Every year, school administrators and teachers sit down and plan professional development opportunities to benefit teachers and students alike. But when you consider your professional development, do you also consider the stage you or other teachers are at? Is the information and format best suited to your needs? In short, are we delivering professional development in ways that reflect our Montessori teaching practices.
It has long been the standard to deliver straightforward information in a workshop format. This type of presentation is reminiscent of conventional education whereby the speaker lectures or tells the audience the information. The majority of audience participation is passive listening. Rather than a test, the assessment in professional development is how well the information is transferred and implemented in classroom practice.
