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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
Develop transformational professional development programs that build and sustain your school community In The PD Book, bestselling author Elena Aguilar and co-author Lori Cohen offer seven habits--and a wealth of practical tools--that help you transform professional development. In this book, you'll learn how to inspire adult learners, the importance of having clear purpose, and how to navigate power dynamics in a group. You'll also learn a new way to plan PD that allows you to attend to details and be a responsive facilitator. The dozens of tips and tricks, anecdotes and research, and tools and resources will enable you to create the optimal conditions for learning. You'll also: * Craft effective outcomes for your adult students and design an agenda that aligns with adult learning principles * Use storytelling as a tool for effective workshops and trainings * Plan backwards from evaluations and outcomes to create powerful and lasting educational experiences Ideal for educational leaders and administrators, professional development facilitators, coaches, and positional leaders in both K-12 and higher education, The PD Book is an incisive resource offering concrete strategies for educators at all levels.
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Table of Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From Elena
From Lori
INTRODUCTION
A Couple Notes on Anonymity and Terminology
Pulling Back the Curtain
Defining Professional Development
Creating the Conditions for Learning
What If PD Could Be More Like a Party?
Who We Are and Who You Are
What Is in This Book?
Before You Go
CHAPTER 1: Determine Purpose
Dismantling PD Apathy
Purpose: The Foundation for Transformational Learning
Create Purposeful Plans
Communicate: Make the Learning Matter
Putting It All Together
Assessing Impact
Before You Go
CHAPTER 2: Engage Emotions
What You Need to Know about Emotions to Deliver Transformative PD
Grumpiness, Pet Peeves, and Triggers
Creating Psychological Safety
Mitigating Dominant Culture: Creating Safe‐ish Spaces
Beyond Psychological Safety
Before You Go
CHAPTER 3: Navigate Power
Sources of Power
Leveraging Power
The Impact of Power
Possibilities for Navigating Power
How to Dissolve Resistance
Start and End with Relationships
Before You Go
CHAPTER 4: Anchor in Adult Learning
You Can't Make People Learn
Adult Learning Theory 101
The Stages of Learning
Adult Learning in the Virtual PD World
You Can Create the Conditions for Learning
Before You Go
CHAPTER 5: Design Intentionally
Tools for Intentional Design
A Process for Intentional Design
Shift the Dominant Culture in Design
Before You Go
CHAPTER 6: Attend to Details
Details Matter to Learning
Long‐Term Planning: Get Ready
Short‐Term Planning: Finalize the Details
The Day Of: Go Time
Closing: Leave Things Better Than You Found Them
Before You Go
CHAPTER 7: Facilitate Adaptively
Detours Happen
When Harm Happens
The Roots of Adaptive Facilitation: Know Yourself
Becoming an Adaptive Facilitator: Skill Sets to Refine
Addressing PD Detours
Reimagining What's Possible
Before You Go
CONCLUSION
Before You Go
APPENDIX A: THE CORE EMOTIONS
APPENDIX B: NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION'S UNIVERSAL HUMAN NEEDS
Subsistence and Security
Freedom
Connection
Meaning
APPENDIX C: WHAT‐WHY‐HOW AGENDA TEMPLATE
APPENDIX D: STRUCTURES FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING
APPENDIX E: CHECKLIST FOR ATTENDING TO THE DETAILS
APPENDIX F: RESOURCES FOR FURTHER LEARNING
Our Favorite Book on Gatherings
Dismantling Racism and Mitigating the Dominant Culture
For Developing Affinity Spaces
Land Acknowledgments
For Selecting Activities in Your Design Process
Restorative Practices: For Building Community and Repairing Harm
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
INDEX
END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
List of Tables
Introduction
Table 0.1 What PD Is and Isn't
Table 0.2 The Seven Habits
Table 0.3 Indicators of a Learning Organization
Chapter 1
Table 1.1 Sample Five Whys to Purpose—Socratic Seminars
Table 1.2 Socratic Seminar Outcomes, Gaps, Possibilities, Priorities
Chapter 2
Table 2.1 Ten Strategies to Shift a Mood
Chapter 3
Table 3.1 How to Navigate Power
Table 3.2 Sources of Social Power
1
Table 3.3 Ways to Use Power
Chapter 4
Table 4.1 From Theory to Practice
Chapter 5
Table 5.1 Weekly PLC Time Allocated Versus Actual
Table 5.2 Time Allocations for Pacing Professional Development
Table 5.3 Using the 20/80 Rule: A Breakdown of Sample Activities
Table 5.4 Sample Activities Based on Group Size
Table 5.5 Guiding Questions for Designing Gradual Release of Responsibility ...
Table 5.6 Sample Portion of Facilitator's Agenda: What's the Purpose of Your...
Chapter 6
Table 6.1 Long‐Term Planning Checklist
Table 6.2 Portion of the Ops Box for
Coaching for Equity 101
Table 6.3 Short‐Term Planning Checklist
Table 6.4 The Day‐Of Checklist: Presentation
Table 6.5 Closing Checklist
Chapter 7
Table 7.1 Skill Sets of Adaptive Facilitation
Table 7.2 Steps to Facilitate Adaptively When Things Go Wrong
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Figure 0.1 How to Create Transformative PD: PARTY!
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 What you Need to Understand about Emotions
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Diving into Resistance
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 Conscious Competence Ladder
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Eagle River High School PD learner survey
Figure 5.2 Sample participant agenda for Lori's
Artful Design and Facilitati...
