Samra Mekonen and Jillian Turner

Summary Our session offers classroom practitioners license to develop their strengths into tangible learning experiences as professional development facilitators for their colleagues. We cover culturally responsive practices for adult learning, a variety of instructional activities, scheduling acumen, and user-friendly course structure. Ultimately, this session will inform and support union membership creation of district-led learning opportunities that are useful for both course developers and participants. In turn, more teachers engage in professional learning opportunities that they deem helpful to them which enhances their self-efficacy and leadership opportunities at their own schools and throughout the district. Providing new opportunities for teachers to share their talents and interests makes them better-able to serve the needs of students.

Samra and Jillian are sixth year educators in Baltimore City Public Schools. Samra and Jillian have considerable experience facilitating credit bearing professional development for their peers. The PD courses they have co-facilitated have resulted in 1,093 Achievement Units for BTU members. They have demonstrated a quick transition to delivering content virtually, and over 950 AUs have been awarded to members from their courses since the beginning of the pandemic. The focus of their PD sessions is training and supporting BTU members in creating their own professional growth activities, for which those members can often, but not always, go on to earn additional AUs. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 325 BTU members have taken credit bearing PD courses facilitated by Jillian and Samra. Last summer, they participated in AFT Summer Educator Academy activities including DEPD and Informing Instruction, and became familiar with parts of the core curriculum of AFT Professional Development, which further enhanced their facilitation skills.