Free Professional Development

This post is for ALL teachers – elementary, secondary, SLP, learning support, ELL, etc….EVERY SINGLE TEACHER can benefit from this post!

Why, you ask? Well, because we are all looking for ways to improve our practice to better meet the needs of our students. In order to do so, we usually seek out some kind of professional development. So, today, I am going to share with you one of the BEST professional developments I have ever discovered!

First, let’s breakdown PD’s for a minute. Basically, there are two types of professional development (PD) – free and paid.

Free Professional Development

• Tend to be long, boring (gasp, yes, I said it), lecture-like sessions
• More often than not, we learn very little new knowledge
• Doesn’t necessarily cover a topic we are interested in adding to our teaching strategies, but administration recommended we go anyway
• Time-consuming – possible outside our contractual hours

Paid Professional Development

• Expensive
• Several days of sessions (hey, our time is precious!)
• Sometimes requires travel (even more expensive)
• Did I mention expensive?

I’m not saying PDs are bad. Not at all. We, as teachers, do need to be lifelong learners and grow in our profession. In fact, I crave to learn and explore more innovative ideas, BUT, in general, my experience with PDs is that the negatives out way the positives, especially if you are on a tight budget.

Well, what if you could attend a PD where you learned a new idea, was free, and required less than an hour of your time? Would you do it? I know I would!!!

Pineappling

A few years ago, I stumbled upon Jennifer Gonzalez’s blog post on Pineapple Charts. It was probably one of the most valuable blog posts I have ever read because it solved my PD problem. I teach at a private, international school that has limited access to professional development due to location and expense. After reading her post, I realized I don’t need to fly back to the States to learn how to be a better teacher. Nope, all I have to do is walk right next door and observe a fellow teacher who has already gone to PD’s and is implementing the techniques in their classroom. Yep, you read it right. The PD I have been seeking all this time was right next door all along.

So, what do I mean? I recommend you read Jennifer’s blog post about what Pineapplinng is, because quite frankly, she is an amazing, attention-getting writer and I don’t think I could ever summarize it any better than she  already has.

Quote is from Hacking Education, (Barnes & Gonzalez, 2015)

Now that you’ve read Jennifer’s blog post, and understand what Pineappling is, here is my breakdown of the benefits:

• FREE
• Less than an hour
• Observe EXACTLY what you want to learn about
• Opportunity to ask questions one-on-one
• No traveling necessary
• Do it whenever it’s convenient for you

Pineapple Chart

In lieu, of Jennifer’s blog post, I decided to implement Pineappling at my school, not just for myself, but for all staff members. I created a powerpoint explaining  what Pineappling is, how it’s helpful, and how to use the Pineapple Chart. This is our third year using it and it’s been AMAZING! Teachers love having the opportunity to learn from their peers and also show off their talents. Below is an example of our Pineapple Chart:

I know what you are thinking….I love it!…but I don’t  know how to start implementing it at my school. Don’t worry! I have you covered. I am happy to share my professional development resource with you!

The resource is 100% editable and includes the following:
• Powerpoint presentation explaining what a Pineapple Chart is, the benefits, and how your school can implement it. (7 slides)
• Pineapple Chart (1 slide)
• Peer Observation Form that may be helpful in assisting teachers with their thought process while observing other teachers. (1 page)

Go to the Pineapple Chart Resource