Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/defining-our-approach-to-staff-development/5012640/
Recently, the community college where I teach sent those of us who do off-campus field instruction a questionnaire regarding our areas of expertise and our approach to on-site training. I chose to ignore my knee-jerk irritation with more paper-work and welcomed the opportunity to revisit my thoughts on the subject in light of my current practice at child care centers. Because I think and write about staff development continually, describing my ideas wasn't difficult. However, as I re-read and considered the sentences which quickly poured out, I discovered a different emphasis and language from what I probably would have said a few years ago. I think this is a result of examining what I think in light of what I actually do.If you keep at it, teaching adults reveals a developmental process,just as it does for those who directly teach children. The combination of ongoing reading, dialogue, trial and error, skill development, and continual self-reflection keeps us learning and growing. In between the bouts with headlice and search for substitute teachers, there are always old and new ideas to visit, mentors and models to re-examine, and adjustments to make in one's approach. I'm reminded of what Brazilian educator Paulo Freire called ...