachers participate in 1 day of PD over the summer. But teachers were able to pick from a list of hundreds of PD sessions. This meant that the country didn't have to pay us more but it did add a bit onto a typically small paycheck the first week of school. 

Offer different avenues as to how to participate. This will give the staff choice as to how they want to be a part of the PD. This fall in line with Knowles theories. 

Give staff a choice of which PD sessions they would like to participate in. Forcing all teachers to take the exact same course would not be beneficial to all teachers as they would be able to tell that the country is not trying to personalize their needs.

]]> 2018-10-13 17:33:24 UTC https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444256 elijah_barr https://padlet.com/elijah_barr/rsmicrwfyxmu/wish/292444307

Need to know - PD participates need to know why they are taking part in each session. There needs to be specific goals and objectives presents as a part of the session. There will be session goals and objectives presented at the onset of every session of my PD plan. 

Experience - as teachers are professionals they are already familiar with the basic aspects of teaching. The PD should be to enhance and build off of what teachers already know. In my PD the sessions build off common educational ideas but will show teachers how to improve their practices and move the activities and practices online. 

Self Concept - adults want and need to be responsible for their own learning. In terms of PD this means that they should be free to make their own decisions as to how to implement what is learned at the the PD in their own classroom. For my PD the end of all sessions will be dedicated to creating materials based on the idea of the session that can be used in each teachers specific classroom. 

Readiness - Adults learn best when PD is used to solve immediate workplace or personal problems. To address this in my plan I sent out a questionnaire that surveyed teachers as to what their experience and comfort levels are in regards to technology. It is through this survey that I am able to create meaningful pd sessions that directly correlate with teacher needs and expectations. 

Problem Oriented - Adults do not want to be taught content but what to learn through problem oriented instruction. This relates back to the overall goal of my pd, which is to improve teacher use of technology to enhance classroom instruction. Throughout my PD teachers will spend the vast majority of time working with technology to create. It will not be spent learning about the tech, but rather how to use the tech. 

Intrinsic Motivation - Adults learn best when they are self motivated to become better. This is included in my PD as the sessions are designed to help teachers in their class to enhance lessons. This will be a good challenge to some, which is an intrinsic motivation. Others will be motivated by becomes a better teacher and helping prepare students for either more education or for the workforce. My sessions will have a direct link to student achievement as the skills learned in the sessions will translate to student success in the real world. 

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