Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/examining-beliefs-and-behaviors/5015965/
Were we to explore a variation of the “If you were stranded on a desert island . . . ?” question, what would you say was the single most important focus to have in orienting new staff to your program? Let’s assume, for the purposes of this exercise, that aside from health and safety issues, or policies and procedures, you have to choose a particular focus for getting new staff on board, or for planning a year-long in-service professional development program. What would that focus be?I’ve been sitting with this question myself, as I watch directors struggle with staff turnover and getting teachers to understand what our profession considers “best practices.” And the question arises again for me each time I get a request to do staff training for a program. Often there is unformed thinking behind these requests, with a director or training coordinator trying to line up a presenter for a designated in-service day, needing to spend out a grant, or wanting someone with a natural reputation to do a training. I try to respond to these requests with a set of inquiries about the strengths of the program, the areas where improvement is needed, and the goals they ...