I have so many thoughts on the topic of educator learning. It’s been such a highly debated topic for so long and although there is no right or wrong answer because everyone learns differently (everyone hear that, “EVERYONE LEARNS DIFFERENTLY”.) We can make strides to make it better. Especially with the teacher shortage the US is experiencing. Let’s add better professional learning opportunities to the long list of improvements for educators, behind better wages and working conditions of course!

The most powerful thing you can do when it comes to learning something new is to experience it. When you look at a conference, the most popular sessions are the workshops that allow educators to get into the thick of it when it comes to learning. Whether it be completing guided tasks in new resources, discussing new topics with colleagues, doing the activities students are going to do, to even..yes I’ll say it..a field trip to a community partner.

Now the term experiential professional learning is not a new one. When we take out the term professional “experiential learning” is when students get hands-on with the topics they are learning about. Add professional in there and now the audience changes from students to teacher. These types of PD opportunities tend to be the most popular at conferences and district PD days, who wouldn’t want to learn about the power of play playing with Legos?

As I write this, I’m coming off directing a large virtual conference for thousands of educators from across the globe. Create an interactive experience for these attendees that is solely virtual is extremely difficult but also rewarding when you get it right. Have I got this down to a science? Not in the slightest, am I working to make virtual experiences better and more interactive for attendees? You bet!

So what are some tips I’ve learned in trying things out to make learning experiences for educators more interactive and allow them to experience what they are learning?

• Give them tangible items or ideas to walk away with. Have them build their toolkit to bring back to their learning spaces and try out. Whether it is a new teaching tool or toy or a written lesson plan or instructions to an activity. Don’t make sessions “heady” or overly academic. Make them easy to understand and give the information in an easily digestible language so they can translate it into their instruction.
• Make it motivating! Give them a reason to be excited to go back and try these things out. Get them involved, guide them as they create and collaborate. We live in an age where being an educator is not something a lot of people aspire to be anymore because of the current state of education. Let’s bring back that spark.
• Be Interactive! Bring out the toys, bring in the experts (virtually or in person), get them involved in the activities that match their comfort level. Don’t be that “sage on the stage”, guide the collaboration and discovery.
• Let them know they have support, you never should be a one and done situation no matter how you put your learning together. Give them multiple ways to reach out to you or create a space that is a community where support from you and others can continue well after the learning.

Learning should be fun not only for students but also for educators. Let’s ditch the boring talks and bring back the collaboration and fun, let’s space it out throughout the year so every person feels they can learn at their pace, let’s build support systems to continue the things that are taught. Let’s bring community together to build a better learning space for our students.