Serendipity35

I read an article about personalizing professional learning (PL) that posits that, as designers and providers of PL, we tend to not take into account the expertise of the teacher-as-learner. What we do concentrate on is their weaknesses, rather than their strengths.

At my university, faculty and PL providers both grumble about the constraints on their ability to do more PL. Time, support and resources top the list of constraints. I don't hear them complain about personalization, but that might be because no one expects there to be any personalization.

It is certainly not a good idea for those setting up the structures of PL to be seen as "the holders of all knowledge."  Having the potential participants be involved in determining the current needs for PL is a starting place.  We often survey teachers before and after PL sessions. generally, the needs that most teachers identify are specific to their own classrooms. That can be seen as a flawed view that misses the needs of the many. But, Ben Wilkoff in the article series, says that "This is not a failure to see the big picture. This is the big picture... the more choices that are owned by the individual, the more personalized the Professional Learning can become."

Truly personal interests can be difficult to include in designing professional learning for teachers. Just as with "individualized learning" for students, my "personal interests" for learning are often quite separate from my professional interests, and they may not often overlap. But if the real goal of professional learning is to create a change in practice, then some personalization and self-reflection should be a part of the experience.