One of the best things our district has done is create Content focus sessions (CFS) that allow content teachers to gather together and receive professional learning that applies to their subject area. However, I do know that not all CFS's are created equal...For example, when I was a writing teacher, the PL I attended was more "sit and get," and I rarely walked out of a PL with strategies that I ended up using. However, when I moved into AVID, the CFS's tended to be much more engaging. Our district leaders model teaching strategies and activities that are part of our curriculum; therefore, I am much more likely to "go and show" those strategies to my students.
As with anything, collaboration without purpose is pretty much useless, and it usually ends with people being frustrated, wishing they could be doing something more specific to their content area. It is interesting that when we talk about teaching our students to collaborate, we emphasize the need to make it meaningful, yet we forget that adults need a common goal as well.
One theme that has been developing on our campus, is the need to help our students socially and emotionally... We have heard a LOT of talk about it, and there has been some PL established to really help our teachers; however, I am not sure how many of our teachers are aware of it. I feel that if we had an SEL coach on our campus on a regular basis to model for teachers , this would be a major game changer. Not quite sure if this is what I will do my Call-to-Action on, but I am definitely leaning in this direction...
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