Figure 5.3 Sample screen setup
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Sample title slide
Figure 6.2 Sample content slide
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Spheres of influence
Guide
Introduction
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Conclusion
Appendix A: The Core Emotions
Appendix B: Nonviolent Communication's Universal Human Needs
Appendix C: What‐Why‐How Agenda Template
Appendix D: Structures for Virtual Learning
Appendix E: Checklist for Attending to the Details
Appendix F: Resources for Further Learning
Glossary
References
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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“Elena Aguilar brings to The PD Book a wealth of knowledge and expertise delivering high‐quality learning experiences for teachers and leaders. Educators who design and deliver PD will gain unique, interesting, and pertinent insights from Aguilar's ideas, her research, and the tools she offers for making PD joyful, meaningful and equitable.”
—Robert Ryshke, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching, Westminster School, Atlanta, GA
“Grounded in research on adult learning and drawing from many years of experience, Elena Aguilar and Lori Cohen take readers on a journey into creating transformative professional development. They share strategies for building community and creating spaces that are antiracist and welcoming for participants of all backgrounds. Chapters show presenters how to engage emotions, effectively counter resistance, and navigate power. This book is a must‐have for new as well as seasoned professional developers, invigorating all with the courage to provide bold, motivating, and magical sessions.”
—Becki Cohn‐Vargas, Ed.D. Author of Identity Safe Classrooms, Places to Belong and Learn
“Ever wonder how to craft the kind of PD that changes hearts, minds, and behaviors? Mystery solved. Elena and Lori provide us with the concrete knowledge, tools, and skills to create inspirational PD that ultimately transforms schools.”
—Jenn David‐Lang, Editor, THE MAIN IDEA
“In this book, Elena invites educators to level up their ability to humanize learning for adults. These are the key skills we need today if we are serious about reimagining what teaching and learning look like for equity‐minded coaches and teacher‐leaders who are in charge of professional learning.”
—Zaretta Hammond, teacher educator and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
“Today's students need their teachers to be engaged in professional learning that helps these educators develop new relationships to learning and to each other. Aguilar's latest book shares key guideposts, facilitation moves and reflective questions that will help novice and experienced PD leaders alike to change how educators are thinking and feeling about professional learning so that it truly transforms their teaching.”
—Jill Harrison Berg, Ed.D. Author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity: The Power of Inquiry‐Based Professional Learning
“Elena and Lori's approach to professional learning is truly transformational. The tools and insights transcend any sector and prepare readers to facilitate professional development that pushes leaders and learners further down path toward justice.”
—Sherene Judeh, Chief Program Officer of Ampact
“Aguilar and Cohen have written the quintessential book on adult learning. With a keen eye to equity, The PD Book provides the perfect blend of anecdotes, tools, and practical guidance for anyone wishing to design and deliver transformative professional development in the education space.
—Ben Owens, Co‐Founder of Open Way Learning
“Elena has created a refreshing blueprint for every leader who is striving to create a healthy and intentional learning organization. If you are a leader searching to create opportunities for deep connection and learning through PD, this book will take you on a transformative journey and push you to design PD that shifts thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of every human in your care. Elena and her team truly "pull the curtain back" on fostering environments for change—her work and her generosity are a true gift to leaders and PD practitioners.”
—Shawna Wells, CEO of Wells Coaching and Consulting and B is for Black Brilliance
“In a time of professional alienation and teacher attrition, Elena Aguilar and Lori Cohen offer us a hopeful, liberating vision for professional learning. The PD Book sits at the intersection of theory and practice, modeling from start to finish the authors’ assertion that ‘storytelling is medicine.’ The chapter on navigating power stands out as deeply relevant for the societal moment we find ourselves in. Leaders at all levels who are looking to transform compliance‐based PD: get this book, highlight and dogear it, and in its pages, find a pathway to realizing the adult learning environment that you long for.”
—Shane Safir, Author, Coach, Facilitator, Listening and Leading for Equity
The PD Book
7 Habits That Transform Professional Development
Elena AguilarLori Cohen
Copyright © 2022 by Elena Aguilar. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data:
Names: Aguilar, Elena, 1969‐ author. | Cohen, Lori, author.
Title: The PD book : 7 habits that transform professional development / Elena Aguilar, Lori Cohen.
Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022008010 (print) | LCCN 2022008011 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119843351 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119843375 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119843368 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Teaching—Vocational guidance. | Teaching—Practice.
Classification: LCC LB1775 .A395 2022 (print) | LCC LB1775 (ebook) | DDC 371.102—dc23/eng/20220225
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022008010
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022008011
Cover Art: © Shutterstock | Golden Wind
Cover design: Paul McCarthy
Tomorrow belongs to those of us who conceive of it as belonging to everyone; who lend the best of ourselves to it, and with joy.Audre Lorde
For every child, every day.E.A.
To Amy and Buster: loves of my life.To California Redwoods: my courage ancestors.To my students: my reason for every word I wrote in this book.L.C.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Elena Aguilar is the author of The Art of Coaching, The Art of Coaching Teams, Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, The Onward Workbook, The Art of Coaching Workbook, and Coaching for Equity. She was a longtime contributor to Edutopia and EdWeek and frequently publishes articles in Educational Leadership. Elena is the founder and president of Bright Morning Consulting, an educational consulting group that works to transform education. Bright Morning offers in‐person and virtual workshops and online courses based on Elena's books. Elena is also a highly sought‐after keynote speaker and hosts a podcast called the Bright Morning Podcast. You can learn more about Bright Morning at https://brightmorningteam.com.
Elena lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and son. She also writes fiction, essays, and memoirs. When she's not writing, coaching, or teaching, she enjoys being in nature, reading fiction, making art, and traveling abroad.
Lori Cohen is an educator, writer, artist, and coach. Lori has written articles and blogs for English Journal, EdWeek, the California Teacher Development Collaborative, and Bright Morning Consulting, and she was a contributing author of The Art of Coaching Workbook (2020). Through her coaching, consulting, and professional development design, Lori works to create the conditions for everyone to thrive. She currently works at Bright Morning Consulting as the Developer of People and Programs. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner and her dog. When Lori isn't consulting, coaching, leading workshops, or writing, Lori is running through the gorgeous landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, drinking delicious coffee, or scoping out the latest restaurant.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From Elena
So many people have launched me, keep me going, remind me of why I do what I do, and make what I do possible. What follows is a brief acknowledgment of some of those people.
My gratitude for Lori Cohen has grown exponentially since we first met. I would not have written this book without her—her contributions were vital, and this is a far stronger book on PD because of her coauthorship. But Lori is not only a gifted facilitator of learning, a masterful storyteller, and a brilliant thinker: Lori is also a generous friend who is very funny and very courageous. It was an honor to witness her growth and learning while writing this book.
I could not have written this book (or many of the previous ones) without Amy Fandrei and Caitlin Schwarzman. Amy is my editor at Jossey‐Bass, and I cannot imagine a more responsive, encouraging editor. I'm also grateful for all the autonomy and creative freedom. Caitlin has provided meticulous feedback and editing on six of my books. Her work on this one was invaluable as she patiently supported me and Lori to meld our voices, stories, and styles, while also honoring our individuality.
I appreciate everyone who has attended a PD session with me and provided thoughtful feedback. I also thank those who have written reviews of my books or the podcast and who engage with me on social media. Those affirmations keep me going through long stretches of solitary writing.
I am endlessly grateful to my coaches. Liz Simons was my first coach role model, and I aspire to emulate her curiosity. Leslie Plettner set me on a most rewarding path. Eloiza Jorge coached me through the most challenging PD experience of my life. Elana Bell has ushered me into a new dimension of truth. Coaches need coaches, and I don't know where I'd be without the guidance of these women.
I am also grateful to the many people I've reached out to—for this book and previous ones—for an endorsement. Often under tight deadlines, these readers have provided meaningful reviews, and their encouragement means so much. I'm especially grateful to Zaretta Hammond, who has been a good friend and colleague for many years.
I work with an incredible group of people. I wouldn't be able to do a fraction of what I do as a writer, facilitator, podcaster, or leader without my Bright Morning team that currently includes LesLee Bickford, Lori Cohen, Rebecca Blackmer, Debbie Daly, Abby Butler, Jennifer Liu, Becky Barstein, Nick Cains, Maria Dyslin, Nita Creekmore, Jess Levasseur, and Jocelyn Fabello. These are wonderful, fun, kind, thoughtful human beings whose presence I truly enjoy.
My Kenyan dada, Carol Owala, is my co‐dreamer, my favorite person to ask, “What if…?” and to imagine schools that serve every child, every day, in every corner of the world. As we take steps toward manifesting these dreams, I am endlessly excited by what we will create together.
Jeff, Larry and Louie, and Vyetty, Sharon, Barlin, and Dennis remind me of why I do what I do, which is not simply for the sake of justice and liberation, but for the potential of expansive love.
My aunt, Jeanne, and my father, Gilbert, have been cheering me on me since the day I was born. They are not educators, but they read everything I write, listen to my podcast, and do everything they can imagine to encourage me.
My son, Orion, has seen me through the publication of seven books. This translates into something like 7,000 bean and cheese tacos on the nights when I had no energy to cook. (Thank you, also, to the many people who delivered takeout when he couldn't eat another bean and cheese taco.) It's a cliché, but this isn't a book about motherhood, so I'll just say it: My son is my primary source of motivation and joy. Gratitude feels like only a hint of what I feel toward him.
My husband, Stacey Goodman, is my everything. He makes me possible. In the final week of preparing this manuscript, when I mentioned all that was on my plate, his response was, “Just let me know what I can do to help.” His commitment to support me to be whomever I want and to do whatever I want has always been limitless.
Finally, I must acknowledge the nonhuman creatures who bring me tremendous joy every day. These include the hummingbirds who drink at the feeder outside of my office window, and my cats—Mango, Serena, and Clementine.
I am in awe of the love I receive from so many beings. To all of you: thank you.
From Lori
First and foremost, I'd like to acknowledge Elena Aguilar for bringing me on this life‐changing journey. If someone told me several years ago that I would work with Elena Aguilar and eventually coauthor a book with her, I would have fallen out of my seat and told them to get out of town. A series of joyful “talk about our work” conversations soon morphed into a project and then into a book. Throughout the writing process, our collaboration nudged and nourished me. Elena's mentorship, guidance, partnership, and encouragement have transformed the way I coach, teach, write, and lead PD. I have grown exponentially and am fundamentally changed through working with Elena. My gratitude is as vast as the Pacific Ocean.
Caitlin Schwarzman, our editor, has been a gem and a necessity throughout the drafting stages. Her careful editing and reassurance allowed me to produce stronger and stronger work with each chapter draft. Caitlin's influence is on every page.
I am a firm believer that we never do anything alone, and this book was largely produced in community. I thank the lineage of mentors who created the conditions for me to lead adult learning: Jane Haladay, who inspired me to be a teacher; with wisdom, wit, and love, Jane taught me to be the best version of myself in classrooms—and in life. Kathy Dixon and Area 3 Writing Project Consultants at UC Davis taught me that “teachers teaching teachers” honors the dignity and expertise of adults; I cut my workshop teeth in those A3WP summer institutes. Janet McGarvey saw my leadership potential, sponsored me, and provided me a platform to lead workshops for California independent school educators. Lise Shelton fostered my ongoing growth and commitment to equity, designing optimal pathways that allowed me to coach and lead adults at our school.
