Many professionals have been convinced that professional development simply means do more. For teachers this has come to mean do more curriculum, do more testing, do more classroom management, do more hidden curriculum, do more personalizing, do more better, harder, stronger...
No wonder many teachers have come to see professional development as a four letter word.
One solution to this frustration is to embrace the idea that there are some things we have to stop doing so we can make time and afford the necessary effort to do things differently or entirely anew.
Just one example: If we want to personalize learning for all students to increase engagement and relevance, we have to stop the chalk and talk lectures. It's hard to be an artful guide to a class of 30 plus students on its own, but it's virtually impossible if you spend most of your time as the sage on stage delivering a bunch o' facts from the provincial or state curriculum.
This is true to my experience. This year I have virtually eliminated direct instruction. It happens for brief moments during the day. For the most of the time my people work independently and collaboratively through prosaic activities and inquiry projects. I find I have more time to connect with people and learn where they are at.
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