Teacher Agency: Self-Directed Professional Development

The Teacher’s Choice Framework

Gabriel Diaz-Maggioli in her ASCD book, Teacher-Centered Professional Development, proposes a teacher’s choice framework which are characterized by:

1. Teachers are talented and devoted individuals who have gained enormous experience by interacting with students, and possess a wealth of knowledge that must be explored and shared. 
2. Teachers differ from one another in terms of their theoretical and professional knowledge and the stages they are at in their careers. This diversity offers a wealth of resources and experience. 
3. Teachers’ professional development should be embedded in their daily schedule; they should not be expected to devote their own free time to programs that are divorced from the context in which they work. 
4. In order for teachers to develop ownership of professional development, they need to be active participants in its construction, tailoring programs to their needs and motivations. 
5. Professional development should not be regarded as an administrative duty, but rather as a career-long endeavor aimed at disclosing the factors that contribute to the success of all students and teachers. Mandatory professional development offered only when it is convenient to administrators has little to offer to teachers.

Teacher Empowered Model of Professional Development

1. Develop a vision and a mission of an ideal classroom and optimal student achievement. 
2. Identify gaps between what is and the ideal. 
3. Establish and/or identify self -driven professional development activities to close the gap. 
4. Develop plans of action for implementation.
5. Engage in an accountability system.

Develop a vision and a mission of an ideal classroom and optimal student achievement.

As part of their teacher education, students are often asked to develop their teaching philosophy. This is a good initial exercise but several problems exist with it. First, this happens during pre-service teaching and often prior to any extensive time spent teaching in an actual classroom. Second, it does reflect the continuous and evolving nature of education. Finally, it does not reflect ideas and teaching practices shaped and learned while one is a teacher.
Identify gaps between what is and the ideal.
The educator then compares current practices to that of the ideal to identify gaps. From these gaps, professional development goals are established.  This process provides a foundation of “need”, focus, and relevancy for the educator’s professional development.  Professional development then becomes “just-in-time learning” rather than “just-in-case it is needed”.

The following visual metaphor is a model of this process.

1. Identify Current Reality: On the left cliff, list of keywords that define your current reality. You’re basically outlining where you are right now in your classroom teaching process.   Sketches and symbols can also be used to describe your current reality.
2. Identify Desired Reality:  On the right cliff write down a list of keywords that define your desired classroom environment and practices based on your vision of the ideal.  You’re essentially defining the type of classroom that you would like to create by the date you specified.  Represent these keywords (your desired reality) using a series of sketches, symbols or both. Completing these sketches will help you to create more meaningful associations.
3. Identify Obstacles: Within the gap between the two cliffs, write down all the obstacles that are standing between your current reality and your desired reality. Write down keywords. Alternatively, you can represent these words in a visual way, as described above.
4. Identify Key Resources;  On the tree branches outline five key resources and training opportunities that you have at your disposal that you could use to help you overcome the obstacles that are standing between you and your desired reality. (Identifying resources will be further expanded upon in the next section.)
5. Bridge the Gap:  Now that you are clear about where you are, where you want to be, the obstacles standing in your way, and the resources you have at your disposal, it’s now time to build a bridge that will take you over the cliff towards your desired reality. This bridge is going to be built using a series of steps that you will take over a certain period of time that will get you to where you want to go.

Establish and/or identify self-driven and directed professional development activities to close the gap.
During this phase, educators engage in self-directed professional learning opportunities to learn how to close the gap from the current state to the ideal one.  The opportunities for educators to engage in self-directed professional development is basically limitless in this era of teaching and learning.  There Many Ways to Grow Professionally

1. Attend a conference/workshop locally.
2. Attend a conference/workshop regionally/provincially/nationally/internationally.
3. Attend a workshop/conference or summer institute/course.
4. Becoming a facilitator, and give a workshop locally, regionally, or provincially.
5. Begin/continue university studies.
6. Form/join a teacher research group.
7. Participate in group planning.
8. Job-shadow in a related work situation.
9. Join a professional organization/network.
10. Observe another teacher, and talk together about the lesson/program.
11. Read professional literature.
12. Reflect, discuss, and research for the purpose of planning individual or group ongoing professional development.
13. Develop the discipline of reflective journal keeping.
14. Share with colleagues what you found at a conference/workshop.
15. Subscribe to/read professional journals.
16. Watch professional videos.

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