Season 1, Episode 0: Why I Created The Educator’s Companion to PD (Show Notes)
I know that a lot of people enjoying reading and skimming through podcast show notes to get a gist of the highlights of the episode. This podcast was originally recorded back in May 2017. To listen to the podcast, please go here.
When you think about this quote-Do you think about your challenges in your classroom, at your school, in your professional development? We’ve seemed to be a rollercoaster in education, which sometimes is thrilling and at other times is scary. There are all these complicated issues and feelings that arise when we talk about teaching our digital natives and finding professional development to match these needs can be really challenging. This is the context that drove me to create this podcast.
One of my favorite and most fascinating people to me is the inventor and architect, Richard Buckminster Fuller, who suggested that humans are not nouns but verbs. 
When I first heard that idea and pondered the depth of what he was saying, it got me wondering what my verb is. As someone who has taught for over 17 years in over 6 countries from America, Europe, South America, theMiddle East and in Asia, I’ve seen and experienced a lot in classrooms K-12. And what I have come to understand is that my verb is to EMPOWER. I’ve experienced the “best of PD” and the “the worst of PD”, and recognizing this, I felt compelled to share the resources that I have compiled over the years in this show. Because knowledge is power, I feel inspired to equip you with an arsenal of means to support and encourage your growth and learning.
When I first heard that idea and pondered the depth of what he was saying, it got me wondering what my verb is. As someone who has taught for over 17 years in over 6 countries from America, Europe, South America, theMiddle East and in Asia, I’ve seen and experienced a lot in classrooms K-12. And what I have come to understand is that my verb is to EMPOWER. I’ve experienced the “best of PD” and the “the worst of PD”, and recognizing this, I felt compelled to share the resources that I have compiled over the years in this show. Because knowledge is power, I feel inspired to equip you with an arsenal of means to support and encourage your growth and learning.So I made this show for educators, who…
- want to accelerate their growth through purposeful and personalized PD
- are instructional and technical coaches that are looking for some new resources to help improve and guide their practice.
- are curriculum coordinators and subject matter leaders who wish to develop greater depth of understanding of tools and innovation for their schools’ programs.
- for school leaders who are looking for ways to develop a growth mindset, not just in themselves, but in the schools that they impact.
What are its length and frequency?
- This is podcast is meant to provide a quick and dirty overview of online professional resources. I know that your time is precious so I don’t want to blabber on. I provide the benefits, the drawbacks, and tips for success in using a professional development (PD) resource.
- There’s a ton of free PD resources out there if you go looking. I have a list of 20 of them right now and it continues to grow. So I intend to do a bulk posting of episodes for your summer deep dive and come back in the fall to continue posting more great resources on this podcast.
I believe that I am not alone in my the desire to make a difference and be effective in your practice. That you are like me and crave that sort of impact in your school. So, with that in mind, my goal is to expose you to novel ways to develop your practice through free or inexpensive online professional opportunities, books that are worth reading and other material that is timely and personalized for your growth. In the first series of podcasts, I will show you how to make a personalized learning plan and how to execute it. I will also share some professional development that is top notch and free.
So, with that in mind, I hope you will join me on this journey, as your world opens up to the possibilities of what can be your classroom of learning for you.
Developing learners as leaders is my joy! I am committed and passionate International Baccaluearate (IB) educator who loves cracking jokes, jumping on trampolines and reading books. When I’m not playing Minecraft with my daughter, I work on empowering others in order to create a future that works for everyone.
