In The PD Book, bestselling author Elena Aguilar and co-author Lori Cohen offer seven habits - and a wealth of practical tools - that help you transform professional development. In this book, you'll learn how to inspire adult learners, the importance of having clear purpose, and how to navigate power dynamics in a group. You'll also learn a new way to plan PD that allows you to attend to details and be a responsive facilitator. The dozens of tips and tricks, anecdotes and research, and tools and resources will enable you to create the optimal conditions for learning.
You'll also: - Craft effective outcomes for your adult students and design an agenda that aligns with adult learning principles - Use storytelling as a tool for effective workshops and trainings - Plan backwards from evaluations and outcomes to create powerful and lasting educational experiences
Ideal for educational leaders and administrators, professional development facilitators, coaches, and positional leaders in both K-12 and higher education, The PD Book is an incisive resource offering concrete strategies for educators at all levels.
Table of Contents
About the Authors xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction1
A Couple Notes on Anonymity and Terminology 4
Pulling Back the Curtain 4
Defining Professional Development 7
Creating the Conditions for Learning 12
What If PD Could Be More Like a Party? 16
Who We Are and Who You Are 18
What Is in This Book? 20
Before You Go 23
1 Determine Purpose 25
Dismantling PD Apathy 26
Purpose: The Foundation for Transformational Learning 27
Create Purposeful Plans 32
Communicate: Make the Learning Matter 37
Putting It All Together 40
Assessing Impact 42
Before You Go 47
2 Engage Emotions 49
What You Need to Know about Emotions to Deliver Transformative PD 51
Grumpiness, Pet Peeves, and Triggers 59
Creating Psychological Safety 64
Mitigating Dominant Culture: Creating Safe-ish Spaces 75
Beyond Psychological Safety 80
Before You Go 83
3 Navigate Power 85
Sources of Power 88
Leveraging Power 99
The Impact of Power 102
Possibilities for Navigating Power 106
How to Dissolve Resistance 112
Start and End with Relationships 117
Before You Go 118
4 Anchor in Adult Learning 119
You Can’t Make People Learn 121
Adult Learning Theory 101 126
The Stages of Learning 133
Adult Learning in the Virtual PD World 138
You Can Create the Conditions for Learning 140
Before You Go 141
5 Design Intentionally 143
Tools for Intentional Design 146
A Process for Intentional Design 154
Shift the Dominant Culture in Design 171
Before You Go 175
6 Attend to Details 177
Details Matter to Learning 179
Long-Term Planning: Get Ready 182
Short-Term Planning: Finalize the Details 196
The Day Of: Go Time 200
Closing: Leave Things Better Than You Found Them 205
Before You Go 208
7 Facilitate Adaptively 209
Detours Happen 211
When Harm Happens 214
The Roots of Adaptive Facilitation: Know Yourself 217
Becoming an Adaptive Facilitator: Skill Sets to Refine 221
Addressing PD Detours 228
Reimagining What’s Possible 236
Before You Go 237
Conclusion239 Appendix A: The Core Emotions 243
Appendix B: Nonviolent Communication’s Universal Human Needs 247
Appendix C: What-Why-How Agenda Template 253
Appendix D: Structures for Virtual Learning 255
Appendix E: Checklist for Attending to the Details 257
Appendix F: Resources for Further Learning 261
Glossary 263
References 267
Index 269