There are not enough exclamation points to communicate my gratitude for my former and current Bright Morning teammates. My former teammates: Noelle Apostol Colin, Janet Baird, and Jessie Cordova buoyed me with intentionality, brilliance, and humor as I learned how to facilitate Bright Morning workshops. Helen Park Truong's reassuring words affirmed me; her incisive equity lens ensured everything I produced would best meet the needs of all workshop participants.
My current teammates: LesLee Bickford sparks my imagination and ignites my spirit; I credit her for green‐lighting the approach to the Artful Design and Facilitation workshop, a series that inspired this book and brought me infinite joy. My teammate Rebecca “eagle eye” Blackmer is a careful reviewer, a heart‐centered leader, a brilliant human, and a dear friend. I can't imagine this stage of my professional and personal journey without her. And my teammate Debbie Daly—the paragon of compassion—offers love and support that gives me solace.
I am grateful for the extended wolfpack who supported me throughout the drafting process—LesLee Bickford, Rebecca Blackmer, Elizabeth Denevi, Shoba Farrell, Juna Kim McDaid, Helen Park Truong, Lise Shelton, and Tamisha Williams—for having conversations that sparked my thinking, sharing provocative ideas and asking probing questions, reading chapter snippets and drafts, sending “car polos” and text threads and Bitmojis and notecards that said the exact right thing at the exact right moment, and being an inspiring crew of co‐facilitators, co‐conspirators, and co‐creators of the world I want to inhabit.
I am also grateful for every co‐facilitator, co‐designer, and collaborative partner with whom I've worked. There are too many to name. I hope the pages in this book are reflective of what I learned with and from you.
Finally, I want to thank the loves of my life, Amy and Buster. Buster (whose age perplexes me) is my ride‐or‐die canine companion. Whether he's alive or not by the time this book is published, he's always going to be the adorable little creature who snores through all the PDs I lead. He teaches me acceptance and keeps me humble. Amy is my partner, my best friend, my favorite person, and my best cheerleader. She believes in a version of me that I strive to become daily. I cannot imagine writing this book without her support.
INTRODUCTION
On the final morning of a three‐day retreat that Elena facilitated, she held time for questions. A participant raised her hand hesitantly. “It's okay if you don't want to answer this,” she said. “Because maybe you can't reveal your secrets or maybe it's magic or something, but how did you know to put us with the others in our home groups? I love these people so much,” she motioned to the three people at her table, “and I can't imagine a better grouping!”
Chatter filled the room as people said things like, “Me too! I love my group.” Someone else said, “And I also love everyone else I've met in these days outside of my home group!” There was more chatter as participants concurred.
Elena smiled and observed the 60 educators who had convened for this residential professional development institute on emotional resilience in educators. They had traveled from across the United States to a retreat center in the mountains above Santa Cruz, California, for three nights and three‐and‐a‐half days. A few participants came from the same organization, but most were strangers when they'd arrived. Knowing this, Elena had grouped them into “home groups” of four or five people.
On the first evening, after dinner, Elena asked them to spend two hours telling stories in home groups. They could sit around one of the outside fire pits or in the massive infinity hot tub that overlooked the redwoods, and they had a protocol to follow and storytelling prompts. That evening, Elena wandered around and observed these educators, who had met only six hours before, tell stories about heartbreak and life‐changing decisions, about fears and hopes and dreams. She observed them listening to each other, affirming each other, and building community.
Throughout the retreat, home groups sat together for sessions, had delicious meals together and went on walks in the forest, and processed and practiced all the content. They also interacted with other participants in the retreat, but they spent a lot of time in their home groups.
The design of the retreat was complex, but the answer to the question “How did you know to put us together?” was simple.
“The truth is,” Elena said, “your groupings were totally random. Sometimes I'm super intentional about creating groups—usually when I'm meeting with folks for multiple sessions, but in this case, I knew very little about you.” Elena remembers feeling a little embarrassed revealing this—she had wanted to say, oh, it was all so intentional! Every single thing! But that wasn't the truth, and it wasn't what made the retreat so powerful.
We, the authors of this book, work for Bright Morning, an organization founded by Elena Aguilar, which brings transformative learning experiences to educators working to create equitable schools. In our workshops, we teach people the art of connecting to themselves, to each other, and to those in their communities. Sometimes the learners in our sessions are amazed by what we orchestrate and experience the facilitator as having access to magic. Obviously, we're not wizards, and because we aspire to teach others the strategies we use, we pull on the thick ropes of the stage curtains to reveal how we create powerful PD.
This entire book is an attempt to pull back the curtain all the way and share how we design and facilitate learning experiences. We want to tell you how to design and facilitate professional development that transforms how participants think, feel, and what they do—and sometimes feels magical.
We'll come back to Elena's workshop and hear how she pulled back the curtain for the benefit of the participants. But first, we want to usher you into this book by inviting you to recall a transformative learning experience that profoundly altered what you do, how you think, and how you feel. This could have been a cooking class, a communication seminar, a meditation course, a trip abroad, a lecture, or anything that felt like it opened up possibilities and potential.
Pause and remember that experience of transformative learning.
Visualize where you were and the people who were around you. Try to recall how you felt, maybe what you were thinking. Do you remember exploring new ideas and acquiring new skills? Can you recall the intellectual buzz of being challenged and stretched in a good way? Do you remember connecting meaningfully with someone else during the process? If you had a sense of your own growth at the time, did you feel satisfied or excited or hopeful? Think about how you've applied your learning and how doing so changed your life.
Now that you remember this experience, can you identify what made it so good? Perhaps you were pursuing interests and passions: Maybe you'd wanted to learn to play an instrument all your life and it felt good to finally begin learning. Maybe the experience provided you with skills you could use immediately. Or perhaps what made the experience so memorable were the other people—you made new friends or had profound conversations.
Sometimes powerful learning happens alone: Traveling abroad, reading books, and backpacking solo can be transformative. Often powerful learning happens with others, perhaps under the guidance of a mentor or teacher. In the positive learning experience that you just recalled, who was with you, and who guided you? How did other people contribute to your learning experience?
If you didn't recall a learning experience in which you had a teacher or guide, see if you can remember a time when someone facilitated a powerful learning experience for you. Reflect on these questions:
How did your teacher make you feel?
How did you know you could trust your teacher?
What did they do to build community if you were in a group with others?
If you've had firsthand knowledge that transformative learning is possible, then recalling the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual memories of your own experiences can be a source of energy and insight. Those memories can guide you toward a holistic vision for adult learning.
While we hope that you've had an opportunity to experience masterful facilitation, if you haven't, we know that you can still become a transformative facilitator because we've guided thousands of educators toward that end. You'll need to draw on other kinds of positive learning moments—from when you were a kid to recent forays into developing a hobby or learning within your professional field. Your bank of memories might contain only fragments of transformative PD (perhaps you experienced a dynamic speaker or an engaging activity or a beautiful setting), but you can piece together the elements of transformative PD. And we're going to tell you so many stories in this book that you'll be able to round out your imagination with visions of what could be possible.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
—Maya Angelou
A Couple Notes on Anonymity and Terminology
When we use the term we, we mean both Lori and Elena, unless we're explicitly referencing a larger group or we identify others we're including. When we tell stories and write about other people, we change their names and other markers that might reveal their identities. Also know that we use the traditional pronouns he and she, and in recognition of nonbinary gender identification, we also use they.
Pulling Back the Curtain
When Elena revealed the truth behind the random groupings at the workshop, some people looked disappointed. “However,” she quickly added, “I think this is a question about how to get a bunch of strangers to connect quickly and deeply around what really matters.” Heads started nodding. “You're asking about how I created the conditions for learning, the conditions in which each of you could show up fully. What created the conditions for learning that would have allowed you to develop a deep connection with anyone here—because it was about the conditions that I created for you as individuals and for all of you as a group.” A lot of heads were nodding at this point.
“Yes! So how did you do that?” someone asked.
The participants in Elena's workshop fell silent. What they all wanted to know was how the magic happened. Elena hesitated. Rather than giving them the answers, she wanted participants to identify the critical moves. Doing so would help them become stronger facilitators. “Well,” she said, smiling, “what did you observe me do to create the conditions for learning and deep connection?” Elena invited silent reflection and then provided time for participants to discuss their reflections with their home groups.
As Elena and participants pulled back the curtain together, the participants were able to identify many of the design and facilitation moves. They could see that what had happened wasn't magic. They could see how they could replicate what Elena had done back in their schools and organizations.
What they'd noticed, and what Elena expanded on, were the following design and facilitation moves:
Elena made the
why
and the
what
for the institute explicit, over and over and over, in many places. Starting with the registration process, she went overboard in explaining the purpose for the learning experience and what would happen hour by hour. She emphasized the time for reflection and processing with others, and the immersive nature of the experience, and she provided a lengthy list of objectives and intended outcomes.
Elena made expectations for the retreat very clear in the description, in emails and video messages from her that participants received before it started, and, finally, on the first day in person. For example, in the description of the institute, she wrote, “Participants must commit to being present during the entire institute: Your presence is expected from the first to the last minute. If you are not able to make the entire retreat, please do not register.” She also stated (over and over) that cell phones could be used during breaks and before and after our sessions, but that otherwise they would need to be off and out of sight. She also explained that she was making this request for the sake of the community that would be built. These expectations helped to describe the
how
of the institute.
Elena built buy‐in to these outcomes and expectations on the first day. She engaged participants in activities around hopes and fears for the institute, community agreements, and how everyone could show up as their best selves. She guided folks toward making authentic connections to the objectives. She clarified that her role was to provide learning structures and facilitate processes, but that everyone shared collective responsibility for what happened.
Elena paid attention to every little detail. She had thought through timing and learning sequence and snacks. She'd considered materials and music, the comfort of the seats, and the pros and cons of air conditioning versus open windows. She'd planned activities to meet the needs of introverts and extroverts and to play to different learning intelligences, and she'd planned how to best explain each activity and how to transition between them. And there was so much more. Her facilitator's agenda was 28 pages long—an indication of the level of detail in her preparation.
Elena was flexible and responsive to requests. She made adjustments to the schedule based on feedback. When she observed that an activity needed more time, she had a set of criteria with which to make quick decisions.
Elena gave participants many choice points. For example, she said, “During this 90‐minute block, you can pick from four activities.” After explaining the options, she gave participants a chance to make thoughtful decisions and communicated confidence in the choice they made.
Elena modeled vulnerability, risk taking, and transparency. She shared her own emotions, including her enthusiasm for the community that she saw developing and the learning that was happening. She also modeled setting boundaries. For example, after one long afternoon, she said, “I'm feeling a little drained, which isn't a surprise given that I'm super introverted, so I'm going to take a walk alone and recharge. I'll see you all later!” This gave participants permission to take care of themselves, to share their emotions, and to take risks.
