The emotional side of professional learning
March 16 2009 by 
Hayes Mizell
Few people talk about it, but there is a connection between professional development and teachers' feelings. A hidden agenda of each professional learning experience should be that at its conclusion, teachers feel more valued, more confident, and more professional. When these are the results, teachers can't wait for their next learning experience.
Some school systems try short cuts to achieve these ends. They provide nice facilities, good food, and lots of time for teacher dialog. All of this is welcome, because for many teachers it is not yet the norm.?But in and of themselves, these are empty calorie experiences. They temporarily assuage a hunger for respect and self-efficacy, but when teachers return to their classrooms, they are no better able to engage students in learning.
The purpose and structure of professional development must be sensitive to teachers' feelings. This goes far beyond conducting a survey to determine what they "want." Teachers need to know their professional learning experiences will incorporate their voice, honor their experience, and address their desire to improve. This does not occur with one-size-fits-all professional development that assumes teachers are automatons whose performance depends on their programming.
Teachers' feelings, as much as their salaries, motivate them to remain in or leave a school, a school system, or the profession. A therapist might say that teachers are "responsible for their own feelings," but their professional development experiences have a lot to do with whether those feelings are positive or negative.
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Posted in Hayes Mizell | 
Mar 16, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Content specific professional development may be the answer to providing more productive sessions with teachers. As a presenter of Professional Development Workshops I find teachers hungry for new approaches for teaching the specific classes and disciplines they are assigned. Practical application is more inspiring than theory!
Mar 18, 2009 at 4:51 AM
I agree very strong with the original posting and the comments of Ms. Hagan. Educators are often excited about professional learning/ development when they can see a direct application with what they are learning and their everyday work. At the same time, we all need to feel valued for our expertise and for our time. Often our time has a great value to us than anything else and we do not want to feel that others are demanding busy work in place of a valued learning experiences that would help us be better educators.
Mar 18, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Feelings govern whether children experience an active interest in learning and remain engaged - why should teachers be any different? There's no short cut to cultivating the emotional connection you describe. Offering new facilities, good food and dialog opportunities don't get you there. Valuing and engaging the feelings of teachers as an important part of ongoing professional development would be a powerful reminder of why they teach and a compelling motivation for improvement.
Mar 23, 2009 at 4:49 PM
How can anyone not wonder or sense the power in the emotional side of professional development? As architects of learning, respect for previous knowledge, allowing for reflection on one's own strengths and/or areas of need (instead of being told by others what their perception of ones needs may be), as well as offering opportunities for input into the staff development process and of it and in validating it for the participants down to the individual level may serve to be either the nails that build the ongoing bridges of successful professional development, or if not addressed serve to be the nails in the coffin for it. It's just that powerful...
Mar 26, 2009 at 5:54 PM
This is amazing. At least this group gets it!!!!
Nov 6, 2009 at 10:21 PM
this is nice information need to know more
Oct 4, 2010 at 1:30 AM
Nice post. Thank you for taking the time to publish this information very useful!
Nov 26, 2010 at 5:08 PM
nice
Nov 26, 2010 at 6:44 PM
Wirklich danke, ich finde so eine gute Seite, ich muss es aufschreiben, um meinen Freunden empfehlen
Dec 13, 2010 at 1:45 AM
Looking forward for more such stuff.