So what do teachers do on professional development days?

Friday, March 15th, was our annual spring professional development day. Students had the day off - a little long weekend treat. Sometimes they will ask me what do their teachers actually do on these days. The simple answer is that they become learners themselves and that was the case in a new format known as Edcamp.

Edcamp is a model for professional learning that has swept across the country over the past two years. When we learned of this model, we thought we would give it a try and named it to fit the occasion:

This model allows teachers to design their own professional learning, which began with a shared document, where they could suggest sessions. In all, 48 different sessions were suggested and offered, most facilitated by our own staff, with just a few using outside facilitators. These sessions were offered in three 1 1/2 hour time blocks and teachers had the flexibility to choose to attend the sessions that they felt would be most helpful to them. Sessions ranged from better using technology in the classroom, to strategies to increase student engagement, to how to best implement our new curriculum and assess student learning. The other unique feature of this model is that the teachers in the sessions were active participants in the learning. Traditional professional development often involves sitting and listening to someone present an idea without much opportunity to interact. Edcamp B-town allowed our teachers to share the wealth of knowledge that lives within our district with each other:

Teachers learn how to use Pinterest as a tool for learning.

Elementary teachers discuss how to engage students using centers in the classroom.

Teachers explore technology tools to enhance instruction.

All in all it was a wonderful day and our thanks go to our foodservice department for providing lunch and CSSR, CHCS, JBMS PTOs, and an anonymous donor for sponsoring the cost of the lunch so teachers could network with each other! Teachers also commented on how much they learned and how valuable it was to be able to share with colleagues. Looks like an Ecamp B-town II will be in our future!

As always, if you have any questions regarding this post, please feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools