Online Content Only TFS - Fall 2024

(Online Only) October 16, 2024 — The Pluses of Professional Learning: Why prioritizing your own learning is better for your students too

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You’ve just spent an exhilarating, but exhausting day in the classroom. Now you have to tidy up, and then head home to do some paperwork and prep the next day’s lessons. Plus, you need to drive your kids to soccer and choir practice, and you have no idea what to serve for dinner. Professional Learning (PL) may be the farthest thing from your mind. 

Joanna Sanders, Director of Professional Learning at Let’s Talk Science, hopes you’ll think again. “Education is a dynamic field, where everything is always changing,” she says. “By participating in PL, educators are able to stay up to date on the latest developments, learn new strategies, and be able to bring best practices into their teaching.” 

Sanders adds that making time for Professional Learning (PL) is part of self-care for teachers. “It’s important to prioritize yourself in a profession where you give a lot to others. When you recognize the need to spend time on yourself and connect with colleagues, you feel supported and valued, and you’re more likely to be satisfied in your job.” 

PL is important at every moment of an educator’s career, with different opportunities at each stage. Young teachers, for example, may need help applying their new knowledge in the real-world classroom. They benefit from building their professional network– a sounding board and source of new ideas when they face challenges. Sanders says a teacher with five years’ experience might think of PL as “a way to figure out how the next phase of this career fits with your life path.” Further down the path, it could be the way to prepare for another role in education. 

Sanders says PL gives educators at all stages the tools and strategies they need to support students with diverse needs, helping them to achieve learning outcomes. It also ensures that teachers are able to support student learning in topic areas such as computational thinking and coding that may not have even existed when they completed their formal education. 

Investing in lifelong learning provides a valuable model for students. Says Sanders, “When students see their teacher learning all the time, it opens the door to curiosity and wonder, and they become more enthusiastic and self-directed in their learning.” And parents, who feel that PD days come along too often? “You wouldn’t want your doctor to have stopped learning 30 years ago! You want everyone working with your child to have the best skills and knowledge to do the best job they can.” 

The key to getting the most benefit from PL, says Sanders, is taking ownership of your learning journey. Sanders suggests starting by addressing gaps you may have in achieving school and board goals, then think about your personal growth and professional goals. 

Reaping the benefits of PL doesn’t have to be onerous or time-consuming. “You don’t have to take a master’s level course,” Sanders says. “Often what you’re looking for is something you can take and apply in the classroom the next day.”  Online offerings are easier to schedule, and don’t require the release time needed for in-person learning. She also notes that a conversation over lunch with a group of fellow educators can be an important form of PL. “You just have to believe that learning is important to you and put yourself at the front of the list of things you have to do!” 

Ultimately, PL is a way to keep your chosen profession fresh and fun for you and your students. Says Sanders, “It’s a lot of work, but if you’re engaged in learning new things, it doesn’t seem like work. When you’re excited and you get the kids excited, you’re all learning together.”