I think it goes without saying that as education evolves, we as teachers must do the same. I'm not saying you should dismiss your original ideas or methods, but I do think you should be aware of what there is in education at that moment of time, so you can make the best judgement when teaching.
Now with our busy schedules as teachers, where do you find the time? In most organised schools, they have 2-3 whole school Professional Development (PD) days throughout the year, but that is usually done for the needs of the school. Another alternative is to get an allowance from the school where you pick and choose your line of PD, but usually that is done once a year. Only the motivated individuals will do this on their own accord and this is usually done in their own free time.
For those who have attended relevant PD courses, we all usually leave very motivated and inspired, plan to do everything whilst we are on that buzz from the course (We've all been there), but how do you maintain that buzz and stay motivated/inspired for the rest of the year.
I find it difficult to keep on top of it all, because there is some great content out there, especially when you look on social media. There are two things I have done during this academic year, which I have kept consistent, but I'm not sure it's enough.
1) I dedicate one day of my week working on my website/blog.
2) On my commute to work, I listen to education podcasts such as the PE umbrella, the PE geek and Andy Vasily's run your life.
Right now, this is what I can do with my time constraints, but I'm wondering what other people do, to see if I can maximise my time and get the most out of my PD. I don't really get the time to get online during my teaching day and then often find myself busy after school. I try to do a couple of hours on the weekend, by checking social media and websites, but I don't do this consistent enough and find myself too late to contribute to any conversations.
What works for you? Please share.
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