What makes professional development even more frustrating to
practitioners is that most of the programs we are exposed to are drawn directly
from the latest craze sweeping the business world. In the past 10 years,
countless schools have read Who Moved My Cheese?, studied The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People, learned to have "Crucial Conversations,"
and tried to move "from Good to Great."
With the investment of a bit of time and effort, I've found a
group of writers to follow who expose me to more interesting ideas in one day
than I've been exposed to in the past 10 years of costly professional
development. Professional growth for me starts with 20 minutes of blog browsing
each morning, sifting through the thoughts of practitioners whom I might never
have been able to learn from otherwise and considering how their work translates
into what I do with students.
This learning has been uniquely authentic, driven by personal
interests and connected to classroom realities. Blogs have introduced a measure
of differentiation and challenge to my professional learning plan that had long
been missing. I wrestle over the characteristics of effective professional
development with Patrick Higgins (http://chalkdust101.wordpress.com) and the elements of
high-quality instruction for middle grades students with Dina Strasser (http://theline.edublogs.org).
Scott McLeod (www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org) forces me to think about driving
school change from the system level; and Nancy Flanagan (http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_in_a_strange_land) helps
me understand the connections between education policy and classroom practice.
John Holland (http://circle-time.blogspot.com) and Larry Ferlazzo, Brian Crosby,
and Alice Mercer (http://inpractice.edublogs.org) open my eyes to the challenges of
working in high-needs communities.
That's when I introduce them to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed readers.
If you're not sure where to begin, explore the blogs that I've organized in my
professional Pageflake at www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/16618841. I read these blogs all the
time. Some leave me challenged. Some leave me angry. Some leave me jazzed. All
leave me energized and ready to learn more. School leaders may be interested in
the collection of blogs at www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/23697456.
A power shift is underway and a tough new business rule is
emerging: Harness the new collaboration or perish. Those who fail to grasp this
will find themselves ever more isolated—cut off from the networks that are
sharing, adapting, and updating knowledge to create value. (Kindle location
268–271)
The few moments
Technology has made it easy for educators to embrace continual
professional development.