As an educator and administrator, I have worked many years with adult learners related to professional development. In teaching, professional development is highly valued, and I have not only attended many workshops myself, but have also led events for adult learners. In this context, I have seen what Merriam and Bierma (2014) describe as Malcolm Knowles’ Six Principles of Andragogy at work (pg. 47).
There are some key things I have learned about professional development over the years. First of all, teachers will not engage in any workshop or event, unless they can see it’s relevance to them and their context (self-directing). They are very busy and do not want to waste their time on something that is not meaningful. Thus, giving them a choice which workshop to attend is very powerful, as they are able to then evaluate their current teaching practice, and equip themselves with the tools they need to solve classroom problems. They become very invested in learning a new teaching approach or concept, if they know it is going to improve their effectiveness in a classroom, and is something they can implement right away (problem centered learning).
The second thing I have learned, is that (for the most part) teachers are all very self-directed, motivated, and intelligent professionals (internal motivation). They have a thirst to continue learning and have a focus on excellence – they expect excellence from themselves, others, and particularly their students. And they work very hard to achieve this. This means that they are also very self reflective and adeptly see where some of their weaknesses may be and make a plan to improve. Every year teachers need to submit a growth plan and their plans are always holistic and realistic; identifying the areas of growth which are needed and the resources they wish to use to achieve this growth. When there is a plan in place, and a conversation happens with follow up, they become very invested in the process (reason for learning something).
A final thing that I have learned is that teachers are great storytellers, and have a wealth of experience (experience as learning). Go to any staff party or baby shower with a large amount of teachers in the room, and very quickly they will begin to “shop talk”. They cannot get enough of sharing their experiences whether they be funny, heartbreaking, or successful. In a professional development context, this means that teachers are always learning from their experiences. They adeptly identify some of their challenging moments, and not only do they learn from them, but they share their stories so that others learn from them as well. Very often, once the story sharing begins, a group of teachers can see similarities and their learning becomes very rich as a result. Thus, they need to be an active part of the professional development process (social role). Learning increases if they are able to attend a workshop that is hands-on and collaborative when they can interact with one another, drawing on the wealth of experience each participant has to offer.
Teachers are wonderful people to learn alongside with! They are very communal, supportive, and reflective. I learn something new from them everyday, and their resiliency, determination to grow and solve problems inspire me. The relationship I have with them is transformative for me as well. Having not been in another profession, I wonder if this is also a common experience for leaders in other areas?
References:
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.