Promoting Alternative PL

We teachers have all sat through a huge number of talks, some of which were great and others of which were forgettable. But what makes the great ones different from the average ones? After reading all the materials for this assignment, this question has been on my thoughts. I watched "Five Rules for Presentations" by Nancy Duarte and "How to Present" by Simon Sinek. At the same time, I thought about "Teaching the Teachers: Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability" by A. Gulamhussein. Each source showed how important communication is, especially when it comes to how we share our thoughts with others. To be honest, it's made me think again about both how I show and how presentation skills affect my plan for innovation.

Nancy Duarte makes a strong case for the idea that ideas are important, but only if they are shared clearly. How many times have you had a great idea that didn't work when you told other people about it? He says that how an idea is communicated is often what makes the difference between it taking off and not being taken off. That hit home for me. There were times when I thought my ideas were good, but the way I put them across could have been better. If we want to get our thoughts across, Duarte says to use stories. This fits perfectly with what Simon Sinek says: "The audience is the hero, not the presenter."

As a teacher, how often do you feel like you need to be the center of attention during a presentation? It's not about us, that's the truth. The audience should come first, and you should help them connect with the idea in a way that makes sense to them.

The five key principles of successful professional learning (PL) and Gulamhussein's research make it clear that how we present professional development is just as important as what we teach. We know that PL shouldn't be a one-time thing and should happen all the time, and we also know that teachers need help putting any new plan into action. But how can we get these thoughts across in a way that really leads to change?

This is where the structure of a story comes in handy. As I put together my talk, I'll give careful thought to how to get people from where they are now to my big idea. I need to draw them a picture of what might happen in the future if they accept this new way of learning professionally. Duarte's idea that we need to move between "what is" and "what could be" will help me decide how to organize the story. I don't want to just give people information; I want them to care about the change I want to see happen.

Dealing with complaints will be one of the biggest challenges I expect. It's hard to change to new things, especially when you work in education and have to implement new rules and methods all the time. There will be worries about time, money, and whether the new plan will really work. Duarte says that a strong show should recognize these problems and offer ways to fix them. As Gulamhussein mentioned, I will stress the importance of ongoing support and practical modeling to reassure my audience that this isn't just another "one-and-done" PL project.

Last but not least, a good show ends with a clear call to action. It's not enough to just give people an idea; we need to show them what to do next. I'll put in a lot of work on this as I prepare my talk. I want the people in the room to leave knowing not only what needs to change in the way we do professional learning, but also how they can start making these changes in their own schools.

When I think about what I've learned from the work of Nancy Duarte, Simon Sinek, and Gulamhussein, I remember that good talks aren't just about flashy slides and practiced speeches. They're about connecting with your audience, sharing a story, and getting them to do something important. I want to make my presentation really powerful for my coworkers by using the five principles of successful professional learning as a base and adding the storytelling skills I've learned. I hope this will really change how we do professional learning.

I'm excited for the talks that will come next and to hearing how my classmates are using these ideas in their own projects and presentations. Let's keep getting better at what we do as teachers and speakers by learning from each other.

References:

Duarte, Inc. (2009, December 16). What are some tips for presentation design? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hT9GGmundag 

TEDx Talks. (2010, December 10). TEDxEast - Nancy Duarte uncovers common structure of greatest communicators 11/11/2010 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2UmkPromoting Alternative PL: Collaborative Discussion