When it comes to professional development, incorporating real experiences may be the best method. 

So says Ariel Sacks in her article on TeachingQuality.org. In the article, Sacks shares her experience as an educator and observations on effective workshops and professional development sessions. 

Sacks said that "experience is the best teacher."

"I’ve made sure every time I present to teachers in a PD context, whether it’s a full day or a 30 minute session, I include real experiences that teachers can enter into intellectually, discuss with one another, reflect upon, and think critically about how to apply in the context of their own teaching," she said. 

In the article, Sacks gives teachers tips for "making the experience work for adults." One of the tips was to use "model practices through the workshop that work with students, but don't make adults pretend to be kids."

"Treat adults as adults and give them content they can really wrestle with intellectually and/or creatively in order for the experience to be impactful," she said.

"For example, if I select a work of children's literature to use in a PD, I make sure it has enough complexity and literary merit and so there is plenty for adults to discuss.* I've also selected pieces that are written for adults and done activities with these materials just as I’d do them with students," she added. " I want participants to really think and engage intellectually, because that is what I want students to have the opportunity to do, rather than practice jumping easily to obvious answers."

Read the full story.

*Emphasis by EducationWorld

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor