PL Doesn't Have a "Box"

September 2018

When we’re looking for something new and different, something creative that stretches the boundaries of our thinking, we (using the collective societal “we” here) use the turn of phrase, “Think Outside the Box.” When it comes to professional learning, there’s more to it than that.

PL doesn’t have a “box.” To say that it does means that learning itself has a pre-defined box. Even when we say “think outside the box,” our brains automatically define a box.

When it comes to teacher PL, we need to think beyond the box, and disregard that there even is a defined box for teacher professional learning. Teachers should experience ongoing professional growth that is meaningful for each teacher, no matter where they are in their career.

Each teacher has a different learning need. If the goal of PL is for teachers to become just a little bit better every single day, if the goal is ongoing professional growth for each teacher, then there is no box.

Un-define what PL used to mean.

Create avenues for teachers to explore ideas. Discover.

Widen your scope of how you view the world.

Within instruction, we begin with the learning goal in mind. We want students to meet specific learning goals, but the learning path can be different for each student. The same is true for teachers. True individualized and personalized professional learning is wide open.

And undefined.

And doesn’t exist in a box.

- Ginny