No Cringe Teacher Training – Bring Flexible Training That Rocks into Schools
Have you ever noticed there seems to be a universal cringe when teachers learn about a scheduled in-service or a need to complete professional development? There is often that immediate feeling of adding something to our to-do list, instead of a sense of excitement for a new opportunity or learning experience. This reaction is common across schools and, to be fair, even across professions. Professional learning and development within a school (or District) can and should be an opportunity to come together as a community for one common goal. Keep reading to find out how to incorporate flexible training for maximum impact.
For teachers, our world is built around the days that we have with students. When teachers cannot be with students in the classroom and instead have a PD, they cringe! There were often times when the PD content, although important, was not applicable to our own role or content area. Meaningful and effective in-service and PD opportunities do not need to be something we wish for or dream about.
Mind Body Align works to create PDs that rock! We bring new, practical, and fun energy to teacher in-service. We love it when teachers are smiling, the PD is fun, and there is a great energy among the team in the room.
During these PDs, we enjoy learning how to make teaching better and how to harness student attention, making the whole school experience better. Mind Body Align’s mindfulness teacher professional development courses have a sterling 100% teacher approval and usefulness rating.
Making teacher PDs rock starts with great topics. Teacher resilience, teacher burnout, and classroom relational training are good places to start.
If we had to pick a few favorites, the best teacher in-service topics focus on teacher burnout, teacher resilience, and classroom relational training during an upbeat and positive session. Mind Body Align’s teacher professional development course, a flexible self-guided training, hits on all three of the best topics for teacher training.
The training is an experience for the teacher, to guide them in understanding the science of mindfulness. Real Simple reported on the positive scientific impact of mindfulness on the brain, reducing the fight or flight impulse, and preventing some changes to the brain that come with age. Backed by research from the world’s top institutions, this is information to get excited about!
Set the PD up for success by communicating in advance. We want teachers present and excited.
One of the best things about our PD is that it can be broken up into smaller chunks. Our modules make it easy for administrators to schedule it based around their professional development calendar. We support participants as they explore what mindfulness is and the science behind its effectiveness. Through a series of videos, readings, reflections, and guided practices, participants begin their own mindfulness journey.
When a teacher practices mindfulness, it changes everything in the classroom. It allows students to observe the teacher using the practices and then return to class with increased awareness. This alone opens up positive benefits related to teacher burnout, resilience, and their relationships inside and outside the classroom.
The Mind Body Align teacher PD provides staff and teachers with resources for working with students with a traumatic past to help build resilience. The mindfulness information and practices give teachers easy-to-implement practices and practical application time worked into the PD to select key practices to implement in the classroom and with a teaching team. Teachers may put a simple, and effective plan together before the PD ends.
By embracing just a few of the practices and using them, students are now involved in classroom management, self-regulation, and self-response. They will notice impulsivity when it arises.
Make time during the PD and in the weeks that follow to integrate the learnings into the school day.
One teacher shared that one of her favorite PDs of all time was an amazing PD on using learning centers in grades K-5. Teachers were active and rotated rooms participating in power PDs lasting 20 minutes in each place. The output was that teachers, and later students, needed to build these mini exit slips into the lessons. After the in service, teachers would need to take the principles from the big PD, bring it back to their small teaching team, and incorporate these into the teaching team’s daily processes.
In this situation, teachers were given time to apply what they learned, and the road was paved to take it into the classroom for real impact. She said, “We lived the dream!” We are helping some schools live the dream right now, and our flexible training for maximum impact incorporates these principles to make integrating the new practices easy.
After the PD, create opportunities to share what you learned.
Since educator training often leaves no time to apply what teachers learn and to share results, we think this is a critical part of PDs that rock. The magic really happens when teachers are given time after the training to incorporate what they learned and put it into action. Ask teachers to share how they are incorporating it and where the successes and pitfalls are. If you make a common space for this and follow up, everyone benefits.
Let us bring a no-cringe, custom PD or in-service to your school today and show you how to use flexible training for maximum impact.
Click here and let’s chat.
