Taking Away the Tables

August 2018

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.”

One of my favorite stories of shifting the way we think about professional learning was the day we took away the table and chairs.

The first time we were asked to have a training for teachers in our office after restructuring our PL to Innovation Challenges, we approached it with hesitation. We did not want to do anything remotely like sit-and-get. We spent an entire year planning, redirecting, revamping professional learning. We were not about to go back. As humans, our natural tendency is to slide right back into a comfort zone. We are creatures of habit. So our hesitant response was: “Okay…but it’s going to be different.”

Sometimes, a physical representation of the shift is needed. We had worked so hard to make this shift happen, this was a true test of whether we were going to allow everyone to slide back into the comfort zone. Teachers mirror what they learn in PL. If we want to make changes to meet the needs of student learning in the classroom, we needed to change the way teachers were learning.

The day before the training, we packed up the tables and chairs, removed them from the room, and placed interactive signs around the room. The signs had QR codes that took teachers to information that they interacted with. They collaborated with each other in partners or trios (their choice) to explore and apply information. The only time we talked was to explain the process at the beginning. Then we floated around assisting as needed throughout the time they were there. They worked at their own pace, they had valuable conversations, they shared additional information and related experiences and expertise…It was extremely exciting.

This was one of those memorable milestones on our journey of transforming PL. The moment teachers walked in and saw an empty room will be forever imprinted in my mind. For just a beat, they weren’t sure what we were doing - Where do we sit? We won’t be sitting. Is the training today? Yes. But as soon as we started, all uneasiness evaporated, and teachers were immersed in one of the most valuable professional learning experiences.

- Ginny