After Elena pulled back the curtain, participants recognized that they could have been in any configuration of a home group and they likely would have cultivated deep, authentic connections. The magic was not in the groupings, but in the design and facilitation of the learning experience and in the conditions that were created for the retreat.
Having peeked behind the curtain, participants also recognized that they could use the same tools and strategies that Elena had used to create transformative learning experiences for the folks they supported. Elena wanted them to be able to create for others what she'd given them—and in the feedback she's received in the years since this retreat happened, she knows that many of them have done so.
We can't wait to share our philosophy, habits, tips, and tricks for creating transformative professional development sessions like the one Elena facilitated. But we're going to take this step‐by‐step, and the next step is to ensure that we're aligned on some terminology, specifically on what we mean when we say professional development, a term that's used so broadly as to be almost meaningless. This book is called The PD Book, but what exactly is “professional development”?
Defining Professional Development
There have been far too many times when we have observed something that was called professional development, but we've thought, this is not PD. There's no learning going on in this room. The facilitator just wants participants to nod and accept his opinions and do what he says. When we have found ourselves in a faculty room or a conference hall watching educators grade papers in their laps during a professional development, we feel deflated. There's no learning going on in the room, and we can't blame the participants.
The term professional development (PD) can be used to mean a lot of different things from this kind of mindless training to sessions with the HR team about insurance options. Before you continue, take a moment to think about how you define professional development, how it's defined where you work, and, perhaps, what you wish PD meant.
The Definition
Let's start with naming the obvious elements of PD: It's a way that you continue developing your knowledge and abilities after you've met the baseline requirements for a position.
Many professions have expectations around ongoing development. You may need to renew a license or certificate in order to continue practicing in your field or you may need to develop additional skill sets to be promoted. In many organizations, there's also an assumption that the baseline may change: Although you're qualified when you're hired, you'll face new challenges and will need to continue developing skills. Whether you're in education or medicine or insurance law, we can count on the fact that changes in policy or demographics, advances in research and knowledge, or a shift in an organization's commitment will require continued learning. In schools, continued learning is required when a region experiences an influx of immigrants and teachers need to learn how to teach English learners, when new findings on the neuroscience of learning require that teachers acquire additional skills for teaching math, or when a school board adopts a resolution to create equitable schools.
We may also need to engage in professional development to refine a particular skill set. For example, the skills needed by positional leaders are extensive—whether they lead a school or a nonprofit. Even after leaders complete an administrative credential or get an MBA, they might need to further develop communication skills, emotional intelligence, or the ability to work across lines of difference. No one is ever done with their learning, and when learning happens in the context of a profession, it's called PD.
Refining the Definition
Can you recall a PD session you attended in which you felt, during the session or by the end of it, that you had changed? That you had new insights into yourself, your students, or your situation? That you had acquired new skills?
Can you recall another PD session that you attended where perhaps you felt ambivalent about in the moment but later the ideas from that session percolated into your mind? Maybe those ideas prompted you to try something different at work?
Elena recalls a slew of PD experiences as a teacher that resulted in her growth and development: a district‐wide August training for 300 third‐grade teachers on a new math curriculum during which she spent days exploring manipulatives and being a “student” as a master teacher demonstrated the lessons; a series of arts integration PD sessions in which Elena was given time to plan lessons and get feedback on how she had incorporated the arts; a two‐year teacher inquiry project in which Elena did action research in her classroom. Each of these learning experiences changed, and improved, what Elena did as a teacher.
In contrast, Elena also remembers other so‐called PD sessions that she was asked to attend, from which she walked away mumbling something like, “a total waste of time.”
We've all attended meetings that were called PD in which the facilitator clicked through a massive slide deck, shared too much background, disconnected data, and a few dictionary definitions, and gave mandates. We may have taken in the information and complied with the mandates, but there was no learning going on inside of us. Perhaps it appeared that our behavior changed—we did what we were told. But we did so out of compliance and fear of repercussions, not because we'd learned and grown. Those meetings, therefore, were not professional development.
Let's stop using the term PD when what happens doesn't involve learning.
PD Structures
Identifying the structures in which PD happens helps us home in on an understanding of PD. In schools, PD typically happens in the twice‐a‐month all‐staff PD meetings or on a Wednesday afternoon or during the two intensive days in August before school starts when the district convenes teachers for training on a new initiative. PD can also take other forms: When teachers who are part of a professional learning community (PLC) undertake an inquiry project together, that's PD. Instructional Rounds can also be PD. Individual and team coaching is PD. And PD can also take place via an online course, at a conference, or through a book study.
While any of these structures—and there are many more—can house PD, we don't know whether true PD is happening until we consider development. And here we get at the core of our definition of PD: The goal of PD is to change practice.
The Goal of PD
Professional development is defined by its impact. PD is successful if, after the learning experience, the learner can do something else, or do something different. PD isn't PD if the learner doesn't change, if the learner doesn't learn. Sometimes this learning is evident in the PD session itself, and sometimes the learning isn't evident until a later date, but it's the learning that defines PD.
Transformative impact is the result of a shift in behaviors and beliefs. Every action we take emerges from a belief. New behaviors—new changes in practice—come from new beliefs. New behaviors can generate new beliefs, and new beliefs can generate new behaviors. We'll explore this more in the next section.
Transformative Professional Development
This book's premise is that all PD can and must be transformative. To understand what transformative PD is, let's start with its opposite: transactional PD. PD that is transactional is characterized by the following:
Learners are seen as passive subjects who need to be filled with knowledge that they are lacking.
An expert on the stage transmits knowledge to learners.
The emphasis of the learning is on acquiring new knowledge.
The unspoken goal of the training is to ensure compliant behavior from the subjects.
Rewards are often offered for acquiring knowledge and performing desired behavior; veiled threats may be suggested for not doing so.
If you've ever attended a sit‐and‐get training, you've experienced transactional PD. If you've felt like PD sessions were packed and you didn't have a moment to think and you were a little nervous about whether you were doing the right thing and whether the presenter would call you out and embarrass you, you may have been in a transactional PD session. If you've attended a PD session where you knew there were right and wrong answers, you were likely in a transactional PD session.
So, what makes PD transformative? To answer that, we need to begin with defining transformation. On an individual level, transformation occurs in the domains of “the Three Bs”—in a person's behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being (Aguilar, 2013). Transformation is not just about doing something different, but also about unpacking the mindsets connected to the actions.
Let's understand this by comparing two PD sessions on diverse representation in curriculum. In what we'll call Session A, teachers are presented with a slideshow and lecture explaining the research on “mirrors and windows” (Sims Bishop, 1990). (A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps you build your identity; a window offers you a view into someone else's experience.) Subsequently, they are presented with a list of books that they must teach to diversify their curriculum.
In contrast, in what we'll call Session B on the same topic, teachers are guided through a reflection on their own identity experiences, they explore their beliefs about the need for students to read books that are mirrors and windows, and they have opportunities to discuss the emotions that arise when teaching books with characters whose identities they don't share. They might also review some of the research and listen to portions of books that could be adopted into the curriculum.
Which of these sessions could be transformative? In Session A, there's no learning going on. In Session B, there's the potential for learning.
Here's another example. At some point in their careers, many teachers attend PD on classroom management. When the PD consists of being told to do this and that, or don't do this or that, very little learning is happening. A transformative PD session on classroom management likely includes the following:
An exploration of how to develop relationships with students and of the beliefs that teachers have about power, control, and respect
Opportunities for teachers to practice using new strategies and to get feedback
Time for teachers to recognize and acknowledge the stew of emotions that they experience in the profession
A deconstruction of the beliefs the lie beneath traditional approaches to classroom management, and an opportunity to redefine
management
A chance for learners to make the connection between management strategies and their vision for themselves as teachers and people
Transformative PD—PD that changes behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being—is holistic and comprehensive. Too many PD providers focus exclusively on behavior change, and while ultimately facilitators of transformational PD aspire to see changes in practitioners' behaviors, we know that we must also address, explore, and change beliefs and ways of being. Behaviors will change permanently, and the outcome will be transformative only when we also reckon with our beliefs and ways of being.
In writing this book, we grappled with a choice: to label our approach to professional development transformative professional development or to write about professional development without the adjective transformative. Because we define PD as something that changes participants, we believe that the term PD should always refer to learning experiences that are transformative. And so, when we talk about PD, we mean transformative PD. That said, in this book, we'll often include the adjective transformative to remind you of our vision for PD.
In Table 0.1, you'll read a synopsis of our definition of professional development.
Table 0.1 What PD Is and Isn't
Professional development is…
Professional development isn't…
A transformative process in which learners are actively engaged and for which the aim is to explore and expand behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being; a learning process that results in a change of practice
.
A transactional process in which learners are passive subjects who are asked simply to change their behaviors
.
A structure for learning. The purpose of PD is to help people change their practice through exploring their beliefs and ways of being.
Required for everyone because we all need to learn and grow.
A dynamic, holistic experience. Humans learn with and through our minds, hearts, and bodies.
A process to cultivate self‐awareness and understanding, social awareness and understanding, community development, and individual and collective empowerment.
A vehicle for social transformation.
A thinly veiled form of control. The goal of PD is not compliance.
An opportunity for massive amounts of information to be forced on someone.
A punishment for not performing well in a position.
An isolated experience, a one‐time event.
A vehicle to maintain the status quo.
Creating the Conditions for Learning
When Elena pulled back the curtain for participants at the end of her three‐day workshop, she revealed that much of the magic was in creating effective and inspiring “conditions for learning.” In effect, this whole book is about creating the conditions for learning—for transformative learning. But what are “the conditions” in which learning happens?
Learning happens when:
Learners understand the purpose for the learning they're involved in, and the purpose is clear, relevant, and meaningful. It's easy to see the benefits that will come from the learning.
The social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs of learners are met. This includes feeling that you can share your thoughts, that the teacher or facilitator has your best interests at heart, that you are being appropriately challenged, and that other learners will support and encourage you as you learn.
The design for the learning experience is carefully, thoughtfully constructed and based on learner needs.
Every last detail of the learning experience is anticipated and planned.
Facilitators skillfully execute the learning plan and adapt, responding to learners when necessary.
Facilitators are reflective, see themselves as learners, have a high degree of emotional intelligence and self‐awareness, and can motivate people and inspire them to take risks and to stretch outside of their comfort zones.
These are the conditions for learning. We've taken these, and everything we know about designing and facilitating professional development, and categorized them into seven habits. To help you remember them, we've also come up with an acronym: PARTY. This stands for: Purpose, Audience, Routines, Technique, and You. We hope that Figure 0.1 will help you remember the core ideas and habits in this book.
The Seven Habits
Habits are behaviors that you enact so often that you internalize them and they become routine. For example, you probably brush your teeth every day without having to think about how to angle the toothbrush—you just do it. Once a behavior is a habit, it doesn't take as much cognitive, physical, or emotional energy as when you started.
Figure 0.1 How to Create Transformative PD: PARTY!
Many of the strategies we'll describe in this book might sound like they'd take a lot of time and energy—and they do at first. But if you practice them over and over, you'll eventually find yourself doing them with much less intentional labor than you needed at first. Once you reach a stage of mastery or what's also called unconscious competence (Broadwell, 1969), the habit will be ingrained—and possibly almost effortless.
But let's back up, because a habit emerges from a belief: You brush your teeth because you believe that dental hygiene is important and brushing will prolong the health of your teeth. Beneath every habit in this book are beliefs that uphold it. We will make those beliefs explicit to increase your investment in mastering the habits. Table 0.2 summarizes the habits and content of this book. You'll also see how the habit contributes to a condition for learning.
Table 0.2 The Seven Habits
Habit & Chapter
Condition for Learning
Description
Determine Purpose (1)
Purpose
Transformative PD emerges from purpose. We identify and create purpose, and then we communicate it to learners and build their buy‐in.
Engage Emotions (2)
Audience
Human beings have emotions, and we engage our own emotions and those of others to create the conditions for learning. We respond to challenging emotions and create psychological safety for individuals and groups.
Navigate Power (3)
Audience
Power is always present, and when we're in hierarchical organizations, we must learn how to use it. We make choices about what kind of power we work from, how we use it, and how we respond to power struggles.
Anchor in Adult Learning Principles (4)
We act on the research about what adults need in order to learn. We can provide choice, honor agency, access prior learning, and make the learning relevant.
Design Intentionally (5)
Routines
We honor the backgrounds of participants, consider the
why
behind design, and are deliberate in determining outcomes, selecting activities, developing learning structures, and sequencing learning.
Attend to Details (6)
Attending to details makes learners feel welcome, affirmed, valued, and psychologically safe.
Facilitate Adaptively (7)
Technique
Developing self‐awareness, emotional intelligence, cultural humility, and clear communication enables you to respond appropriately to whatever happens in a PD session.
You
You might notice that Purpose, Audience, Routines, and Technique each get their own chapter, but none of the habits explicitly addresses you, or the Y in the acronym PARTY. That's because who you are—your behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being—are addressed in every habit. Think of the Y as reminding us of you, of the importance of your presence and of what you bring to every aspect of transformative PD.
A Learning Organization: A Contextual Condition for PD
For PD to be transformative, it helps if an organization is committed to being a learning organization. In a learning organization, everyone is committed to their learning, everyone is expected to learn, and everyone learns. This value shows up in goals and priorities, in evaluations, and in the adult culture. Table 0.3 offers a description of a learning organization. As you read each indicator, note whether there's evidence in your organization of the indicator—maybe jot down “yes,” “no,” or “some” in the margin.
We include this here to acknowledge the organizational context in which you lead and facilitate PD. If you work in an organization that doesn't have any of these indicators of being a learning organization and you are committed to designing and delivering transformative PD, we want to acknowledge that it's going to be hard—not impossible, but hard. If this is the situation you're in, you'll need to address the larger organizational culture, while also implementing the strategies we're sharing with you.
Table 0.3 Indicators of a Learning Organization
Learning Environment
Psychological safety
We can disagree with colleagues or supervisors, we can ask any kind of question, we can make mistakes, and we can express divergent opinions.
Appreciation of difference
Our discussions surface differences in ideas, and we have healthy disagreements about ideas.
Openness to new ideas
We are encouraged to take risks and try new things, and we do so.
Time for reflection
We take time to pause, thoughtfully reflect on our processes, and learn from our experiences.
Feedback
We get feedback on our work from multiple sources (including from colleagues and supervisors).
Purpose
We feel that our work matters to us personally and is connected to something bigger than us.
Learning Processes and Practices
Orientation
Our learning is connected to and in support of the organization's core purpose.
Generation
We generate new learning together.
Interpretation
We make sense of our learning together.
Dissemination
We share what we learn with each other and outside of our group and organization.
Leadership
Listening and questioning
Leaders prompt dialogue and debate.
Honoring process
Leaders ensure time for reflection, generation, interpretation, and dissemination.
Openness
Leaders are willing to entertain alternative points of view.
Modeling
Leaders make their learning visible and model the practices of a learner.
Source: Based on Garvin, Edmondson, and Gino (2008).
What If PD Could Be More Like a Party?
When you became a teacher, it's likely that you formed a vision for who you wanted to be based on two things: who you aspired to emulate, and who you didn't want to be like. This may have been a conscious process or an unconscious one. But often a vision is shaped by what we've experienced and by what we strive to replicate and what we want to reject.
When we began providing PD, we had thoughts like, I want to welcome people into the room the way I once observed Mr. G, and I never want to talk down to teachers like Mrs. K did. We identified behaviors and ways of being we wanted to replicate and ones we intended to reject.
We also thought about the overall feeling of PD. We'd been to many PD sessions that felt tedious and dreary; we wanted to create learning experiences that felt refreshing and gratifying. We wanted people to say, “That went by so fast!” And, “When is our next session?” We wanted to observe participants walking to their cars together afterward still talking about the content and laughing and exchanging contact information. We knew that if PD felt good, participants would be more likely to want to come, to show up eager to learn, and to take risks and ask questions, and ultimately, we knew that more learning would occur.
We're now going to present an extreme dichotomy: When characterizing the atmosphere of PD, on one end of the continuum, PD can feel like a punishment, like a prison. On the other end of the continuum, PD can feel like a festive gathering of friends. Most of us have probably attended a lot of PD that falls in the middle: It's fine, but immemorable. We wonder, what if PD could feel more like a party?
